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Portuguese (Brazil) · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "é" in Portuguese (Brazil)?
An open "eh," like the vowel in "bet," said with real weight. The accent mark separates it from the conjunction "e."
A one-syllable verb form that is nonetheless stressed and accented — unusual, since Portuguese normally leaves monosyllables unmarked. The accent exists here specifically to distinguish "é" from "e," a pair of one-letter words that are both extremely common and would otherwise be indistinguishable on the page. The sound difference is real: open and stressed versus raised and unstressed.
Listen: é
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Ela é brasileira.
She is Brazilian.
Listen: Ela é brasileira.
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"Ela é brasileira" runs the pronoun into the verb so that "Ela é" comes out almost as one word, "eh-LEH." The adjective "brasileira" agrees with the feminine subject and contains a tapped r in its opening cluster plus a diphthong "ei" in the stressed syllable — a good example of how much happens inside a single Portuguese word.
Where English speakers slip
The commonest confusion isn't phonetic but orthographic: writing "e" when you mean "é" and vice versa. Out loud, the mistake is saying "ay" with a closed vowel, which drifts toward the shape of the conjunction. Keep the jaw open. Note too that "é" is the identity-and-permanence verb — using it where "está" belongs is a grammar error Brazilians hear instantly.