Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

lei is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [lɐj]. It means “law.” Say something between "lay" and "lie" — European Portuguese pulls this diphthong toward an "uh-ee" sound rather than a clean English "ay".

Say something between "lay" and "lie" — European Portuguese pulls this diphthong toward an "uh-ee" sound rather than a clean English "ay".

lei [lɐj]

A single syllable, so no stress placement issue; the key point is the diphthong's exact vowel quality, which is distinctly European.

Listen: lei

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Sound it out

lei The diphthong glides from a central, slightly open "uh" toward "ee" — in European Portuguese this "ei" is typically realized closer to [ɐj] (like "uh-ee") rather than the clearer [ej] ("ay") sound Brazilian Portuguese uses; think of it as a more relaxed, centralized version of English "lay".

Hear it in a sentence

Essa lei é nova.

That law is new.

Listen: Essa lei é nova.

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"Essa lei é nova" uses "essa" (that, feminine, referring to something already mentioned or nearby in the conversation) rather than "aquela" (that, more distant), signaling the law is a known, recently discussed topic. "Nova" placed after the noun (rather than before, as sometimes happens with this adjective) here emphasizes the law's simple newness as a description rather than added emphasis. This is a short, simple "ser" + adjective sentence.

Where English speakers slip

The main pitfall is applying a crisp, clear English/Brazilian "ay" diphthong (as in "lay") when European Portuguese actually centralizes the first vowel toward a schwa-like "uh", making the word sound closer to "luh-ee" than "lay". This same [ei] → [ɐj] shift shows up in many other common words (like "seis", six), so tuning your ear to it here pays off broadly, and it's one of the more reliable audible cues that distinguishes European from Brazilian pronunciation.