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Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "mapa" in Portuguese (Portugal)?
Say "MA-puh" — stress the first syllable clearly, and let the final a soften to a quick "uh."
Stress falls on the first syllable "ma"; the final unstressed a reduces to a short, central [ɐ] sound, closer to "uh" than the open "ah" of the stressed syllable.
Listen: mapa
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Usa o mapa para não te perderes.
Use the map so you don't get lost.
Listen: Usa o mapa para não te perderes.
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"Usa o mapa para não te perderes" gives an informal singular command with usa (from usar), and para não te perderes uses the reflexive verb perder-se ("to get lost") in the negative infinitive-like subjunctive construction typical of purpose clauses. Te is the informal reflexive pronoun matching the tu form perderes.
Where English speakers slip
English speakers often give both a's in mapa the same full, open quality, since English "map" only has one vowel to worry about; European Portuguese instead keeps the stressed first a full and open while shrinking the second, unstressed a to a quicker, more neutral sound. This uneven vowel treatment across a single word is a defining feature of European rhythm and is noticeably flatter and more even in Brazilian pronunciation.