Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o problema is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u pɾoˈble.mɐ/. It means “problem.” oo proh-BLEH-mah. Masculine despite the -a ending, with a tap in the opening cluster.

oo proh-BLEH-mah. Masculine despite the -a ending, with a tap in the opening cluster.

o problema /u pɾoˈble.mɐ/

Put the weight on the middle syllable, by the -a default. The gender is the real lesson: "problema" is masculine even though it ends in -a, because it comes from Greek through Latin. The same is true of tema, sistema, poema and programa, all of which take "o" and masculine adjectives.

Listen: o problema

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Sound it out

pro A p made with no puff of air with a quick tap on its heels, then a closed "oh." Keep the cluster tight; an inserted vowel adds a syllable.

ble A b and a true l with full tongue contact, since the l opens the syllable rather than closing one, then a closed e carrying the stress.

ma A simple m opening its own syllable — nasalizing nothing — and a closing a drifting toward "uh."

Hear it in a sentence

Qual é o problema?

What's the problem?

Listen: Qual é o problema?

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"Qual é o problema?" uses "qual" and the masculine article together, which is the giveaway for the gender. "Qual" ends in a vocalized l, and the article's "oo" runs straight into the noun's "proh" — so the question flows without a break anywhere in it.

Where English speakers slip

Treating it as feminine and saying "a problema" is the near-universal error, because the -a ending signals feminine in almost every other word. This one is masculine, along with its Greek-derived cousins. Breaking the pr cluster is the phonetic issue, and Spanish speakers face the identical gender trap with "el problema."