Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o mercado is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u meɦˈka.du/. It means “market.” oo meh-KAH-doo. The r in the middle is a rasp, and the final o comes out as "oo."

oo meh-KAH-doo. The r in the middle is a rasp, and the final o comes out as "oo."

o mercado /u meɦˈka.du/

Put the weight on the middle syllable, as the -o default requires. The word covers both a market and a supermarket in Brazilian usage, and neither sense shifts the stress — though you'll also hear "supermercado" in full, which simply extends the same word without moving its accent.

Listen: o mercado

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Sound it out

mer An ordinary m opening the word, a closed e, and an r sealing the syllable off as a light throat rasp. The result sounds like "meh" with a scrape rather than like English "mer."

ca A dry hard k before the a and a wide-open stressed vowel. This is the loud centre of the word and its longest sound.

do A hard d, since an o follows rather than an i, and that last o is pronounced "oo." Quick and quiet after the loud "kah."

Hear it in a sentence

O mercado abre cedo.

The market opens early.

Listen: O mercado abre cedo.

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"O mercado abre cedo" links "mercado abre" so the noun's raised final "oo" runs into the verb's opening "ah." "Abre" has a tap in its cluster and a raised final e, and "cedo" has a soft c — so the sentence closes on two quite gentle syllables.

Where English speakers slip

The syllable-final r is where learners diverge: English speakers make it sound like the start of "mercy," and Spanish speakers tap it audibly. In Brazil it's breath. The unraised final o is the second habit, and palatalizing the d is a third error that some learners make by over-applying the rule.