Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

praia is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈpɾajɐ]. It means “beach.” Say "PRY-uh", almost like the English word "pry" with an extra soft "uh" tacked on at the end.

Say "PRY-uh", almost like the English word "pry" with an extra soft "uh" tacked on at the end.

praia [ˈpɾajɐ]

Stress is on the first syllable, which contains the diphthong ai (pronounced like English "eye"); the final a is unstressed and reduces to "uh".

Listen: praia

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Sound it out

pr- A straightforward consonant cluster, as in English "pr" in "pray", with a light tapped r.

-ai- A diphthong pronounced like the English word "eye" or "pie", gliding from open a to i.

-a Unstressed final a, reduced to a soft "uh".

Hear it in a sentence

Vamos à praia amanhã.

We're going to the beach tomorrow.

Listen: Vamos à praia amanhã.

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"Vamos à praia amanhã" uses ir a (to go to) contracted as à (a + a, preposition plus feminine article) before praia, and amanhã (tomorrow) is placed at the end as is typical for time expressions in Portuguese. This sentence is a common everyday invitation structure worth memorizing as a template for other outings.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers sometimes split the ai into two separate vowel sounds or shorten it, but it should flow as one smooth diphthong like the English word "eye"; the ending -a should also stay reduced to "uh" rather than being pronounced as a full, clear "ah", which would sound overly deliberate and non-native.