Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "a chuva" in Portuguese (Brazil)?

Q: How do you pronounce a chuva in Portuguese (Brazil)?

a chuva is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a ˈʃu.vɐ/. It means “rain.” ah SHOO-vah. The ch is a "sh," never the English ch of "chair."

ah SHOO-vah. The ch is a "sh," never the English ch of "chair."

a chuva /a ˈʃu.vɐ/

The default lands on "chu-," as it does for any word ending in -a. The related verb "chover" moves the weight to its final syllable, which is the usual noun-verb rhythm swap in Portuguese — and both keep the "sh" untouched.

Listen: a chuva

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Sound it out

a Feminine article, open and unstressed, gone in an instant before the noun.

chu The ch is "sh" — always, in every native Portuguese word — and the rounded "oo" behind it takes the stress. Lips pushed forward for the vowel.

va A voiced v with teeth on lip, and a last a easing toward "uh." Portuguese keeps v and b strictly distinct, unlike Spanish.

Hear it in a sentence

A chuva não para.

The rain won't stop.

Listen: A chuva não para.

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"A chuva não para" uses "parar" in the sense of stopping, and "para" here is the verb rather than the preposition — same spelling, same sound, and only the grammar tells them apart. "Não" contributes its nasal diphthong between the two.

Where English speakers slip

Reading ch as English "ch" gives "CHOO-vah," which is the reflex for anyone arriving from Spanish or Italian. Make it "sh." Spanish speakers additionally reach for "lluvia," which shares an ancestor and transfers nothing useful — and its ll would be an lh in Portuguese, not a ch.