How to Pronounce 'A Cor': Portuguese (Brazil) Pronunciation Guide

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

a cor is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a ˈkoh/. It means “color.” ah KOH. One syllable in the noun, and the r at the end is a puff of breath rather than any English r.

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

ah KOH. One syllable in the noun, and the r at the end is a puff of breath rather than any English r.

a cor /a ˈkoh/

"Cor" ends in r and has one syllable, so it takes the stress and needs no written accent — consistent with the rule that r-final words are stressed on their last syllable. The article "a" leans on it without stress of its own, so the phrase has a light-then-heavy rhythm.

Listen: a cor

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Sound it out

a One open "ah" leaning forward onto the noun. Its presence is the only signal that "cor" is feminine, which matters because every colour adjective attached to it has to agree.

co A hard k — c before o always is — and a closed "oh" with rounded lips. Short and firm, since this monosyllable carries all the weight of the phrase.

r Syllable-final r in Brazil becomes a soft h from the throat, the sound in "aha." In some interior regions it's a retroflex, almost American-sounding r, but the standard urban pronunciation is the breathy h.

Hear it in a sentence

Qual é a sua cor favorita?

What's your favorite color?

Listen: Qual é a sua cor favorita?

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"Qual é a sua cor favorita?" strings four unstressed vowels in a row through "é a sua," and Brazilians run them together into a single flowing glide rather than pronouncing each separately. Note the é carries an acute accent marking an open vowel, and "favorita" agrees in gender with the feminine "cor."

Where English speakers slip

The English "core" with its curled r is the standard mispronunciation, and it's audible from across a room. Release the r as breath: "koh." There's also a gender trap — "cor" ends in a consonant, which usually signals masculine in Romance languages, but it's feminine in Portuguese, so "a cor" and "cor vermelha" are what you need.