Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

aqui is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /aˈki/. It means “here.” ah-KEE. The u after the q is silent, so it's just a k sound.

ah-KEE. The u after the q is silent, so it's just a k sound.

aqui /aˈki/

The stress falls on the final syllable, and this is one of the cases where the default rule doesn't obviously predict it: a word ending in -i is stressed on the last syllable by rule, so no accent is needed. Compare "táxi," which is front-stressed and therefore has to be marked.

Listen: aqui

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Sound it out

a An unstressed open "ah" with nothing in front of it. Short and quick, and it often merges into the preceding word in fluent speech.

qui Before an i, the u in qu is silent and the pair is simply a k. Then a stressed, tense high "ee." The same silence happens before an e, as in "que" and "quente" — only before an a does the u speak up.

Hear it in a sentence

Assine aqui, por favor.

Sign here, please.

Listen: Assine aqui, por favor.

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"Assine aqui, por favor" uses a formal imperative, and "assine" has a double s kept unvoiced plus a raised final e, giving ah-SEE-nee. That "nee" then runs straight into the "ah" of "aqui," so the two words share a single unbroken flow.

Where English speakers slip

An audible u produces "ah-KWEE," which is exactly what an English or Spanish reader expects and never what Portuguese does before an i. There's a three-way distinction to keep straight as well: "aqui" is here by me, "aí" is there by you, and "lá" is over there away from both of us.