Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

doze is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈdozɨ]. It means “twelve.” Say "DOH-zuh," with a closed "o" like in "go" and a final "e" that fades to almost nothing.

Say "DOH-zuh," with a closed "o" like in "go" and a final "e" that fades to almost nothing.

doze [ˈdozɨ]

Stress is on the first syllable, whose "o" is closed (not open); the final unstressed "e" reduces to a faint schwa.

Listen: doze

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Sound it out

do A true dental "d" plus a closed "o," like the vowel in English "go" but shorter and without the glide.

z A plain voiced "z" sound, as in English "zoo."

e This final unstressed "e" reduces to a light "uh," often nearly silent.

Hear it in a sentence

Há doze meses num ano.

There are twelve months in a year.

Listen: Há doze meses num ano.

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"Há doze meses num ano" means "There are twelve months in a year." "Há" is the impersonal form of "haver," used the way English uses "there is/are"; "num" is a contraction of "em" (in) plus "um" (a/one), a very common fusion in everyday speech.

Where English speakers slip

The main risk is giving the final "e" a full, clear vowel sound, which makes the word sound over-enunciated and textbook-like rather than natural. It also helps to keep the stressed "o" closed rather than opening it toward the vowel in "nove" — the two numbers sound quite different in EU Portuguese, and mixing up open versus closed "o" is a subtle but real pronunciation trap for learners.