Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

fechar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /feˈʃah/. It means “to close.” feh-SHAH. The ch is a "sh" sound, and the final r fades to breath.

feh-SHAH. The ch is a "sh" sound, and the final r fades to breath.

fechar /feˈʃah/

Like "abrir," this verb's participle earns its keep twice over: "fechado" is the ordinary adjective for closed, stressed on its own second-to-last syllable by the standard -o rule. The infinitive is end-weighted.

Listen: fechar

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

Sound it out

fe An f and a closed e. Unstressed and short, but the vowel stays a genuine "eh" rather than collapsing into a mumble.

char The ch is "sh," as it is in every native Portuguese word, and the vowel after it is the stressed, jaw-dropped one. The r that follows is a soft escape of air.

Hear it in a sentence

Feche a porta, por favor.

Close the door, please.

Listen: Feche a porta, por favor.

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

"Feche a porta, por favor" gives the imperative, stressed on the first syllable — "FEH-shee" — with the final e raised to i. That verb then links straight into the article "a," and "porta" and "favor" both contain syllable-final r's rendered as breath, so the sentence has three soft r's and no hard ones.

Where English speakers slip

Reading ch as English "ch" gives "feh-CHAR," which is the reflex for anyone who learned Spanish or Italian first. Portuguese ch is "sh" without exception. English speakers also stress the first syllable, and Spanish speakers may import "cerrar," a completely different verb, when reaching for the concept.