Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

mas is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [mɐʃ]. It means “but.” Sounds like English 'mush' without the 'oo' — 'muh-sh', with a soft 'a' and a hissing 'sh' at the end, not a hard 's'.

Sounds like English 'mush' without the 'oo' — 'muh-sh', with a soft 'a' and a hissing 'sh' at the end, not a hard 's'.

mas [mɐʃ]

Single syllable, stressed; the word-final 's' is pronounced 'sh' [ʃ], one of the clearest markers of European (vs. Brazilian) pronunciation.

Listen: mas

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Sound it out

m Same as English 'm'.

a A short, central [ɐ] vowel, duller than an open 'ah'.

s At the end of a word, EP turns 's' into a soft 'sh' sound [ʃ], like the 'sh' in English 'wish' — never a hissing English 's'.

Hear it in a sentence

Gosto de ti, mas estou cansado.

I like you, but I'm tired.

Listen: Gosto de ti, mas estou cansado.

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'Gosto de ti, mas estou cansado' uses 'mas' to introduce a contrast, exactly like English 'but'. Note 'gostar de' requires 'de' before its object even when that object is a person ('de ti'), which trips up beginners used to a direct object pattern.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers almost always give the final 's' a hissing English /s/ sound, saying something close to 'mahss'. In Lisbon-standard EP, word-final 's' is consistently 'sh' [ʃ], so 'mas' should sound closer to 'mahsh' — this single sound is one of the most reliable giveaways of a European (versus Brazilian, which keeps a plain 's') accent.