Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

tarde is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈtaɾdɨ]. It means “late.” Say "TAR-duh" — stress the first syllable, with a tapped "r" and a barely-there final "e".

Say "TAR-duh" — stress the first syllable, with a tapped "r" and a barely-there final "e".

tarde [ˈtaɾdɨ]

Stress falls on the first syllable; the final "e" reduces almost to silence, so the word ends closer to "tard" than "tar-day".

Listen: tarde

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Sound it out

tar Stressed syllable with a true dental "t" and a single tapped "r", like a quick flick of the tongue.

d A crisp dental "d", tongue at the upper teeth.

e Unstressed final vowel, reduced almost to nothing — a faint "uh" at most.

Hear it in a sentence

Chegaste tarde outra vez.

You arrived late again.

Listen: Chegaste tarde outra vez.

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"Chegaste tarde outra vez" (You arrived late again) uses "tarde" as an adverb of manner/time meaning "late", modifying the verb "chegaste" (you arrived, informal "tu" form). "Outra vez" (again) is a fixed phrase worth memorizing as a chunk for expressing repetition.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pronounce the final "e" as a full, clear vowel similar to "day", when in Lisbon speech it's dramatically reduced, almost swallowed, so "tarde" sounds closer to a clipped "tard" than a two-beat "TAR-day". This heavy final-vowel reduction is one of the most distinctive features separating European from Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation.