favela

/fəˈvɛlə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.54 in modern English

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

name

"The favela is now the model for most of the world's cities, as vast numbers of people continue to migrate to them in order to survive."
"security forces in November of 2010 stormed one of the city's most notorious favelas, the complex of the Morro do Alemão in the northern zone of the city"

Unadapted borrowing from Brazilian Portuguese favela.

favelas (plural)

umbrella bella stella ella fella isabella cinderella della mandela mozzarella salmonella novella

Questions

How do you pronounce favela?

The recorded pronunciation is /fəˈvɛlə/.

What does favela mean?

A slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil.

Where does favela come from?

Unadapted borrowing from Brazilian Portuguese favela.

How to pronounce favela

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “favela”.

Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fəˈvɛlə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.

Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “favela”.

Repeat and practice — Say “favela” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.