Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o dinheiro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u dʒiˈɲej.ɾu/. It means “money.” oo djee-NYAY-roo. A "dj" at the front, an nh in the middle, and an "ei" diphthong carrying the stress.

oo djee-NYAY-roo. A "dj" at the front, an nh in the middle, and an "ei" diphthong carrying the stress.

o dinheiro /u dʒiˈɲej.ɾu/

The "nhei" carries the weight, counting as one syllable despite containing a diphthong. The word packs an unusual amount into three syllables — a palatalized d, a palatal nasal, a diphthong and a tap — which makes it a good all-round test of whether the Brazilian consonant rules have settled.

Listen: o dinheiro

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Sound it out

di Palatalized to "dj" by the i behind it, the sound that opens English "jeep." This is one of the most frequently mispronounced openings in the whole language.

nhei The nh is a single palatal consonant, the middle of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, and then "ei" is a closed e gliding to a y. So this one syllable contains a palatal consonant and a diphthong, and it takes the stress.

ro A single r between vowels means one quick tap, and the o behind it raises to "oo." The word ends softly after its busy middle.

Hear it in a sentence

Esqueci meu dinheiro em casa.

I forgot my money at home.

Listen: Esqueci meu dinheiro em casa.

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"Esqueci meu dinheiro em casa" uses "esquecer," whose qu is a plain k with a silent u. The noun then links its final "oo" into the nasal of "em," and "casa" ends the sentence with an intervocalic s voiced to a z.

Where English speakers slip

Three sounds go wrong at once: a hard d, a split "n-h," and an unraised final o. Brazilians produce "djee-NYAY-roo" with none of those. Spanish speakers reach for "dinero," which has neither the palatalized d nor the nh, so almost nothing transfers except the meaning.