Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

primavera is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [pɾimɐˈvɛɾɐ]. It means “spring.” Say "pree-muh-VEH-ruh", with both a's reduced to a quick "uh" and the stress landing hard on the third syllable VE.

Say "pree-muh-VEH-ruh", with both a's reduced to a quick "uh" and the stress landing hard on the third syllable VE.

primavera [pɾimɐˈvɛɾɐ]

Stress falls on VE (the syllable with the open e); both unstressed a's shrink to a neutral "uh" sound rather than the full English "ah".

Listen: primavera

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Sound it out

pri- A clear, unreduced "pree" — the i is stressed-adjacent so it stays crisp, unlike Portuguese unstressed vowels.

-ma- This unstressed a collapses to "uh", not the open "ah" an English speaker expects from the letter a.

-VE-ra VE is stressed and open, like "veh"; the final -ra has its a reduced again to "uh", and the r is a light single tap.

Hear it in a sentence

As flores nascem na primavera.

Flowers bloom in spring.

Listen: As flores nascem na primavera.

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"As flores nascem na primavera" shows the reflexive-feeling but actually simple verb nascer (to be born/bloom) used for flowers blooming, paired with na (em + a, "in the"), since primavera takes a definite article in Portuguese where English often omits one. The plural subject as flores correctly triggers the third-person plural verb form nascem.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often stress the second syllable ("pri-MA-vera", influenced by the English word "primary") instead of the third; European Portuguese firmly stresses -VE-, and both surrounding a's must be reduced to "uh" rather than pronounced as full, open vowels the way a Brazilian speaker might render them slightly more clearly.