Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

peixe is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈpɐjʃɨ]. It means “fish.” Say "PYE-shuh" quickly, with the ei sounding closer to "eye" pulled toward "uh", and the x as an English "sh".

Say "PYE-shuh" quickly, with the ei sounding closer to "eye" pulled toward "uh", and the x as an English "sh".

peixe [ˈpɐjʃɨ]

Stress is on the first syllable; the digraph ei is a diphthong pronounced with a lowered starting vowel in European Portuguese (closer to [ɐj] than a crisp "ay"), and x here represents "sh".

Listen: peixe

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Sound it out

pei- The ei diphthong in Lisbon speech starts from a more central, lowered vowel, giving something between "pie" and "pey" rather than a clean English "pay".

x Pronounced as "sh", as in English "shoe" — a common trap since x looks like it should be "ks" or "z".

-e The final e is barely audible, a near-silent "uh", typical of European Portuguese word endings.

Hear it in a sentence

Compramos peixe fresco no mercado.

We buy fresh fish at the market.

Listen: Compramos peixe fresco no mercado.

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"Compramos peixe fresco no mercado" uses peixe as a mass/uncountable noun (fish as food, not "a fish"), so it takes no article, just as English says "we buy fish" rather than "a fish". Fresco (fresh) agrees in gender with peixe (masculine), and no mercado again shows the em + o = no contraction.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pronounce x as "ks" or "z" by analogy with English or Spanish, but in this word it must be the "sh" sound; additionally, the ei diphthong is more relaxed and centralized in European Portuguese than the fuller, brighter "ay" often heard in Brazilian pronunciation of the same word.