The sound pattern of Basque is on the whole straightforward. Although Basque features some dialectical variation in stress, all Basque has a distinct musicality. It places a high-pitched weak stress on the second syllable of a syntagma, and a low-pitched even-weaker stress on its last syllable. Hissing sibilants are typical.

Most non-Basque speakers will say that Basque sounds just like Spanish. In fact, it sounds so much like Spanish that, if you’re familiar with Spanish, your head will probably start spinning when you hear Basque, as you won’t understand a word of it though it feels like you should!