How to Say "You Have Beautiful Eyes" in Portuguese

According to an Esquire Magazine survey, “You have beautiful eyes” is a popular pickup line. If you’d like to try that line in Portuguese, it just takes a quick lesson in pronunciation. Written, the phrase is “Você tem os olhos bonitos” ("você" meaning "you," "olhos" is "eyes" and "bonitos" means "beautiful"). But pronouncing it is tricky. Sound out each of the following three steps, then put the three together for the complete phrase. There are more than 200 million Portuguese-speaking people in the world, which means plenty of pretty eyes to try it on. We can't guarantee a date, but at least you'll sound good.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start with "você tem os." The first part of the pronunciation begins with “voo," as in "voodoo." Follow with the sound “so," and then with the sound “tames,” which rhymes with "games." Put them all together to say, "voo so tames."

2. Next word, "olhos." Now say “aye," and then the sound, “yos," which is basically the beginning of the English word "yoyo," with an s sound at the end. Put them together to say, "aye yos."

3. End with "bonitos." You may be able to sound this word by simply breaking into syllables: bo-ni-tos. Or put the following three English words together to say, "bow-knee-toes."

4. Now, say the complete phrase: "Voo-so-tames-aye-yos-bow-knee-toes."

Tips & Warnings

• Pronunciation is approximate. To get the correct accent, just ask a pretty-eyed Portuguese-speaking person!