Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

desculpe is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [dɨʃˈkuɫpɨ]. It means “excuse me.” dish-KOOL-p(uh) — stress on 'CUL'; the first syllable sounds like English 'dish', and the final 'e' is barely audible, almost swallowed.

dish-KOOL-p(uh) — stress on 'CUL'; the first syllable sounds like English 'dish', and the final 'e' is barely audible, almost swallowed.

desculpe [dɨʃˈkuɫpɨ]

Stress falls on 'cul'; the initial 'des' has its 's' pronounced 'sh' (typical EP), and the final unstressed 'e' reduces to a near-silent schwa, almost dropped.

Listen: desculpe

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Sound it out

des The 'e' reduces to a quick schwa, and the 's' becomes 'sh' before the consonant that follows — together sounding close to English 'dish' without a hard 'i'.

cul Stressed syllable: 'c' is a hard 'k', and the 'l' is a 'dark l' (tongue back raised, like the 'l' in English 'cold'), followed by a short 'oo'.

pe Unstressed final syllable: 'p' as in English, and the 'e' shrinks to a barely-there schwa, almost silent — often closer to just 'p' with a whisper of a vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

Desculpe, onde fica a estação?

Excuse me, where is the station?

Listen: Desculpe, onde fica a estação?

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"Desculpe" is the formal/polite form (matching "você"/formal register), used to get a stranger's attention or apologize politely, as in "Desculpe, onde fica a estação?" — the natural choice when asking directions from someone you don't know.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pronounce every vowel fully ("desh-KOOL-peh"); in EP the final 'e' nearly disappears, and the 's' in "des-" must be 'sh,' not a plain 's' as often heard in Brazilian Portuguese, which also tends to keep a clearer, fuller final vowel.