Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

a viagem is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a viˈa.ʒẽj̃/. It means “trip / journey.” ah vee-AH-zhayng. Four syllables in the noun, a soft "zh," and a nasal diphthong at the end.

ah vee-AH-zhayng. Four syllables in the noun, a soft "zh," and a nasal diphthong at the end.

a viagem /a viˈa.ʒẽj̃/

Words ending in -em take second-to-last-syllable stress by default, so the weight lands on the "a" and nothing is written. The plural is "viagens," which converts -em to -ens without shifting the accent — the same conversion you see in "homem" becoming "homens."

Listen: a viagem

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Sound it out

vi A proper v and a short high "ee" standing as its own syllable. It does not glide into the vowel after it — the two stay separate.

a A wide-open "ah" carrying the stress, with a genuine seam between it and the i in front. This hiatus is what makes the word four syllables rather than three.

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

Hear it in a sentence

Boa viagem!

Have a good trip!

Listen: Boa viagem!

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"Boa viagem!" is the standard send-off, and "boa" is itself two syllables since an o and an a never fuse. The phrase therefore runs BOH-ah vee-AH-zhayng — five beats for two short words, which surprises learners expecting something snappier.

Where English speakers slip

Squashing "vi-a" into one syllable gives "VYAH-zhayng," which costs a beat. Keep them apart. The hard English g is the second error, and closing the lips on the final m is the third. Spanish speakers reach for "viaje," whose j is a throat sound quite unlike the Portuguese "zh."