Portuguese Accent Marks: Find the Stress and Say the Word — Practice

Use the accent to locate the stressed syllable

An acute accent (´) or circumflex (^ over a vowel) usually makes the stressed syllable explicit. In café, the final é is stressed; in você, the final ê is stressed. Reading the mark helps you avoid placing English-style stress on the wrong part of the word.

The marks also provide a clue to vowel quality. An acute accent commonly represents an open vowel, while a circumflex commonly marks a closed vowel. This distinction is easiest to learn through familiar words and audio rather than by memorizing an abstract chart first.

Read the word as a whole, not one mark at a time

Not every Portuguese word has an accent mark, and the mark does not replace listening. In sábado and música, the accent identifies an earlier stressed syllable. In café, it marks the final syllable. Say the complete word and notice where your voice naturally emphasizes it.

Accents can distinguish different words too, such as avó (grandmother) and avô (grandfather). Keep the spelling attached to the meaning when you make vocabulary cards; the accent is a useful memory cue and can prevent confusion.

Remember: Use acute and circumflex accents to guide stress and vowel quality, then confirm the sound with a Brazilian audio example.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. coffee — stress the final syllable

   Show a Portuguese answer

   café

2. you — stress the final syllable

   Show a Portuguese answer

   você

3. grandmother — open ó sound

   Show a Portuguese answer

   avó

4. Today is Saturday.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Hoje é sábado.

5. I like Brazilian music.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu gosto de música brasileira.

6. My grandmother lives near my grandfather.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Minha avó mora perto do meu avô.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Use acute and circumflex accents to guide stress and vowel quality, then confirm the sound with a Brazilian audio example.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Portuguese Accent Marks: Find the Stress and Say the Word lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.