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Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "avô" in Portuguese (Portugal)?
Say "uh-VOH", stressing the last syllable with a closed "oh" vowel, like the o in English "go" but shorter and tighter.
Stress falls on the final syllable, marked by the circumflex accent; the o is closed ("oh"), contrasting with the open "ó" in "avó".
Listen: avô
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
O meu avô conta histórias fantásticas.
My grandfather tells fantastic stories.
Listen: O meu avô conta histórias fantásticas.
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"O meu avô conta histórias fantásticas" uses "conta" (tells, from "contar") and places the adjective "fantásticas" after the noun it modifies, agreeing in feminine plural with "histórias". This is a simple present-tense habitual statement describing something the grandfather characteristically does. Note "histórias" keeps its written accent to mark the stress on "tó", since without it stress rules would default elsewhere.
Where English speakers slip
As with "avó", the main risk is failing to distinguish the closed "ô" here from the open "ó" in "avó" — English speakers often flatten both to a generic "oh" sound, erasing a distinction that changes meaning between grandmother and grandfather. This closed-versus-open vowel contrast is one of European Portuguese's core features and is fully shared with Brazilian Portuguese, so getting it right pays off across the whole language, not just this word pair.