Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

espelho is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɨʃˈpeʎu/. It means “mirror.” Say "ushh-PEL-yoo" — the first syllable shrinks to a quick "ush", stress lands on "PE", and "lho" sounds like "lyoo".

Say "ushh-PEL-yoo" — the first syllable shrinks to a quick "ush", stress lands on "PE", and "lho" sounds like "lyoo".

espelho /ɨʃˈpeʎu/

Stress falls on "pe"; the pre-stress "e" reduces to a faint [ɨ] and the following "s" becomes "sh" because it sits before a consonant, while "lh" is a single soft, palatal sound like the "lli" in English "million".

Listen: espelho

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Sound it out

es Unstressed opening syllable; the "e" nearly disappears into "uh", and the "s" before a consonant becomes "sh", together sounding like a quick "ush".

PE Stressed syllable with a closed "e", similar to the vowel in English "say" without the glide.

lho "Lh" is one soft palatal sound, like the "lli" in English "million" — never pronounced as separate "l" and "h" sounds; the final "o" tightens toward "oo".

Hear it in a sentence

Olha-te ao espelho.

Look at yourself in the mirror.

Listen: Olha-te ao espelho.

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"Olha-te ao espelho" ("Look at yourself in the mirror") uses the reflexive imperative "olha-te" (from "olhar-se", to look at oneself) plus "ao" contracting "a" + "o" before the masculine noun "espelho". This is a handy everyday reflexive construction, common in instructions and casual advice.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often try to pronounce "lh" as two separate sounds, an "l" followed by an "h", which doesn't exist in English and comes out garbled. Portuguese "lh" is a single palatal consonant, produced with the tongue spread against the roof of the mouth, much like the "lli" sound in English "million" or "billion" — practice isolating that single sound rather than blending "l" and "h" separately.