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Introduction into the pronunciation of Brazilian Portuguese

The Portuguese Alphabet and it's pronunciation:

Letter:
Name:
a
bê
cê
dê
é
efe
ge
agá
i
jota
cá
eme
ene
ó
pê
quê
erre
esse
tê
u
vê
xis
zê

Please click on letters and listen to the  audio files.

Altogether the Portuguese alphabet consists of 18 consonants and 5 vowels. The letters K (cá), W (dábliu) and Y (ípsilon) do not belong to the Portuguese alphabet, but they can be used in names such as Wolfgang or Yolanda and with international terms like kg or km. The comparison with English words should help you pronounce the words correctly in Portuguese. However, not every sound has got an English equivalent.

 

Letter Portuguese
word 		Pronunciation Meaning of the word

Example in Ame. English

A aluno sounds like [a]

student

star

amanhã nasal sound tomorrow

 

B bolo sounds like [b] cake brother
C casa ca/co/cu sounds like [k] house cover
cedo ce/ci sounds like [s] early cinema
Ç açúcar ça/ço/çusounds like [s] sugar cinema
CH cheque sounds like [sh] check

shady

D data sounds like [d] date dollar
E caneta, você sounds like [e] pen, you them
saúde sounds like [ee] at the end, if unstressed health meet
festa, café sounds like [e]

party, coffee

Fred
F fome

sounds like [f]

hunger friend
G galo ga/go/gu sounds like [g] rooster give
geladeira ge/gi sounds like [g] refrigerator  
GU água gua/guo sounds like [gw] water Antigua
português gue/gui sounds like [g] Portuguese get
lingüiça güe/güi sounds like [gw] sausage Antigua
H hospital h is always silent, except: hobby hospital   
I camisa

sounds like [ea]

shirt meet
J

jogo

sounds like [g] game beige
L loja la/le/li/lo/lu sounds like [l] store

like

Brasil al/el/il/ol/ul sounds like [w] Brazil few
LH trabalho sounds like [ll] work billion
M moda sounds like [m] fashion more
bem sounds between m and n good  
N normal sounds like [n]

normal

no
cantar sounds like [n] to sing contact
NH manhã

sounds like [ng]

morning bejing
O cor, ovo sounds like [o] color, egg obey
caro sounds like [w or o] at the end expensive put
morar, hora sounds like [aw] to live, hour not
P Peru sounds like [p] Peru put
Q quanto qua/quo sounds like [kw] how much quite
quilo que/qui sounds like [k] Kilo kilo
tranqüilo qüe/qüi sounds like [kw] calm quiet
R resto similar to [h] sound remain hotel
enredo (preceded by n) similar to [h] plot hotel
morte sounds like [r] death more
caro similar to [r] sound expensive Kerry
RR carro similar to [h] sound car hotel
S soja at the beginning sounds like [s] soy sorry
consul if preceded by l/n/r sounds like [s] consul sorry
inglês after vowels sounds like [s] English sorry
casado between vowels sounds like [z] married zero
SC descer

sce/sci sounds like [s]

to go down sorry
SÇ desça sça/sço sounds like [s] go down sorry
SS passado sounds like [s] passed sorry
T tocar sounds like [t] to play team
U último sounds like [w] last put
V vila sounds like [v] village voice
X México sounds like [sh] Mexico sherry
caixa after ai/ei sounds like [sh]  box sherry
tóxico sounds like [ks] drug taxi
próximo sounds like [s] next citizen
excelente exce/exci sounds like [s] excellent citizen
sexta excl/exp/ext sounds like [s] Friday must
exame exa/exe/exi/exo sounds like [z] exam zero
Z zero before a vowel sounds like [z] zero zero
nariz after a vowel sounds like [s] nose just


Please note: The letter x has got several different ways of pronunciation.



Diphthongs

In general, each Portuguese letter keeps its original pronunciation, i.e. there’s no diphthong that sounds completely different from the separated letters. An 'a' plus an 'u' will always have the sound of an 'a' and an 'u' combined, there will never be any radical change in pronunciation.

A diphthong is made of one vowel that is pronounced stronger (the vowel itself) and one that is pronounced weaker (called semivowel). The vowels are pronounced as they are, one weakly and the other strongly. The letters 'a',' 'e' and 'o' usually work as vowels, and 'i' and 'u' usually work as semivowels. In order to be a diphthong, the two letters have to be at the same syllable. There’s no strict rule for Portuguese diphthongs pronunciation. Sometimes one vowel follows another in a word but they’re not pronounced together; there’s not one vowel stronger than the other, they’re pronounced with the same intensity. In fact, in this case they are in different syllables. This is called hiato (hiatus), as e.g. the word pais (meaning parents) with a diphthong compared with a hiatus: país (meaning country).

Oral Diphthongs

'ai' as in pais
'au' as in mau (bad, adjective, masculine); 'al' in mal, animal (as well as in the end of syllables and words) has the same sound
'ei' as in veia (vein), cantei (I sang)
'éi' as in idéia (idea)
'eu' as in eu (I), seu (your, yours)
'éu' as in céu (sky, heaven), mel (honey)
'oi' as in foi (he was, he went)
'ói' as in jóia (jewel)
'ou' as in ou (or), sou (I am)
'ol' as in sol (sun)
'iu' as in viu (he saw), mil (one thousand)
'ui' as in fui (I went)

Nasal Diphthongs

'ão' as in mão (hand), coração (heart)
'ãe' as in mãe (mother)
'õe' as in põe (put! he puts)

Triphthongs

A trihthong is made of three vowels at the same syllable, one in each side working as semivowels and one in the middle working as the vowel itself:

'uai' as in Paraguai
'ual' as in igual (the same as) – notice that l is pronounced like a 'w'
'uão' as in saguão (hall)
'uõe' as in saguões (plural, halls)



Regional Pronunciations and varieties

For the letters 'r', 's', 'x' and 'z' there are two big regional differences in pronunciation between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Both pronunciations are correct.

 

Tip: Be aware that there is this difference. Learn to distinguish between them and choose the one you feel most comfortable with. 

 

Letters Example in Portuguese Meaning in English
R rato rat
S inglês English
X sexta-feira Friday
Z nariz nose


Here you can listen to some authentic examples for different Brazilian accents and typical expressions derived from the Web Based Training "Ubaldo's Travels":

São Paulo Bahia Curitiba Minas Gerais (Opens in new Window.)



Accents used in Portuguese

Accent Indicates
(´) acute  the pronunciation is open as in café (coffee), avó (grandmother).
(^) circumflex  the pronunciation is closed as in você (you), avô (grandfather).
(`) grave  a contraction of the preposition a and the definite article a = à (to).

(~) tilde 

a nasal sound as in mão (hand).
(..) two dots the letter u is pronounced as in tranqüilo (quiet).

 



Similarities between Portuguese and English

Even though English is not a language of Latin origin, there are more similarities between Portuguese and English than one might imagine. Below you will find a table with Portuguese endings and their corresponding forms in English. Pronunciation and stress can sometimes be very different from English and you may find some exceptions, but in general you should not have a problem if you are familiar with Portuguese. It will be easier for you to expand your vocabulary if you know these endings.

 

Portuguese

English
ato /eto fato, impacto, contato, aspecto, projeto, objeto, direto act/ect fact, impact, compact, contact, aspect, project, direct

ado/ada

irritado/a, evaporado/a, limitado/a, sofisticado/a

ed

irritated, evaporated, limited, sophisticated

al/o

animal, total, capital, profissional, liberal, individual, radical, tradicional, nacional, natural, político, típico

al

animal, total, capital, professional, liberal, individual, radical, traditional, national, natural, political, typical

ante/ente

ento

assistente, elefante, importante, permanente, acidente, detergente, freqüente, cliente, paciente, estudante, presidente, violento, talento

ant/ent

assistant, elephant, important, permanent, accident, detergent, frequent, client, patient, student, president,  violent, talent

ão

prisão, opinião, religião, região

on

prison, opinion, religion, region

ável/ível provável, inevitável, agradável, possível, responsável able/ible probable, inevitable, agreeable, possible, responsible

ção

condição, instrução, loção, negociação, reação, situação, comunicação, conversação, eleição, cooperação, solução, contradição, organização, exceção, qualificação, posição, informação, revolução, corrupção, operação, instituição,

tion

condition, instruction, lotion, negotiation, reaction, situation, communication, conversation, election, cooperation, solution, contradiction, organization, exception, qualification, position, information, revolution, corruption, operation, institution, 

cia/ça

assistência, violência, preferência, independência, experiência, inteligência, província, polícia, sentença, presença, justiça

ce

assistance, violence, preference, independence, experience, intelligence, province, police, sentence, presence, justice

cia

democracia, burocracia

cy

democracy, bureaucracy

dade

curiosidade, universidade, cidade, faculdade, sociedade, prioridade, comunidade, celebridade

ty

curiosity, university, city, faculty, society, priority, community, celebrity

es

escândalo, estável, espírito, estado, estação, esporte, especial, estória

s

scandal, stable, spirit, state,  station, sports, special, story

esso

sucesso, processo, acesso

ess

success, process, access

fia

geografia, fotografia, caligrafia, filosofia

phy

geography, photography, calligraphy, philosophy

gem

massagem, garagem, imagem, mensagem

age

massage, garage, image, message

gia

tecnologia, biologia, sociologia

gy

technology, biology, sociology

ia/io

família, agência, emergência, estória , indústria, companhia, secretária, adultério, adversário, necessário, aniversário, mistério, categoria, história

y

family, agency, emergency, industry, company, secretary, adultery, adversary, necessary, anniversary, mystery, category, history, story

ico

dinâmico, romântico, público

ic

dynamic, romantic, public

isar/izar

analisar, batizar, legalizar, organizar

ise/ize

analyze, baptize, legalize, organize

ismo

turismo, patriotismo, comunismo

ism

tourism, patriotism, communism

ista

dentista, artista, analista, jornalista, especialista, turista, economista

ist/yst

dentist, artist, analyst, journalist, specialist, tourist, economist

ivo/iva

explosivo, negativo, primitivo, exclusivo, criativo, positivo, alternativa

ive

explosive, primitive, exclusive, creative, positive, negative, alternative

ma

programa, problema, dilema, trauma, drama, sistema, cinema

am/em ma

program, problem, dilemma, trauma, drama, system, cinema

mente

exatamente, pessoalmente, inicialmente, recentemente

ly

exactly, personally, initially, recently

mento

investimento, monumento, momento, documento, instrumento, testamento

ment

investment, monument, moment, document,  instrument, testament

ogo

diálogo, catálogo

ogue

dialogue, catalogue

or

vendedor, professor, diretor, sucessor, ator

or

vendor, professor, director, successor, actor

oso/o

famoso, curioso, generoso, nervoso, próspero, sério, tremendo

ous

famous, curious, generous, nervous, prosperous, serious, tremendous

ro

centro, membro, teatro, termômetro

er

center, member, theatre, thermometer

são

conclusão, expansão, evasão, fusão, confusão, televisão

sion

conclusion, expansion, evasion, fusion, confusion, television

ssão

permissão, missão, expressão, discussão

ssion

permission, mission, expression, discussion

ta

diplomata, astronauta

at/aut

diplomat, astronaut

ura/uro

cultura, agricultura, escultura, miniature, arquiterura, futuro

ure

culture agriculture, sculpture, miniature, architecture, future

 

 

Sources: Instituto Comoes, Sonia-Portuguese, Wikipedia, Terra, own materials.