Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

a passagem is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a paˈsa.ʒẽj̃/. It means “ticket (for travel).” ah pah-SAH-zhayng. The double s is one plain hiss and the g is a soft "zh."

ah pah-SAH-zhayng. The double s is one plain hiss and the g is a soft "zh."

a passagem /a paˈsa.ʒẽj̃/

Words ending in -em take second-to-last-syllable stress by default, so the weight lands on "-ssa-" and nothing is marked. The plural is "passagens," converting -em to -ens without moving the accent — the same conversion as "viagem" to "viagens."

Listen: a passagem

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

pa A dry p and an open "ah," unstressed but clearly pronounced.

ssa Doubled s to keep the sound unvoiced between vowels — a single s there would buzz — and the wide-open stressed a behind it.

gem The g is a soft "zh" because an e follows, and "-em" is the nasal diphthong "ayng." The lips stay apart, so no m is ever produced.

Hear it in a sentence

Comprei a passagem de ônibus.

I bought the bus ticket.

Listen: Comprei a passagem de ônibus.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Comprei a passagem de ônibus" uses "de" pronounced "djee" and then "ônibus," accented three syllables from the end with a nasal first vowel. The "de ônibus" phrase links across a vowel boundary, so it flows as one unit.

Where English speakers slip

The hard English g gives "pah-SAH-gem," wrong on the consonant and the ending both. It's "zh" and an open nasal. Lengthening the double s is the third slip. And the word means a travel ticket specifically — a cinema ticket is "ingresso," which learners often conflate.