Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

dizer is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [diˈzeɾ]. It means “to say.” Sounds like "dee-ZAIR" — the first syllable stays a clear "dee", and the stress falls on the second syllable.

Sounds like "dee-ZAIR" — the first syllable stays a clear "dee", and the stress falls on the second syllable.

dizer [diˈzeɾ]

Stress is on -zer; unlike many unstressed vowels in EP, the unstressed i in di- stays fairly close to a full "ee" rather than reducing much further.

Listen: dizer

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Sound it out

di A true dental "d" (never softened to "j" the way Brazilian Portuguese would say it) followed by a clear "ee".

z Voiced "z" as in English "zoo".

er Stressed, rhyming with "air", ending in a light tapped r.

Hear it in a sentence

Diz-me a verdade.

Tell me the truth.

Listen: Diz-me a verdade.

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"Diz-me a verdade" ("Tell me the truth") is an imperative form of dizer with the pronoun me attached after the verb by a hyphen, the standard European placement for commands. This is a direct, somewhat blunt request appropriate between close friends or family; a softer version might add por favor. Verdade is feminine, hence a verdade rather than o verdade.

Where English speakers slip

The single most common EP-specific mistake is pronouncing the di- like the Brazilian "jee" (palatalized d before i); in Lisbon-standard EP the d stays a true, crisp dental d, so dizer sounds like "dee-zair", not "jee-zair". Learners with Brazilian media exposure need to consciously un-learn that palatalization for this and every other d/t before i or e-sound-like-i.