Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

um is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [ũ]. It means “a/an.” Say a short nasal 'oo' sound through your nose, like the 'oo' in 'moon' but nasalized — there's no separate 'm' sound at the end, just nasal resonance.

Say a short nasal 'oo' sound through your nose, like the 'oo' in 'moon' but nasalized — there's no separate 'm' sound at the end, just nasal resonance.

um [ũ]

Single syllable, inherently stressed; the final 'm' isn't pronounced as a consonant — it's a spelling cue that nasalizes the vowel.

Listen: um

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Sound it out

u A rounded 'oo' vowel, similar to English 'oo' in 'boot' but shorter.

m Doesn't get pronounced as a closed-lips 'm' — instead it signals that the vowel before it is nasalized, like saying 'oo' while air also passes through your nose.

Hear it in a sentence

Quero um copo de água.

I want a glass of water.

Listen: Quero um copo de água.

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'Quero um copo de água' shows 'um' functioning as the indefinite article before a masculine noun ('copo'). Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender, so 'um' pairs with masculine words while 'uma' pairs with feminine ones. As a beginner, memorize the gender of each noun alongside the word itself, since there's no easy shortcut.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often pronounce 'um' as 'oom' with a clear final /m/ closure, the way English 'room' ends. In European Portuguese, the 'm' is never released as a consonant here — it just nasalizes the vowel, so your lips shouldn't fully close at the end. Brazilian speakers nasalize similarly, so this one doesn't differ much across dialects.