Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

repleto is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ʁɨ'plɛtu]. It means “full (of something).” Say "huh-PLEH-too," starting with that throaty, guttural r sound (since word-initial r is always strong in Portuguese), not a tap.

Say "huh-PLEH-too," starting with that throaty, guttural r sound (since word-initial r is always strong in Portuguese), not a tap.

repleto [ʁɨ'plɛtu]

Stress falls on PLE; word-initial r is always pronounced as the strong, guttural uvular fricative, and the first e reduces to a near-silent schwa.

Listen: repleto

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Sound it out

re Word-initial r in Portuguese is always the strong, throaty sound (like the rr in "correto" or "errado"), similar to French r or a soft gargle — followed by a barely-voiced, swallowed e.

ple A crisp p plus l, followed by an open "eh" — this is the stressed syllable, so it should stand out clearly against the reduced syllables around it.

to A true dental t plus the reduced "oo" ending.

Hear it in a sentence

O copo está repleto de água.

The glass is full of water.

Listen: O copo está repleto de água.

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"O copo está repleto de água" (The glass is full of water) pairs "repleto" with "de" to specify what the container is full of, a pattern that carries over to other "full of X" expressions in Portuguese. "Repleto" is a slightly more formal or emphatic synonym for "cheio" (full), useful for learners to recognize in writing even if "cheio" is more common in casual speech.

Where English speakers slip

Because this word starts with r, English speakers frequently default to the English r sound at the beginning, producing something like "REH-play-toh." But any word-initial r in Portuguese — with no exceptions — takes the strong, guttural uvular pronunciation, the same sound used for rr in the middle of words like "correto." Skipping this makes the very first sound of the word noticeably non-native.