Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

chegar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ʃeˈgah/. It means “to arrive.” sheh-GAH. Starts with "sh," has a hard g, and ends with a breath rather than an r.

sheh-GAH. Starts with "sh," has a hard g, and ends with a breath rather than an r.

chegar /ʃeˈgah/

The g creates a spelling wrinkle right across the paradigm. To keep it hard before an e, Portuguese wedges in a silent u, so the subjunctive is written "chegue" rather than "chege" — the same trick that makes "que" a plain k. Stress sits on the final syllable.

Listen: chegar

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Sound it out

che The ch is "sh," as it always is in Portuguese, followed by a closed e. Nothing here resembles the English ch of "cheese."

gar Hard g, because an a follows — before an e or i it would be "zh," which is why the conjugated forms need a patched spelling. The vowel is wide and loud, the final r is air.

Hear it in a sentence

O trem chega às seis.

The train arrives at six.

Listen: O trem chega às seis.

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"O trem chega às seis" uses the present tense, stressed on the first syllable: "SHEH-gah." "Às" is the merged preposition and article with a grave accent, and it links into "seis" so the two s-sounds nearly fuse. "Trem" itself is a nasal "treyng" with no closing consonant.

Where English speakers slip

The ch is the obvious hazard — "cheh-GAR" with an English ch is the reflex for anyone who hasn't internalized the rule. It's "sh." Learners also mix up "chegar" and "chegar em": Brazilians say "cheguei em casa" where European Portuguese prefers "a casa," so the preposition varies by variety and "em" is the Brazilian choice.