Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "boa noite" in Portuguese (Portugal)?

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

boa noite is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈboɐ ˈnojtɨ]. It means “good night.” BOH-uh NOY-t(uh) — same opening as 'boa tarde'; 'noite' stresses 'noi' (rhymes with English 'toy'), and the final 'e' is barely pronounced.

BOH-uh NOY-t(uh) — same opening as 'boa tarde'; 'noite' stresses 'noi' (rhymes with English 'toy'), and the final 'e' is barely pronounced.

boa noite [ˈboɐ ˈnojtɨ]

Stress falls on the first syllable of each word; 'noite' ends in a near-silent unstressed 'e', and the diphthong 'oi' is a clean glide like English 'oy' in 'toy'.

Listen: boa noite

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Sound it out

boa Same as in 'boa tarde': a stressed closed 'oh' gliding into a quick unstressed 'uh'.

noi Stressed syllable: 'n' as in English, then the diphthong 'oi', pronounced like the 'oy' in English 'toy'.

te Unstressed final syllable: a true dental 't' (not the affricated 'tch' sound Brazilian Portuguese uses before i-like vowels), followed by a nearly silent schwa.

Hear it in a sentence

Boa noite, até amanhã.

Good night, see you tomorrow.

Listen: Boa noite, até amanhã.

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"Boa noite" is unusual among the greetings in that it serves as both a greeting for the evening/night and a farewell before bed, similar to English "good night." "Até amanhã" reinforces that this use is a parting phrase.

Where English speakers slip

The key EP-specific trap is the "te" ending: Brazilian Portuguese typically renders this as "tchee" (an affricated sound before the final i-like vowel), while European Portuguese keeps a crisp, plain 't' with the vowel reduced to almost nothing — say "NOY-t" with barely a vowel, not "NOY-chee".