Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

A quick 'duh' sound, using the same reduced central vowel as the article 'a'.

da [dɐ]

Contraction of 'de' + 'a'; unstressed, with the vowel reduced toward [ɐ] rather than a full open 'ah'.

Listen: da

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Sound it out

d Dental 'd' as in 'de' and 'do'.

a Reduces to the same short, central [ɐ] as the standalone article 'a' — not a full 'ah'.

Hear it in a sentence

Gosto da casa.

I like the house.

Listen: Gosto da casa.

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'Gosto da casa' shows the same 'gostar de' + article contraction pattern as 'do livro', but with the feminine article since 'casa' is feminine. Getting the gender of the noun right is what determines whether you need 'do' or 'da'.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often stress and open up 'da' as if it carried sentence emphasis, giving it a clear 'dah'. In EP it's unstressed and clipped just like 'de' and 'do' — it should barely register as its own syllable in fast speech.