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

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

a hora is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a ˈɔ.ɾa/. It means “hour / time (on the clock).” ah AW-rah. The h is completely silent, so the noun begins on a wide-open vowel.

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

ah AW-rah. The h is completely silent, so the noun begins on a wide-open vowel.

a hora /a ˈɔ.ɾa/

The noun's second-to-last syllable is loud, as the -a ending requires. The phrase is worth learning with its article attached, because the article's vowel and the noun's opening vowel are adjacent with only a silent letter between them — and in speech they merge into a single longer "ah-aw" glide rather than staying separate.

Listen: a hora

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Sound it out

a An open "ah" that runs straight into the noun's own vowel, since the h between them is silent. Nothing separates the two sounds at all.

h Silent. Portuguese h is never pronounced at the start of a word — it survives in the spelling for etymological reasons alone, which is why "hora," "hoje" and "hotel" all effectively begin with vowels.

o A wide-open o, jaw down, and stressed. The openness isn't marked and simply travels with the word.

ra A single tapped r between vowels, then a final a lightening toward "uh." One quick flick of the tongue tip and no more.

Hear it in a sentence

A que horas você chega?

What time do you arrive?

Listen: A que horas você chega?

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"A que horas você chega?" uses the plural "horas" and the fixed phrase "a que horas" for asking the time of an event. The s at the end of "horas" voices to a z before the vowel of "você"— no, before a consonant it stays a hiss, but you'll hear it buzz in phrases like "horas até." "Chega" then opens with "sh."

Where English speakers slip

Aspirating the h is the reliable English error, producing "HOR-ah" with an audible breath. There is nothing there. Closing the stressed o is the second problem, and curling the r is the third. Learners also mix up "hora" and "vez": "hora" is clock time, while "vez" is an occasion, so "uma vez" is once and "uma hora" is an hour.