O juro do empréstimo é alto.

Do is a contraction of de + o.

So:

• de = of
• o = the
• do = of the

That means do empréstimo = of the loan.

Portuguese usually expresses possession or relationships with de rather than with an apostrophe-like structure.

So:

• o juro do empréstimo = literally the interest of the loan
• natural English = the loan interest or the interest on the loan

This de structure is very common in Portuguese.

That is a very common question.

In Portuguese, juros is very common when talking about interest in a general or financial sense, especially in everyday speech:

• Os juros do cartão são altos.
• A taxa de juros subiu.

But juro in the singular can also be used, especially when referring to the interest connected to one specific loan or charge as a single thing.

So O juro do empréstimo é alto is understandable and correct, but many Brazilians might also very naturally say:

• Os juros do empréstimo são altos.

Both are possible; juros is often more common in everyday financial language.

Because alto has to agree with juro, and juro is masculine singular.

So:

• o juro → masculine singular
• alto → masculine singular adjective

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use alta instead.

In Portuguese, things like prices, costs, rates, taxes, and interest are normally described with alto/baixa(o), just like high/low in English.

So:

• juros altos = high interest
• preço alto = high price
• taxa alta = high rate

Grande usually means big/large, not high in this kind of context.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here, o juro refers to a specific interest charge or interest rate connected to a specific loan, so the article sounds natural.

Portuguese often says:

• O preço está alto.
• A comida está boa.
• O juro do empréstimo é alto.

In English, the article is often dropped where Portuguese keeps it.

É is the he/she/it form of ser in the present tense.

The subject is o juro do empréstimo, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• O juro do empréstimo é alto.

If the subject were plural, you would use são:

• Os juros do empréstimo são altos.

Yes. It is o empréstimo.

That is why:

• do empréstimo = de + o empréstimo

If it were a feminine noun, you would expect da instead of do.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

• Os juros do empréstimo são altos.

Another natural option is:

• O empréstimo tem juros altos.

All of these are understandable. The version with juros is often the most common in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.

Yes, and that can confuse learners.

• juro as a noun = interest
• juro as a verb form = I swear, from jurar

For example:

• O juro do empréstimo é alto. → juro is a noun
• Eu juro que é verdade. → juro is a verb

The article o makes it clear here that juro is a noun.

Yes, but O juro do empréstimo é alto is the most neutral and standard order.

You might also hear more marked versions for emphasis, but they are less neutral, such as:

• É alto o juro do empréstimo.

That sounds more stylistic or emphatic. For most learners, the original sentence is the best pattern to use.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

O juro do empréstimo é alto
oo ZHOO-roo doo em-PRES-chee-moo eh AHL-too

A few useful notes:

• j in juro sounds like the s in measure
• the r in juro is usually a tapped sound in the middle of the word
• é is pronounced like eh
• empréstimo has stress on PRÉS

A more careful approximation is:

o ZHOO-ru du em-PRES-tchi-mu eh AHL-tu