Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

amarelo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ɐmɐˈɾɛlu]. It means “yellow.” Roughly "uh-muh-REH-loo" — both leading "a"s shrink to a quick "uh," the stress and an open "e" land on the third syllable, and the final "o" clips to "oo."

Roughly "uh-muh-REH-loo" — both leading "a"s shrink to a quick "uh," the stress and an open "e" land on the third syllable, and the final "o" clips to "oo."

amarelo [ɐmɐˈɾɛlu]

Stress falls on the third syllable "re," which has an open "e"; both preceding unstressed "a"s reduce to a neutral "uh," and the final "o" reduces to "oo."

Listen: amarelo

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Sound it out

a...a Both of these unstressed "a"s reduce to a quick, neutral "uh" sound, like the "a" in English "about."

re The stressed syllable, with an open "e" like in English "bed," and a light tapped "r."

lo A plain "l" followed by an unstressed final "o" that reduces to a short "oo."

Hear it in a sentence

Gosto do teu casaco amarelo.

I like your yellow jacket.

Listen: Gosto do teu casaco amarelo.

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"Gosto do teu casaco amarelo" means "I like your yellow jacket." "Gostar" (to like) is always followed by "de" (here contracted into "do" with the article "o"), a pattern that trips up beginners used to English "like" taking a direct object with no preposition at all.

Where English speakers slip

With four syllables and two of them unstressed "a"s, English speakers tend to give each vowel its full textbook sound, stretching the word out evenly. European Portuguese compresses the unstressed vowels heavily, so the word should feel front-loaded and quick rather than evenly paced — a much more noticeable reduction than a Brazilian speaker would typically apply.