Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o pai is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u ˈpaj/. It means “father.” oo PIE. One syllable, exactly like the English word, with an unaspirated p.

oo PIE. One syllable, exactly like the English word, with an unaspirated p.

o pai /u ˈpaj/

A monosyllable, unaccented. The plural "pais" adds an s without changing the vowel, and it means both fathers and parents — Portuguese uses the masculine plural for mixed groups, so "meus pais" almost always means my mother and father rather than several fathers.

Listen: o pai

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Sound it out

o "oo," short and unstressed, handing straight over to the p.

pai An unaspirated p — hold back the puff of air English adds — then "ai" as the diphthong in "high." One beat, fully oral, with no nasality anywhere despite how close it looks to "mãe."

Hear it in a sentence

Meu pai é professor.

My father is a teacher.

Listen: Meu pai é professor.

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"Meu pai é professor" links "pai é" so the y-glide of the diphthong runs into the open vowel with no break. "Professor" contains a double ss kept unvoiced and a final r reduced to breath, and Portuguese drops the article before professions after "ser" — no "um" needed.

Where English speakers slip

Aspirating the p gives an English-sounding "PIE" with a puff of breath; Portuguese consonants are drier. The article is the other issue: learners either forget it or insert "um" before a profession, when "ele é professor" is the correct bare form. And keep "pai" strictly oral — the nasal version, "pão," means bread.