Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

pergunta is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [pɨɾˈɡũ.tɐ]. It means “question.” Say "prr-GOON-tuh", with the first syllable almost swallowed and a nasal "oo" on the stressed second syllable.

Say "prr-GOON-tuh", with the first syllable almost swallowed and a nasal "oo" on the stressed second syllable.

pergunta [pɨɾˈɡũ.tɐ]

Stress is on the second syllable "gun", which is nasalized because of the following "n"; the first syllable "per" reduces heavily, and the final "a" reduces to a light central "uh".

Listen: pergunta

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Sound it out

per Unstressed "e" before "r" reduces almost to nothing, so this syllable sounds closer to "prr" than a full "pair".

gun A nasalized "oo" — say "oo" while letting air pass through the nose, similar to the nasal vowel in French "un".

ta A true dental "t" followed by the reduced final "uh".

Hear it in a sentence

Posso fazer-te uma pergunta?

Can I ask you a question?

Listen: Posso fazer-te uma pergunta?

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"Posso fazer-te uma pergunta?" means "Can I ask you a question?" Literally this reads "Can I make you a question", since Portuguese uses fazer (to make/do) rather than a dedicated verb like English "ask"; "-te" is the informal second-person object pronoun attached to the infinitive, following the same hyphenated attachment pattern seen in "diz-me" earlier in this set.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often give the first syllable "per" its full value, as in the English prefix "per-", producing something like "PAIR-goon-tah". In European Portuguese that first syllable is unstressed and heavily reduced, while the true stress and the nasal quality both belong on the second syllable, "gun" — misplacing the stress on "per" is the most common giveaway of a non-native speaker here.