Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

criança is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [kɾiˈɐ̃.sɐ]. It means “child.” Say "kree-AH(n)-suh", nasalizing the middle vowel through your nose instead of pronouncing a hard "n".

Say "kree-AH(n)-suh", nasalizing the middle vowel through your nose instead of pronouncing a hard "n".

criança [kɾiˈɐ̃.sɐ]

Stress lands on the second syllable "an\", which is nasalized; the final unstressed "a" reduces almost to "uh".

Listen: criança

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Sound it out

cri A quick "kree" with the r as a light flap, blending straight into the next syllable.

an A stressed nasal vowel — say "ah" while letting air escape through the nose, without closing the mouth to form an actual "n" consonant.

ça The ç is always a plain "s" sound (never "k" or "ts"), and the final unstressed a collapses to a quick, barely-there "uh".

Hear it in a sentence

A criança está a brincar no parque.

The child is playing in the park.

Listen: A criança está a brincar no parque.

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"A criança está a brincar no parque" again uses the "estar a + infinitive" progressive typical of European Portuguese. "Brincar" specifically means to play in a child's sense (as opposed to "jogar", used for playing games or sports), so it pairs naturally with "criança". "No parque" contracts "em" + "o parque" into "no", a fusion that happens constantly with Portuguese prepositions and articles.

Where English speakers slip

The single biggest mistake is pronouncing the final unstressed "a" fully as "ah", the way it would be spoken in Spanish or Italian — in European Portuguese it shrinks almost to nothing, closer to "criansuh" than "cree-AHN-sah". Brazilian speakers keep that final vowel more open and audible, so leaning on the Brazilian pronunciation here will sound distinctly un-Lisbon.