🗣️ Portuguese Pronunciation Guide
Portuguese alphabet, nasal vowels, accents, and key differences from Spanish. Free Portuguese pronunciation guide for learners - clear rules and examples.
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The Portuguese Alphabet
Since the 2009 spelling reform, Portuguese uses all 26 letters of the Latin alphabet (K, W, and Y were officially added). Portuguese pronunciation varies significantly between Brazil and Portugal — this guide uses Brazilian Portuguese as the default and notes European differences where significant. Portuguese has several sounds not found in English, especially the nasal vowels and the two distinct R sounds. The special digraphs LH and NH are essential to master early.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | á | /a/, /ɐ/ | Open /a/ when stressed; reduced /ɐ/ when unstressed | amor |
| B | bê | /b/ | Same as English | bom |
| C | cê | /k/ or /s/ | /k/ before a, o, u — /s/ before e, i | casa, cidade |
| Ç | cê-cedilha | /s/ | Always /s/ — used before a, o, u | coração |
| D | dê | /d/ or /dʒ/ | /dʒ/ before i and final e in Brazil | dia /ˈdʒia/ (BR) |
| E | ê | /e/, /ɛ/, /i/ | Varies by stress and position | escola |
| F | efe | /f/ | Same as English | falar |
| G | gê | /ɡ/ or /ʒ/ | /ɡ/ before a, o, u — /ʒ/ before e, i | gato, gente /ˈʒẽtʃi/ |
| H | agá | — | Always silent alone; active in digraphs ch, lh, nh | hora |
| I | i | /i/ | Always "ee" as in "see" | ilha |
| J | jota | /ʒ/ | Like "s" in "measure" | janela |
| L | ele | /l/ or /w/ | /l/ at start; /w/ at syllable end in Brazil | lua, Brasil /braˈziw/ |
| M | eme | /m/ | Nasalizes preceding vowel at syllable end | mãe, bom |
| N | ene | /n/ | Nasalizes preceding vowel at syllable end | não, bom |
| O | ó | /o/, /ɔ/, /u/ | Varies by stress and position | olho |
| P | pê | /p/ | Same as English | pai |
| Q | quê | /k/ | Always followed by u — qu before e/i = /k/ | que, quero |
| R | erre | /ʁ/ or /ɾ/ | /ʁ/ (guttural) at start or doubled; /ɾ/ (tap) between vowels | rato /ˈʁatu/, caro /ˈkaɾu/ |
| S | esse | /s/, /z/ | /s/ at start or doubled; /z/ between vowels | sol, casa /ˈkaza/ |
| T | tê | /t/ or /tʃ/ | /tʃ/ before i and final e in Brazil | tia /ˈtʃia/ (BR) |
| U | u | /u/ | Always "oo" as in "food" | uva |
| V | vê | /v/ | Same as English (unlike Spanish) | vida |
| X | xis | /ʃ/, /ks/, /z/, /s/ | Four possible sounds depending on position | xícara /ʃ/, táxi /ks/ |
| Z | zê | /z/ | Like English "z" | zero |
Nasal Vowels
Nasal vowels are one of the most distinctive features of Portuguese — they set it apart from Spanish and Italian. Portuguese has five nasal vowel sounds, produced by letting air flow through both the mouth and the nose simultaneously. A vowel becomes nasal when followed by m or n in the same syllable, or when it carries a tilde (~). The nasal diphthong -ão is perhaps the most iconic Portuguese sound and appears in extremely common words.
| Nasal Sound | IPA | Spelling | Example | Approximate Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ã | /ɐ̃/ | ã, am, an | maçã, campo, canto | Like "uh" but through the nose |
| ão | /ɐ̃w̃/ | ão | pão, não, coração | Like "ow" but nasal — unique to Portuguese |
| ẽ | /ẽ/ | em, en | tem, mente, gente | Like "ay" but through the nose |
| õe | /õj̃/ | ões | ações, corações, limões | Like "oy" but nasal |
| ĩ | /ĩ/ | im, in | sim, fim, lindo | Like "ee" but through the nose |
Key Differences: Brazilian vs European
Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and European Portuguese (EP) are mutually intelligible but sound quite different. Brazilian tends to sound more open and melodic, while European can sound clipped or mumbled to unfamiliar ears. The main pronunciation differences are listed below. Both varieties are fully valid — choose based on where you plan to spend time. Most learners worldwide study Brazilian Portuguese because of Brazil's larger population and cultural influence.
| Feature | Brazilian | European |
|---|---|---|
| Final -e | /i/ — cidade = /siˈdadʒi/ | /ə/ (reduced) — cidade = /siˈdadɨ/ |
| -te / -de before i/e | /tʃi/, /dʒi/ — dia = /ˈdʒia/ | /t/, /d/ — dia = /ˈdia/ |
| -l at syllable end | /w/ — Brasil = /braˈziw/ | /ɫ/ (dark l) — Brasil = /brɐˈziɫ/ |
| Initial r- / -rr- | /ʁ/ (guttural h) — rato = /ˈʁatu/ | /ʁ/ (uvular) — similar but often stronger |
| Unstressed -o | /u/ — bonito = /buˈnitu/ | /u/ — similar reduction |
| Overall rhythm | Syllable-timed (each syllable similar length) | Stress-timed (unstressed vowels heavily reduced) |
Accent Marks & Stress
Portuguese uses several diacritical marks, each with a specific phonetic function. Unlike in French, every accent mark in Portuguese tells you something about pronunciation. Default stress rules: words ending in -a, -e, -o, -am, -em fall on the second-to-last syllable. Words ending in other consonants, -i, -u, or nasal diphthongs (-ão, -ões) fall on the last syllable. A written accent overrides these defaults.
| Mark | Name | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| á, é, ó | Acento agudo | Stress + open vowel | café /kaˈfɛ/, avó /aˈvɔ/ |
| â, ê, ô | Acento circunflexo | Stress + closed vowel | você /voˈse/, avô /aˈvo/ |
| ã, õ | Til (tilde) | Nasalization | maçã /maˈsɐ̃/, põe /põj̃/ |
| ç | Cedilha | Forces /s/ before a, o, u | coração /koɾaˈsɐ̃w̃/ |
| à | Acento grave | Contraction of a + a (à) | Vou à escola (I go to school) |
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