Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o suco is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u ˈsu.ku/. It means “juice.” oo SOO-koo. Both vowels are rounded "oo," and the s stays a clean hiss.

oo SOO-koo. Both vowels are rounded "oo," and the s stays a clean hiss.

o suco /u ˈsu.ku/

The opening "su" is loud. The word is a small lesson in how much Portuguese depends on consonants for contrast: both of its vowels come out as "oo," and everything distinguishing the two syllables is carried by the s and the k.

Listen: o suco

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Sound it out

su A hissed s and a rounded "oo" carrying the stress. The s stays unvoiced because it opens the word rather than sitting between vowels.

co A hard k and a final "oo." Both syllables end on the same rounded sound, which gives the word its flat, even colour.

Hear it in a sentence

Prefiro suco de laranja.

I prefer orange juice.

Listen: Prefiro suco de laranja.

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"Prefiro suco de laranja" uses "de" to link the juice to its fruit, pronounced "djee." "Laranja" ends in a soft "zh" and carries a nasal before it, so the sentence moves from two flat rounded syllables into a nasal and a palatal fricative.

Where English speakers slip

Leaving the final o as "oh" gives "SOO-koh," which is the reflexive English reading. Raise it. Spanish speakers reach for "jugo," a completely different word, and if they try to blend the two they may import a throaty j. Note also that Brazilians say "suco" while Portugal says "sumo" — a genuine vocabulary split between the varieties.