Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

começar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ko.meˈsah/. It means “to start / to begin.” koh-meh-SAH. The ç is simply an s, and the stress lands on the final syllable.

koh-meh-SAH. The ç is simply an s, and the stress lands on the final syllable.

começar /ko.meˈsah/

The cedilla is a spelling mechanism rather than a pronunciation quirk. It shows up only before a, o and u, because before e and i the letter c is already soft — which is why "começo" keeps its hook and "comece" drops it. The weight goes to the final syllable.

Listen: começar

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Sound it out

co A hard k before the o and a closed "oh." The c here is hard, which is exactly why the third syllable needs a cedilla to be soft — the letter alone would default to k before that a.

me An m and a closed e, unstressed and light. It bridges the two more prominent syllables around it.

çar The cedilla overrides the default: before an a, a plain c would be a k, so the hook underneath forces an s. The vowel it launches is the stressed one, and the r behind it is air.

Hear it in a sentence

A aula começa agora.

The class is starting now.

Listen: A aula começa agora.

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"A aula começa agora" uses the present tense with stress on the middle syllable, "koh-MEH-sah." "Aula" has two vowels in hiatus at the front and then a vocalized l, so it's roughly "OW-lah." And "começa agora" runs two a's straight together with no break at all.

Where English speakers slip

Learners either ignore the cedilla and say a k, or over-interpret it as some special sound. It's a plain s. English speakers additionally stress the middle syllable of the infinitive, borrowing the rhythm of the present tense. And there's a preposition detail: "começar a" plus an infinitive is the pattern, so "comecei a estudar" needs that little a that English doesn't have.