Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

na is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /nɐ/. It means “in the / on the (f.).” NAH, one quick syllable. It's the preposition em fused with the feminine article a, and the m disappears completely.

NAH, one quick syllable. It's the preposition em fused with the feminine article a, and the m disappears completely.

na /nɐ/

This is an unstressed function word that attaches to whatever noun follows it. It belongs to a set worth memorizing whole: no, na, nos, nas from em plus the articles, and num, numa from em plus the indefinites. All of them are quick and light, and none takes an accent.

Listen: na

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Sound it out

n A straightforward n with the tongue on the ridge behind the teeth. It's the only surviving trace of the "em" that went into this contraction — the nasal vowel itself is gone.

a An open "ah," unstressed and short. It does not become nasal despite the n in front of it: nasalization in Portuguese spreads backward from a following n, not forward from a preceding one.

Hear it in a sentence

As chaves estão na mesa.

The keys are on the table.

Listen: As chaves estão na mesa.

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"As chaves estão na mesa" puts the contraction between a verb and a noun, and the linking is smooth — "ish-TOWNG-nah-MEH-zah." Two things to notice elsewhere in the sentence: "chaves" starts with ch, which is always "sh," and "estão" ends in the nasal diphthong -ão carrying the stress.

Where English speakers slip

The temptation is to write and say "em a," which Portuguese does not permit — the contraction is obligatory. Beginners also nasalize the vowel by association with "não" or "em," producing "nahng." This vowel is completely oral. Finally, watch the gender: "na mesa" but "no chão," and picking the wrong one is a small error that natives catch immediately.