Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

a palavra is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a paˈla.vɾɐ/. It means “word.” ah pah-LAH-vrah. A tight vr cluster with a single tapped r.

ah pah-LAH-vrah. A tight vr cluster with a single tapped r.

a palavra /a paˈla.vɾɐ/

Three syllables, and the middle one carries it. The word's shape is worth noting: three syllables, with the last one cramming a v, a tap and a vowel into a single unstressed beat. Portuguese packs clusters into weak positions comfortably, which is part of why the language sounds faster than it is.

Listen: a palavra

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Sound it out

pa A clean p and an open "ah," unstressed. Hold back the puff of air English adds after p.

la The l keeps genuine tongue contact since it opens the syllable, and the wide-open a behind it takes the stress.

vra A v followed instantly by a tap, then a final a relaxing toward "uh." The cluster must be tight — an inserted vowel would add a syllable that isn't there.

Hear it in a sentence

Essa palavra é difícil.

That word is difficult.

Listen: Essa palavra é difícil.

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"Essa palavra é difícil" links the noun's final "uh" into the open vowel of "é." "Difícil" then delivers a palatalized "djee" at the front and a vocalized l at the back, so the sentence ends on a glide after three fairly plain a-heavy syllables.

Where English speakers slip

Breaking the vr cluster gives "pah-LAH-vuh-rah," four syllables where there are three. Keep it tight. Spanish speakers have "palabra" with a b where Portuguese has a v — a genuine cognate difference rather than a slip — and they tend to roll the r as well.