Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

ela is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈɛ.lɐ/. It means “she / her.” EH-lah with a wide-open first vowel, like the e in "bed." Compare the tighter, closed vowel in "ele."

EH-lah with a wide-open first vowel, like the e in "bed." Compare the tighter, closed vowel in "ele."

ela /ˈɛ.lɐ/

Ending in -a, the default rule stresses the second-to-last syllable, "e-," with no accent needed. Notice that neither "ele" nor "ela" is accented in writing even though their stressed vowels differ in openness — Portuguese only writes accents when some other rule demands it, so this crucial contrast goes unmarked on the page.

Listen: ela

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

e An open e — jaw dropped, tongue low-front, the vowel of "bet." Portuguese treats open and closed e as separate sounds, and this pronoun is the textbook minimal pair with its masculine counterpart.

la A true l with the tongue tip on the ridge, since it begins the syllable, and then a final a that lightens toward "uh" but stays clearly present.

Hear it in a sentence

Ela é minha chefe.

She is my boss.

Listen: Ela é minha chefe.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Ela é minha chefe" chains the open vowel of "ela" straight into the open vowel of "é," so the opening of the sentence is a long, wide "eh-LEH." "Chefe" ends the sentence with a ch pronounced "sh" and a final e raised to "ee" — and the word is used for both male and female bosses, with only the article changing.

Where English speakers slip

Using a closed vowel here makes "ela" sound like a mispronounced "ele," and since Portuguese frequently drops subject pronouns, the ones you do say need to be clear. Open the jaw. English speakers also reduce the final a to a schwa so thoroughly it vanishes; Brazilians keep it audible, which is one of the main rhythmic differences from European Portuguese.