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Cavaquinho

Musical Instrument
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A small Portuguese four-stringed instrument similar to a ukulele

Detailed Definition
The cavaquinho’s bright, rhythmic strumming appears in Lusophone poetry as a symbol of saudade, coastal life, and festive resilience; its role in samba and fado traditions links it to themes of longing, joy, and communal celebration in verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Brazilian verse, the cavaquinho’s bright strum carries the joy of samba’s resilience; Poets liken its small body to “a sunbeam shaped for song”; The cavaquinho appears in carnival poetry as the spark that ignites collective dance; Its four strings become a metaphor for simplicity holding complex harmony; In diaspora verse, the cavaquinho ties Rio to Lisbon through shared melody; Modern poets use the cavaquinho to explore lightness—how small sounds can lift heavy hearts.
Additional Notes
The cavaquinho is a small Portuguese four-string instrument, ancestor to the ukulele; its bright, rapid strumming drives samba and folk music—poets might use it to evoke joy, coastal life, or the spark of improvisation in everyday moments.
Also Known As
Cavaquinho português machete (Hawaiian variant)
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