Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

estou bem is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [(ɨ)ʃˈtow ˈbɐ̃j̃]. It means “fine.” shtoh beng — 'estou' almost drops its first vowel like 'estás' does, sounding close to 'shtoh'; 'bem' is nasalized, ending with a light nasal trail rather than a closed-lip 'm'.

shtoh beng — 'estou' almost drops its first vowel like 'estás' does, sounding close to 'shtoh'; 'bem' is nasalized, ending with a light nasal trail rather than a closed-lip 'm'.

estou bem [(ɨ)ʃˈtow ˈbɐ̃j̃]

Stress falls on 'tou' in 'estou' (essentially the only fully heard syllable, since 'es-' reduces heavily); 'bem' is a single nasalized syllable with its own natural stress.

Listen: estou bem

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

es Just like in 'estás', this unstressed opening reduces almost to nothing, with the 's' becoming 'sh' — often barely more than a quick 'sh' sound.

tou Stressed syllable: true dental 't', then the diphthong 'ou', pronounced as a closed 'oh' gliding to 'oo' — like the vowel in English 'so' but tighter.

bem 'b' as in English, then a nasalized vowel between 'e' and 'a', ending in a light nasal glide rather than a firm lip-closing 'm' — similar to the nasal quality in French 'bien'.

Hear it in a sentence

Estou bem, obrigado.

I'm fine, thank you.

Listen: Estou bem, obrigado.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Estou bem" uses "estar" (a verb for temporary states) rather than "ser" (permanent being), reflecting that how you feel is grammatically treated as temporary in Portuguese. "Obrigado" is often tacked on, as shown in the example, to make the reply warmer.

Where English speakers slip

Two traps stack here: over-reducing "estou" until it's unrecognizable (aim for "shtoh," not a full "es-TOH"), and pronouncing "bem" with a hard closed "m" like English "bem"; it must stay a nasal vowel with no lip closure, closer to a nasalized "beng" than "bem".