Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

Sounds like English 'due' or 'doo' — a short, tight 'oo', not 'doh'.

do [du]

A contraction of 'de' + 'o'; unstressed, and the vowel is a clipped [u], not the open 'oh' the spelling suggests.

Listen: do

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Sound it out

d Dental 'd', tongue against the upper teeth, same crisp quality as in 'de'.

o Reduces to a short 'oo' [u] since it's unstressed, matching how the article 'o' behaves on its own.

Hear it in a sentence

Gosto do livro.

I like the book.

Listen: Gosto do livro.

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'Gosto do livro' contracts 'de' + 'o livro' into 'do livro' — Portuguese always fuses this preposition with the article rather than saying them separately. 'Gostar de' (to like) is a verb that requires 'de' whenever followed by a noun, so 'do/da/dos/das' show up constantly with this verb.

Where English speakers slip

Because 'do' looks like it should rhyme with English 'go' or 'doh', learners default to an open, rounded 'oh' vowel. European Portuguese instead clips it to a short 'oo', and swallows it quickly in the flow of speech — 'gosto do livro' runs together almost as 'goshtudulivru'.