Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

nove is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈnɔvɨ]. It means “nine.” Say "NAW-vuh" — the stressed "o" is open like in "not," and the final "e" is a faint, swallowed "uh," not a full "eh."

Say "NAW-vuh" — the stressed "o" is open like in "not," and the final "e" is a faint, swallowed "uh," not a full "eh."

nove [ˈnɔvɨ]

Stress falls on the first syllable, whose "o" is open; the final unstressed "e" reduces to a near-silent schwa, a defining EU Portuguese trait.

Listen: nove

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Sound it out

no The stressed "o" is open, like the "o" in English "not" or "dog," not the closed "oh" of "note."

v A regular English-style "v" sound, as in "van."

e This final unstressed "e" collapses to a light "uh" sound, often barely audible.

Hear it in a sentence

Tenho nove anos de experiência.

I have nine years of experience.

Listen: Tenho nove anos de experiência.

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"Tenho nove anos de experiência" means "I have nine years of experience." Note that Portuguese uses "ter" (to have) plus a number of years to state age or duration, the same construction used for saying how old someone is ("Tenho vinte anos" = "I am twenty years old"), so this pattern is worth learning well beyond just this sentence.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pronounce the stressed "o" as closed (like "note") instead of open (like "not"), and give the final "e" its full value. Both habits are more typical of a careful, spelling-based reading than of natural European speech, where the vowel is open and the ending is nearly swallowed — Brazilian Portuguese tends to keep that final "e" clearer, so relying on Brazilian pronunciation habits will make this word sound too fully articulated.