Learn about where to put the stress in Portuguese words
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Portuguese Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn about stress in Portuguese. |
| WHAT IS STRESS? |
| But what exactly is stress? |
| Stress refers to the prominence or relative emphasis placed on certain syllables of a word. |
| When you say the word "unbelievable" for example, do you notice how the "lie" is accentuated? |
| That's because it's pronounced longer and louder than any other syllable, and this is what we refer to as stress. |
| STRESS IN PORTUGUESE |
| Stress is essential for proper pronunciation and communication in Portuguese because it determines the rhythm. With out it, it'll be very difficult for Portuguese speakers to communicate with you. It's absolutely essential that you learn all the proper stress rules. |
| There are a number of ways to determine where to place the stress in Portuguese. |
| The easiest indication of stress is to look for the accent markers. These two accent markers for example, indicates that a syllable is stressed. |
| "es-tá - (he/she/it/you) is/are |
| cen-té-si-mo - hundredth |
| á-gu-a - water" |
| "câ-me-ra - camera |
| es-sên-ci-a - essence |
| a-vô - grandfather" |
| If you encounter words that do *not* have an accent, then expect the stress to be on the second last syllable. Words ending in an M, S, or a vowel *other* than I or U, will follow this rule. |
| "fa-lam - (they) speak |
| co-mem - (they) eat" |
| "lu-zes - lights |
| so-nhos - dreams" |
| "au-to - self |
| ca-sa - house |
| cor-re - (he/she/you) run" |
| If the word doesn't follow any of the above rules, then the stress is on the *last* syllable. |
| "ven-di - (I) sold |
| ja-va-li - boar" |
| "hin-du - Hindu |
| can-gu-ru - kangaroo" |
| "fa-lar - to speak |
| a-nel - ring |
| a-ni-mal - animal" |
| By following this process, you'll be able to figure out where the stress is for 95% of words in Portuguese. |
| If you happen to forget the rules however, the general principle is to place the stress on the *second last* syllable. Most Portuguese words fall into this category, so there's a good chance that you'll get it right. |
| QUIZ |
| Now you know all the stress rules. So let's practice them! |
| Where should the stress be placed in this word? |
| código - code |
| Did you get it right? The stress is on the first syllable. The acute accent should've been a dead give away! |
| Here's the next one. |
| jogam - (they) play |
| Since this word ends with an M, the stress should be on the second last syllable, which in this case happens to be the first syllable. |
| Okay. Last one! |
| urubu - vulture |
| This word ends with the vowel U. Meaning the stress should be on the last syllable. |
| In this lesson, you learned about stress and accentuation in Portuguese |
| In the next lesson, we'll learn about assimilation in Portuguese. |
| How did you do in the quiz? Let us know in the comments. |
| See you in the next Ultimate Portuguese Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
11 Comments
HideHow did you do in the quiz?
Olá, Jess.
Yes, there are some more rules to understand stresses better.
Generally, the words have accent, but sometimes words ending with -ar/-er/ir have this syllable as the stressed one. Read examples:
fumar;
esquecer;
sorrir;
desistir.
You will have some more content regarding stress soon.
Sincerely,
Marcia
Team PortuguesePod101.com
Are there more rules for stress in Portuguese or are these the only ones? It's nice to have rules for stress, unlike English, which is all over the place with stress and some confusing rules.
Obrigada!
Oi Sandra,
Obrigada!
The main difference is the pronunciation. Also, many vocabularies have different meaning in Brazil and Portugal.
If you're planning to go to Portugal, we have some series for European Portuguese.
Good luck with your Portuguese study and in case you have any questions, please let us know! We will be glad to assist!
Paloma
Team PortuguesePod101.com
Hi,
First I want to say that this is amazing way to learn a new language. You are the best.
I would like to ask you is there any different between portuguese and brazilian language, and what is the different?
Muito obrigada,
Sandra
Olá Dina,
Thank you for your message,
These words fall in the third rule mentioned in the lesson. That is: "If the word doesn't follow any of the above rules (which were: 1) accent markers; 2) words without accent, but expected to be stressed on the second last syllable, ending in an M, S, or a vowel *other* than I or U), then the stress is on the *last* syllable.
Please check out the [Lesson Transcript] for more details. :)
Hope this helps! In case of any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team PortuguesePod101.com
Am confused. Why stressing anel, falar and animal on last syllable. Not I or U
Olá Erik,
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestion. We are always working on improving our materials, and your opinion is highly valuable!
If you have any questions, please let us know!
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team PortuguesePod101.com
it would be nice to have a link to a quiz that is a bit longer. practising with just 3 words helps, but it would like to drill a little bit more.
Hi William,
Thank you for your positive feedback and let us know if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Khanh.
Team PortuguesePod101.com
I like these quizzes because they help me to remember new vocabulary.