Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

a mala is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a ˈma.lɐ/. It means “suitcase.” ah MAH-lah. A true l in the middle, and both a's stay clear.

ah MAH-lah. A true l in the middle, and both a's stay clear.

a mala /a ˈma.lɐ/

Nothing marked here: the first syllable takes it. The word is a clean l-position test: an intervocalic l stays fully articulated, while the same letter closing a syllable in "mal" or "bolsa" becomes a w. Two syllables, one rule, no other complications.

Listen: a mala

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Sound it out

ma A simple m opening the word, so nothing nasalizes, and a wide-open stressed a. This is the longest sound in the word.

la The l retains its full tongue-tip contact because it opens the syllable rather than closing one — no vocalizing to w here. The final a lightens toward "uh" without disappearing.

Hear it in a sentence

Já fiz a mala.

I already packed my suitcase.

Listen: Já fiz a mala.

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"Já fiz a mala" uses "fazer a mala" as the idiom for packing — Portuguese makes a suitcase rather than packing one. "Já" opens with a soft "zh," and "fiz" ends in a z devoiced to an s, so the sentence has a voiced palatal and an unvoiced sibilant before the plain noun arrives.

Where English speakers slip

Vocalizing the l to "MOW-ah" over-applies the rule. Keep the tongue touching. English speakers also flatten the final a into a schwa. And the idiom is the useful thing to carry away: "fazer as malas" is how Brazilians say they're packing, and a literal translation of "pack" won't get you there.