Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide

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

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

velho is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈvɛ.ʎu/. It means “old.” VEH-lyoo, with an open first vowel and lh as one fused palatal sound.

VEH-lyoo, with an open first vowel and lh as one fused palatal sound.

velho /ˈvɛ.ʎu/

Two syllables, and the first is the loud one. Because lh counts as a single consonant for syllabification, the word divides ve-lho rather than vel-ho, which means the stressed vowel sits in an open syllable and can be held for a full beat.

Listen: velho

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Sound it out

ve A voiced v and an open e — jaw dropped, like the vowel in "bet." The openness isn't marked in the spelling and simply has to be learned with the word.

lh One palatal consonant, made with the blade of the tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth. It's Spanish ll or Italian gli, and it is definitively not an l followed by an h.

o The final unstressed o raises to "oo," giving "lyoo" as the closing syllable. Short and quiet, well behind the stressed vowel in prominence.

Hear it in a sentence

Meu carro é velho.

My car is old.

Listen: Meu carro é velho.

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"Meu carro é velho" ends on that lh, and "carro" earlier has a double rr pronounced as a throaty h. The two words together are a good drill: one contains a sound made deep in the throat, the other a sound made with the tongue flat against the palate, and they're a syllable apart.

Where English speakers slip

The lh defeats beginners, who say "VEL-ho" with an audible l and h. There should be no l-release at all — the tongue goes straight to the palatal position. The open first vowel is the second problem: using a closed "ay" makes the word sound like a different one. And note that calling a person "velho" is blunter in Portuguese than "old" in English, so Brazilians often prefer "idoso" or "de idade."