Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

isso is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈi.su]. It means “that / it (neuter).” Say 'EE-soo' — a clear stressed 'ee' followed by a plain 's' sound and a short 'oo', with no 'sh' anywhere in the word.

Say 'EE-soo' — a clear stressed 'ee' followed by a plain 's' sound and a short 'oo', with no 'sh' anywhere in the word.

isso [ˈi.su]

Stress on the first syllable; because the double 's' sits between two vowels rather than at a syllable edge, it stays a plain, crisp 's' — this word has no 'sh' sound at all, unlike most other 's'-containing words on this list.

Listen: isso

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Sound it out

i Stressed, clear 'ee' vowel, like English 'see'.

ss A plain, sharp 's' sound because it's flanked by vowels on both sides — contrast this with word-final or pre-consonant 's', which becomes 'sh' elsewhere in Portuguese.

o Unstressed final 'o', reduced to a short 'oo' [u].

Hear it in a sentence

O que é isso?

What is that?

Listen: O que é isso?

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'O que é isso?' uses 'isso' for something near the listener rather than the speaker, completing the three-way demonstrative system alongside 'isto' (near the speaker) and 'aquilo' (far from both). It's an extremely common everyday question for pointing at or asking about something.

Where English speakers slip

After learning that EP consistently turns 's' into 'sh' at word edges, learners often over-apply that rule here too and say 'EE-shoo'. But double 's' between vowels is a spelling device that specifically keeps the sound a plain 's' — 'isso' should never have a 'sh' in it, in contrast to 'isto' right next to it on this list, which does.