Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

táxi is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ˈtaksi]. It means “taxi.” Say "TAK-see" — stress the first syllable, and pronounce the x like the "x" in English "taxi," a "ks" sound.

Say "TAK-see" — stress the first syllable, and pronounce the x like the "x" in English "taxi," a "ks" sound.

táxi [ˈtaksi]

Stress falls on the first syllable, marked by the accent on á; unlike many Portuguese words with x, here x is pronounced [ks], as in English, rather than [ʃ].

Listen: táxi

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Sound it out

tá- The stressed syllable, a full open "ah" as in "father": "TAH."

-xi The x sounds like "ks," and the final i is a crisp, clear "ee," giving "ksee" — so overall the word lands close to the English pronunciation, "TAK-see."

Hear it in a sentence

Vamos apanhar um táxi.

Let's take a taxi.

Listen: Vamos apanhar um táxi.

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"Vamos apanhar um táxi" uses vamos plus an infinitive (apanhar, "to catch/take") as a common way to express near-future or suggested action, similar to English "let's/we're going to." Apanhar is the standard European Portuguese verb for "to catch" a taxi or bus, where Brazilian Portuguese would more often use pegar.

Where English speakers slip

Because táxi is a recognizable loanword, most learners get the sound right by relying on English intuition — but they sometimes misplace the stress or soften the x into a "sh" sound by over-applying the pattern from words like caixa. Here the x keeps its "ks" value and the stress firmly stays on the first syllable, so it is one of the few words in this set that behaves almost exactly as an English speaker would expect.