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Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "carteira" in Portuguese (Portugal)?
Say "kuhr-TAY-ruh" — stress on the middle syllable, where "ei" glides like the "ay" in English "say".
Stress falls on "tei"; the diphthong "ei" is pronounced like the "ay" in English "day", and both the first and last "a"-type vowels are unstressed and reduced.
Listen: carteira
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Hear it in a sentence
Perdi a minha carteira.
I lost my wallet.
Listen: Perdi a minha carteira.
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"Perdi a minha carteira" ("I lost my wallet") uses the simple past ("perdi", from "perder") for a completed event, and "a minha carteira" places the definite article before the possessive, which is standard and effectively obligatory in European Portuguese, unlike Brazilian usage where it's often dropped. "Carteira" can mean wallet, but also handbag or ID card depending on context.
Where English speakers slip
As with "vestido", the key European-versus-Brazilian trap is the "t" before "ei": Lisbon speakers keep it a crisp, true dental "t", while Brazilian speakers would not normally palatalize this one either since it's followed by "ei" not "i" — so actually here the bigger error for English speakers is flattening the "ei" diphthong into a plain "eh", losing the glide toward "ay" that gives the syllable its characteristic shape.