Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

curioso is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ku.ɾiˈo.zu/. It means “curious.” koo-ree-OH-zoo. Four syllables — the i and o stay apart — and the s buzzes as a z.

koo-ree-OH-zoo. Four syllables — the i and o stay apart — and the s buzzes as a z.

curioso /ku.ɾiˈo.zu/

Four beats, with the third loudest and the i and o in hiatus. That split is what gives the word four beats — the same structure as "vazio" and "frio," where a high vowel refuses to glide into the one beside it.

Listen: curioso

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Sound it out

cu An unaspirated hard k before the u and a rounded "oo," unstressed but fully rounded rather than reduced.

ri One flick of the tongue tip between vowels, then a short high "ee" standing as its own syllable. Not the throat-h a word-initial r would give.

o A closed "oh" carrying the stress, with a genuine seam between it and the i in front. The two vowels do not fuse.

so A single s between two vowels, so it buzzes as a z, closing on an "oo" rather than the "oh" the spelling promises.

Hear it in a sentence

Ela é curiosa sobre tudo.

She is curious about everything.

Listen: Ela é curiosa sobre tudo.

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"Ela é curiosa sobre tudo" agrees the adjective with the feminine subject. "Sobre" has a tapped r in its cluster and a raised final e, and "tudo" keeps both consonants hard — so the sentence ends on three quite plain syllables after the busier adjective.

Where English speakers slip

Squashing "ri-o" into one syllable gives "koo-RYOH-zoo," costing a beat, and devoicing the s gives "koo-ree-OH-soo." Both are common. Note also that "curioso" carries a slight second sense of odd or strange in Portuguese, so "que curioso" can mean how peculiar rather than how inquisitive.