Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "precisar" in Portuguese (Brazil)?

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

precisar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /pɾe.siˈzah/. It means “to need.” preh-see-ZAH. That middle s is a buzzing z, because it sits between two vowels.

preh-see-ZAH. That middle s is a buzzing z, because it sits between two vowels.

precisar /pɾe.siˈzah/

This word illustrates the intervocalic-s rule better than it illustrates stress: the c-s at position two stays unvoiced because the c supplies the sound, while the lone s at position three is bracketed by vowels and must buzz. The weight, as it happens, lands on that buzzing syllable.

Listen: precisar

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Sound it out

pre A dry p, a tapped r, and a closed e. The p and the tap should be tight together with no vowel between them.

ci A soft c before the i, so a plain s sound, then a high "ee." The letter c does its usual job of going soft before a front vowel.

sar The lone s here sits between vowels and must buzz as a z. It launches the stressed wide vowel, and the r closing the word is scarcely a sound at all.

Hear it in a sentence

Preciso de ajuda.

I need help.

Listen: Preciso de ajuda.

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"Preciso de ajuda" shows the required preposition: "precisar de" is the pattern, and the "de" is a quick "djee." "Ajuda" has a soft "zh" j and an intervocalic d that stays hard, so the phrase runs "preh-SEE-zoo-djee-ah-ZHOO-dah" with three different palatal-ish sounds in a row.

Where English speakers slip

Pronouncing the third syllable with a hiss — "preh-see-SAH" — is the standard error and comes from reading rather than hearing. Intervocalic s is z. The preposition is the other pitfall: "preciso ajuda" without "de" is wrong when the object is a noun, though "preciso ir" with a bare infinitive is correct, which makes the rule feel inconsistent until you notice it's about nouns versus verbs.