Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

cedo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈsedu]. It means “early.” Say "SEH-doo" — stress the first syllable with an open "eh" vowel, and keep the second syllable short.

Say "SEH-doo" — stress the first syllable with an open "eh" vowel, and keep the second syllable short.

cedo [ˈsedu]

Stress is on the first syllable; "c" before "e" is a soft "s" sound, and the final "o" reduces to a short "oo".

Listen: cedo

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

ce Stressed syllable; "c" before "e" or "i" sounds like English "s", giving "seh".

d A true dental "d", tongue at the upper teeth — crisp, not softened.

o Unstressed final vowel, reduces to a short "oo".

Hear it in a sentence

Acordo sempre cedo.

I always wake up early.

Listen: Acordo sempre cedo.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Acordo sempre cedo" (I always wake up early) places "sempre" before "cedo", stacking two adverbs — frequency ("always") and manner/time ("early") — right after the verb, a natural and common word order in Portuguese. "Acordo" is the first-person singular of "acordar" (to wake up), a regular -ar verb useful as an early conjugation model.

Where English speakers slip

Because "c" before "e" is soft in Portuguese (like "s"), learners sometimes default to a hard "k" sound out of habit from other contexts where "c" is hard (before a, o, u). They should also remember the "d" stays a crisp dental "d" here — there's no "i" following it, so no palatalization risk, but it's a useful contrast to keep in mind versus words like "dia".