Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

o verão is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /u veˈɾɐ̃w̃/. It means “summer.” oo veh-ROWNG. A tapped r in the middle and the -ão nasal diphthong at the end.

oo veh-ROWNG. A tapped r in the middle and the -ão nasal diphthong at the end.

o verão /u veˈɾɐ̃w̃/

End-stressed, as every -ão word is, with the tilde marking nasality rather than placement. The plural is "verões," taking the -ões branch of the -ão family alongside coração and estação — as opposed to "irmãos" or "pães," which take the other two.

Listen: o verão

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Sound it out

ve A crisp v and a closed e, unstressed and quick. It's a light run-up to the syllable that carries everything.

rão One quick tap of the tongue tip — this r sits between vowels, so it's a tap and not the throat-h a word-initial r would give — then the nasal diphthong, one beat, nasal throughout, stopping mid-resonance.

Hear it in a sentence

O verão é quente aqui.

Summer is hot here.

Listen: O verão é quente aqui.

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"O verão é quente aqui" links "verão é" so the nasal glide runs into the open vowel of "é." "Quente" then has a silent u after the q, a nasal vowel of its own, and the palatalized "tchee" ending — so the sentence hums three times in five words.

Where English speakers slip

Ending the -ão with an audible g and rolling the middle r are the two reliable errors, one from English and one from Spanish. It's a tap and an open nasal. Note too that Brazilian seasons run opposite to the northern hemisphere, so "verão" means December to March.