Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

tempo is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈtẽ.pu]. It means “time.” Say "TEM-poo", nasalizing the first vowel like the "en" in French "temps", and ending in a short "oo".

Say "TEM-poo", nasalizing the first vowel like the "en" in French "temps", and ending in a short "oo".

tempo [ˈtẽ.pu]

Stress is on the first syllable "tem", which is nasalized because of the following "m"; the final unstressed "o" is pronounced like a short "oo", not "oh".

Listen: tempo

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Sound it out

t A crisp, unaspirated, true dental "t", tongue against the upper teeth.

em A nasalized "eh" — say "eh" while letting air escape through the nose, similar to the nasal vowel in French "temps" or "vin".

po Unstressed final "o" is pronounced like a short "oo" (as in "book"), not like the "oh" in "toe".

Hear it in a sentence

Não tenho tempo hoje.

I don't have time today.

Listen: Não tenho tempo hoje.

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"Não tenho tempo hoje" means "I don't have time today." This is the everyday idiom "não tenho tempo" (literally "I don't have time"), using ter (to have) rather than any form of estar or ser — a useful reminder that time, in this sense, is treated as a possession in Portuguese just as in English.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often pronounce "tempo" the Italian-musical way they already know, with a clear oral "e" and full final "o" ("TEM-poh"). In European Portuguese the first vowel must be nasalized and the final "o" shortened to "oo" — resist the pull of the familiar loanword pronunciation.