Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "o cachorro" in Portuguese (Brazil)?

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

o cachorro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u kaˈʃo.hu/. It means “dog.” oo kah-SHOH-hoo. The ch is a "sh" and the double rr is a throaty h.

oo kah-SHOH-hoo. The ch is a "sh" and the double rr is a throaty h.

o cachorro /u kaˈʃo.hu/

Put the weight on the middle syllable, by the -o default. The word packs two of Portuguese's most misread spellings into three syllables — ch for "sh" and rr for a throat-h — which makes it an unusually good diagnostic for whether the consonant rules have settled.

Listen: o cachorro

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

Sound it out

ca Hard k before the a and an open "ah," unstressed. Hold back the puff of air English adds after k.

cho The ch is "sh," always, and the closed "oh" behind it carries the stress. Lips rounded for the vowel.

rro A doubled r between vowels is a throat-h in Brazil, made with real friction at the back of the mouth. The vowel behind it is heard as "oo," so the word ends "hoo."

Hear it in a sentence

O cachorro late muito.

The dog barks a lot.

Listen: O cachorro late muito.

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

"O cachorro late muito" ends with "muito" and its unwritten nasal, and "late" delivers the palatalized "LAH-tchee." So the sentence gives you a fricative, a guttural, a palatal affricate and a nasal in four words.

Where English speakers slip

English ch and a rolled rr are the two big errors, and learners frequently make both at once, producing something no Brazilian would parse. It's "sh" and a throat-h. Note also that Brazilians say "cachorro" where Portugal says "cão" — a clear vocabulary split between the varieties.