Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

irmã is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [iɾˈmɐ̃]. It means “sister.” Say "eer-MÃ", with the last syllable nasalized like a short, open "uh" pushed through the nose.

Say "eer-MÃ", with the last syllable nasalized like a short, open "uh" pushed through the nose.

irmã [iɾˈmɐ̃]

Stress falls on the final syllable, which is a simple nasal vowel (no diphthong glide, unlike its counterpart "irmão").

Listen: irmã

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Sound it out

ir Unstressed, a quick "eer" with a light tapped r.

mã A single nasal vowel, an open "ah" pushed through the nose — shorter and more contained than the diphthong in "irmão", with no glide at the end.

Hear it in a sentence

A minha irmã estuda medicina.

My sister studies medicine.

Listen: A minha irmã estuda medicina.

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"A minha irmã estuda medicina" uses "estuda" (studies, from "estudar") with "medicina" needing no article in Portuguese, unlike some contexts in English where you might say "studies the medicine" — fields of study are typically bare nouns. As with "mãe", the possessive keeps its definite article: "a minha irmã", literally "the my sister".

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pronounce "irmã" with a full English "ah" and no nasal quality, making it sound like "eer-MAH" instead of a proper nasal vowel. It's easy to confuse the ending with "irmão"'s diphthong too, adding an unwanted glide — "irmã" should stay a clean single nasal vowel, with no "w" sound tacked on at the end.