p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce portfolios in American English
port·FOH·lee·ohz
Start here
Americans pronounce portfolios as port-FOH-lee-ohz (/pɔrtˈfoʊliˌoʊz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Stock market volatility has investors concerned about their portfolios".
Now you try.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "portfolios".
4 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "portfolios" in the wild.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "portfolios", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
portfolios→port·FOH·lee·OHZ
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch FOH — keep everything else short and quick.
PORT·foh·LEE·OHZ→port·FOH·lee·OHZ
03
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "portfolios" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "FOH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "port-FOH-lee-ohz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "portfolios"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "portfolios" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "port-FOH-lee-ohz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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