How to Pronounce 'Encontrar': Portuguese (Portugal) Pronunciation Guide

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

encontrar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ẽkõˈtɾaɾ]. It means “to find.” Say "eh(n)-koh(n)-TRAR" — both early vowels are nasalized, and the stress lands firmly on the last syllable.

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

Say "eh(n)-koh(n)-TRAR" — both early vowels are nasalized, and the stress lands firmly on the last syllable.

encontrar [ẽkõˈtɾaɾ]

Stress falls on the final -trar; both en- and con- are nasal vowels rather than vowel-plus-consonant sequences, so neither n is pronounced as a hard English n.

Listen: encontrar

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Sound it out

en- A nasal vowel, close to a nasalized 'eh' — air flows through the nose during the vowel itself, with no separate n sound closing the syllable.

con- Also nasal, a nasalized 'oh' rather than English "con" with a hard n; think of the vowel resonating in the nose rather than being followed by a consonant.

-trar Stressed: a crisp dental t (tongue at the teeth), then a rolled-together tr cluster, an open 'ah', and a soft final r.

Hear it in a sentence

Onde posso encontrar um táxi?

Where can I find a taxi?

Listen: Onde posso encontrar um táxi?

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"Onde posso encontrar um táxi?" ("Where can I find a taxi?") shows encontrar meaning "to find" in a practical, everyday sense — it's the natural verb for locating something concrete like transport, distinct from descobrir ("to discover") which suggests uncovering something previously unknown. Posso is the first-person present of poder ("to be able to"), forming a modal-verb-plus-infinitive structure identical to English "can find".

Where English speakers slip

The recurring mistake is treating en- and con- as English syllables with a hard, clearly-articulated n, producing "en-KON-trar" with crisp consonants; correct European Portuguese nasalizes both vowels smoothly with no consonant closure, giving the word a hummed, through-the-nose quality across both unstressed syllables.