Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

a esposa is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a isˈpo.zɐ/. It means “wife.” ah iss-POH-zah. The initial e sounds like an i, and the s between vowels buzzes as a z.

ah iss-POH-zah. The initial e sounds like an i, and the s between vowels buzzes as a z.

a esposa /a isˈpo.zɐ/

The "po" carries the accent. The word's real teaching point is sibilant behaviour: one s closes a syllable and stays unvoiced, the other sits between vowels and must buzz. Portuguese decides this by position every time, and no learner rule is needed beyond that.

Listen: a esposa

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Sound it out

a An open "ah" meeting the noun's raised initial vowel, which produces an "ah-iss" glide across the boundary.

es Brazilians raise an unstressed initial e toward "i," so this opens "iss." The s closing the syllable is a plain hiss in most of Brazil and "sh" in Rio.

po Unaspirated p and a closed "oh" carrying the stress. Lips rounded, and hold it — this is the longest sound in the word.

sa A single s between two vowels, so it voices to a z. The final a lightens toward "uh" without disappearing. Notice the word contains two s's with opposite voicing, decided purely by position.

Hear it in a sentence

A esposa dele é minha colega.

His wife is my colleague.

Listen: A esposa dele é minha colega.

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"A esposa dele é minha colega" uses "dele," the fused de-plus-ele that Portuguese requires instead of "de ele." "Colega" is grammatically flexible — it takes "o" or "a" depending on who it refers to, without changing its ending.

Where English speakers slip

Devoicing the middle s gives "iss-POH-sah," which comes from reading rather than listening. It must buzz. The initial e is the second issue: "ess-" is what the spelling suggests and "iss-" is what Brazilians produce. Spanish speakers additionally bring "esposa" with an unvoiced s throughout, so the interference is strong.