Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "alto" in Portuguese (Brazil)?

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

alto is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈaw.tu/. It means “tall / high.” OW-too, rhyming with "outer." The l becomes a w, so the word starts like English "owl" without the l.

OW-too, rhyming with "outer." The l becomes a w, so the word starts like English "owl" without the l.

alto /ˈaw.tu/

The glide-heavy opening syllable carries everything. What makes the word instructive is where the vocalized l falls: right inside the stressed syllable, which proves the change isn't a weakening that happens only in unstressed positions. Brazilian l vocalizes wherever it closes a syllable, loud or quiet.

Listen: alto

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Sound it out

al An open a followed by an l that closes the syllable and therefore vocalizes fully to w. The pair comes out as the diphthong in "cow," and it takes all the weight.

to A hard t and a final "oo." After the glide that opens the word, this syllable is short and unremarkable.

Hear it in a sentence

Aquele prédio é muito alto.

That building is very tall.

Listen: Aquele prédio é muito alto.

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"Aquele prédio é muito alto" contains "prédio," a three-syllable word with an accent marking third-from-last stress and a hiatus at the end — PREH-djee-oo, with the d palatalized before the i. Against that, "alto" is simple, but the vocalized l is easy to miss.

Where English speakers slip

Saying a real l gives "AL-toh," which is what English and Spanish both suggest and what Brazil never does. Think "OW-too." The word also splits its meaning: it covers both tall and loud, so "fala alto" means speak up, not speak from a great height — a source of genuine confusion for beginners.