Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

pássaro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈpasɐɾu]. It means “bird.” Say "PAH-suh-roo", stressing the very first syllable hard (that's what the accent mark on á tells you), with both later vowels reduced.

Say "PAH-suh-roo", stressing the very first syllable hard (that's what the accent mark on á tells you), with both later vowels reduced.

pássaro [ˈpasɐɾu]

The accent on á marks irregular stress on the first syllable of this three-syllable word; without it, stress would normally fall on the second-to-last syllable.

Listen: pássaro

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Sound it out

PÁS- Stressed and open, "pah", held clearly since the accent mark makes this syllable the anchor of the word.

-sa- Unstressed, reduces to "suh" rather than a clear "sah".

-ro Final unstressed syllable with a light tapped r, reducing to "roo".

Hear it in a sentence

Há um pássaro na árvore.

There's a bird in the tree.

Listen: Há um pássaro na árvore.

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"Há um pássaro na árvore" uses the impersonal verb haver ("há", there is/are) to express existence, a very common construction in European Portuguese for "there is a...". Na árvore contracts em + a into na, and árvore (tree) is itself another word with an irregular accent marking first-syllable stress, worth noting as a pattern.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often default to stressing the second syllable, "pas-SA-ro", following the more familiar rhythm of longer words; the accent mark firmly requires first-syllable stress, PÁS-sa-ro, and getting this wrong is one of the more noticeable errors for a Portuguese listener, in both European and Brazilian varieties alike.