Alô?

It is pronounced approximately ah-LOH?

• The stress is on the second syllable: a-LÔ
• A simple IPA version is /aˈlo/
• The final ô sounds like a stressed o in go, but usually shorter and cleaner than in English

For an English speaker, the most important thing is:

• keep the a simple, like ah
• stress the last syllable
• do not turn it into uh-LOW

The accent mark on ô shows two things:

1. Stress: the word is stressed on the last syllable

   • a-LÔ, not A-lo

2. Vowel quality: ô is a closed o sound in Portuguese

So the accent is not optional here. The standard spelling is alô.

In Brazilian Portuguese, Alô? is most commonly used:

• when answering the phone
• when checking whether someone is still on the line
• when trying to get a response on a call

So it often corresponds to English Hello? on the phone.

It is much less common as a normal face-to-face greeting. For greeting someone in person, Brazilians are more likely to say:

• Oi
• Olá

Mostly, yes.

Its main use is telephone-related. But it can also be used more broadly to mean something like:

• Hello? Are you listening?
• Hey?
• Anybody there?

For example, someone might say Alô? jokingly or sharply if another person is distracted and not paying attention.

Still, if you are just meeting someone in person, alô is usually not the natural default greeting in Brazilian Portuguese.

The question mark reflects the rising, checking kind of intonation often used with this word.

When someone says Alô?, they are often:

• checking who is there
• checking whether the connection is working
• waiting for a response

That is why Alô? is very natural.

You may also see Alô! in some contexts, but Alô? is especially common when answering a call or trying to confirm contact.

It is generally neutral.

It is not especially formal, but it is also not slang. It is a standard, everyday word for phone use.

So:

• fine in casual situations
• fine in business calls
• fine with strangers

The level of formality usually comes from what you say next, not from alô itself.

Yes.

Alô? works perfectly well on its own as a complete utterance. That is very normal in conversation, especially on the phone.

For example:

• Alô?
• Alô? Quem fala? = Hello? Who is this?
• Alô? Tá me ouvindo? = Hello? Can you hear me?

So even though it is just one word, it can stand alone naturally.

It is best understood as an interjection.

That means it is a word used as a spoken expression rather than a regular noun or verb. In this case, it functions like English hello?

So you do not usually analyze it like a normal sentence with subject and verb. It is a fixed conversational expression.

A simple way to think about it is:

• Alô? = usually Hello? on the phone
• Oi = Hi
• Olá = Hello

So if you are:

• answering a call: Alô?
• greeting a friend in person: Oi
• greeting someone more generally: Olá

In Brazil, using Oi or Olá to answer a phone call is possible in some situations, but Alô? is the classic and very common phone-answering word.

Yes, if you are writing the word correctly in Portuguese, it should be alô with the accent.

Writing alo without the accent is a spelling mistake in standard Portuguese.

So the correct form is:

• Alô?

If it appears at the beginning of a sentence, capitalize it. Otherwise, use lowercase:

• Alô?
• Ele atendeu com um alô tímido.