Portuguese (Portugal) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

viagem is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [viˈaʒɐ̃j̃]. It means “trip, journey.” Say "vee-A-zheng" — stress the middle syllable, and let the -gem ending buzz and hum through the nose.

Say "vee-A-zheng" — stress the middle syllable, and let the -gem ending buzz and hum through the nose.

viagem [viˈaʒɐ̃j̃]

Stress falls on the second syllable "a"; like bagagem, the ending -gem is a soft, nasalized "zh" sound rather than a hard g or j.

Listen: viagem

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Sound it out

vi- Unstressed, a quick, light "vee" leading into the stressed vowel.

-A- The stressed syllable, a clear, open "ah," said with real emphasis: "A."

-gem Soft g before e, like the "s" in "measure," combined with nasal airflow, giving a trailing "zheng" sound rather than a hard English "g" or "j."

Hear it in a sentence

A viagem foi muito longa.

The trip was very long.

Listen: A viagem foi muito longa.

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"A viagem foi muito longa" uses foi, the preterite of ser, to describe a completed trip's characteristic ("was long") as a finished event, rather than estar, since this is treated as a defining fact about that specific trip. Muito again functions as an adverb ("very") modifying the adjective longa, which agrees in gender with the feminine noun viagem.

Where English speakers slip

As with bagagem, the -gem ending is the main pitfall: it is not a hard "g" as in English "gem," but a soft, buzzing sound like the "s" in "measure," nasalized at the end. English speakers who read the spelling literally tend to produce a much harder consonant, whereas the authentic European sound is softer, breathier, and finishes through the nose rather than snapping shut on the lips or teeth.