Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "amar" in Portuguese (Portugal)?

Q: How do you pronounce amar in Portuguese (Portugal)?

amar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ɐˈmaɾ]. It means “to love.” Say "uh-MAR" — a quick, weak 'uh' followed by a stressed, open 'ah' and a soft r.

Say "uh-MAR" — a quick, weak 'uh' followed by a stressed, open 'ah' and a soft r.

amar [ɐˈmaɾ]

Stress falls on the final syllable -mar; the initial a is unstressed and reduces to a neutral 'uh' sound rather than a full open 'ah'.

Listen: amar

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Sound it out

a- Unstressed and short — closer to the 'a' in "sofa" than the open 'ah' in "father".

-mar Stressed and clear: a full open 'ah' (this time the real thing) plus a plain m and a soft, light final r — not the hard American r of English "mar".

Hear it in a sentence

Amo a minha família.

I love my family.

Listen: Amo a minha família.

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"Amo a minha família" ("I love my family") uses the definite article a before minha família, a construction European Portuguese requires with possessives (a minha família, literally "the my family") where English uses none. Dropping that article is one of the most persistent beginner errors when talking about relationships and belongings.

Where English speakers slip

Because the word looks and stresses similarly to English "amour"-type words, learners sometimes stress the first syllable ("AH-mar") instead of the second; Portuguese regular -ar verbs are stressed on that final syllable, so it must be "uh-MAR", with the weak first vowel and the strong, open final one.