Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

caro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈka.ɾu/. It means “expensive.” KAH-roo with a single flicked r — one tap, not a roll and not an English r.

KAH-roo with a single flicked r — one tap, not a roll and not an English r.

caro /ˈka.ɾu/

KAH-roo, loud on the first beat. The single r is the thing to hold onto: had the spelling doubled it, "carro" would be a completely different word meaning car, pronounced with a throaty h instead of a tap. One letter separates expensive from automobile.

Listen: caro

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Sound it out

ca Hard k before the a, unaspirated, then the stressed wide-open vowel. Hold back the puff of air English adds after k and the syllable immediately sounds more Portuguese.

ro One r between two vowels means one quick tap of the tongue tip — the same motion as the middle of American "city." The o behind it raises to "oo."

Hear it in a sentence

Esse hotel é muito caro.

That hotel is very expensive.

Listen: Esse hotel é muito caro.

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"Esse hotel é muito caro" ends on the tapped r, and "hotel" earlier gives you a silent h plus a vocalized final l, so it's oh-TEW. Between them, "muito" sneaks in its unwritten nasal — so the sentence contains a silent letter, an invisible nasal and a vocalized l in eight syllables.

Where English speakers slip

The caro/carro pair is the practical danger: rolling or throat-h-ing this r turns "expensive" into "car." One tap only. English speakers separately produce "KAR-oh" with a bunched r and an unraised final vowel, missing both halves of the word's second syllable.