llanas

Llanas, also called graves, are words in Spanish whose main stress falls on the penultimate syllable. This category is part of a system that also includes agudas (stress on the last syllable) and esdrújulas (stress on the antepenultimate). The term llana comes from llano, meaning flat or even, reflecting the mid-word stress.

Most llana words end in a vowel, or in the consonants n or s, because Spanish default stress is on the penultimate syllable in those cases. When a word ends in other consonants and bears penultimate stress, an accent mark is typically used to show the irregular stress, for example lápiz (pencil) or árbol (tree). The accent marks are part of orthography to indicate correct pronunciation regardless of ending.

In practice, llanas are common in everyday Spanish. They interact with meter in poetry and song, where the exact stress influences syllable counts and rhyme.

The classification helps language learners determine pronunciation rules and accent placement. Examples of llana words include casa (house) and ventana (window).