Introduction into the pronunciation of Brazilian Portuguese

T h e P o r t u g u e s e A l p h a b e t a n d i t ' s p r on u n c i a t i o n :
Letter:
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V X Z

Name:

e e m n e e Please click on letters and listen to the audio files.

ef e

g e

ag

jo ta

q u

er re

esse

t u v

xi s

Altogether the Portuguese alphabet consists of 18 consonants and 5 vowels. The letters K (c), W (dbliu) and Y (psilon) 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
A B C

CH
D E

Portuguese word aluno amanh bolo casa cedo acar cheque data caneta, voc sade festa, caf fome galo geladeira gua portugus lingia hospital camisa jogo loja Brasil trabalho moda bem normal cantar manh

Pronunciation sounds like [a] nasal sound sounds like [b] ca/co/cu sounds like [k] ce/ci sounds like [s] a/o/usounds like [s] sounds like [sh] sounds like [d] sounds like [e] sounds like [ee] at the end, if unstressed sounds like [e] sounds like [f] ga/go/gu sounds like [g] ge/gi sounds like [g] gua/guo sounds like [gw] gue/gui sounds like [g] ge/gi sounds like [gw] h is always silent, except: hobby sounds like [ea] sounds like [g] la/le/li/lo/lu sounds like [l] al/el/il/ol/ul sounds like [w] sounds like [ll] sounds like [m] sounds between m and n sounds like [n] sounds like [n] sounds like [ng]

Meaning of the word student tomorrow cake house early sugar check date pen, you health party, coffee hunger rooster refrigerator water Portuguese sausage hospital shirt game store Brazil work fashion good normal to sing morning

Example in Ame. English star brother cover cinema cinema shady dollar them meet Fred friend give Antigua get Antigua meet beige like few billion more no contact bejing

F G

GU
H I J L

LH
M N

NH

cor, ovo caro morar, hora Peru quanto quilo tranqilo resto enredo morte caro carro soja consul ingls casado descer desa passado tocar ltimo vila Mxico caixa txico prximo excelente sexta exame zero nariz

sounds like [o] sounds like [w or o] at the end sounds like [aw] sounds like [p] qua/quo sounds like [kw] que/qui sounds like [k] qe/qi sounds like [kw] similar to [h] sound (preceded by n) similar to [h] sounds like [r] similar to [r] sound similar to [h] sound at the beginning sounds like [s] if preceded by l/n/r sounds like [s] after vowels sounds like [s] between vowels sounds like [z] sce/sci sounds like [s] sa/so sounds like [s] sounds like [s] sounds like [t] sounds like [w] sounds like [v] sounds like [sh] after ai/ei sounds like [sh] sounds like [ks] sounds like [s] exce/exci sounds like [s] excl/exp/ext sounds like [s] exa/exe/exi/exo sounds like [z] before a vowel sounds like [z] after a vowel sounds like [s]

color, egg expensive to live, hour Peru how much Kilo calm remain plot death expensive car soy consul English married to go down go down passed to play last village Mexico box drug next excellent Friday exam zero nose

obey put not put quite kilo quiet hotel hotel more Kerry hotel sorry sorry sorry zero sorry sorry sorry team put voice sherry sherry taxi citizen citizen must zero zero just

P Q

RR
S

SC S SS
T U V X

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

D i p ht ho ng s
In general, each Portuguese letter keeps its original pronunciation, i.e. theres 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. Theres no strict rule for Portuguese diphthongs pronunciation. Sometimes one vowel follows

another in a word but theyre not pronounced together; theres not one vowel stronger than the other, theyre 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: pas (meaning country).

O r a l D i p ht ho ngs
'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) 'i' as in idia (idea) 'eu' as in eu (I), seu (your, yours) 'u' as in cu (sky, heaven), mel (honey) 'oi' as in foi (he was, he went) 'i' as in jia (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)

N a s a l D i p ht ho ng s
'o' as in mo (hand), corao (heart) 'e' as in me (mother) 'e' as in pe (put! he puts)

Tr i p ht ho ng s
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' 'uo' as in saguo (hall) 'ue' as in sagues (plural, halls)

R e g i o na l Pr o nunci a t i o ns a nd va r i e ti e s
For the letters 'r', 's', 'x' and 'z' there are two big regional differences in pronunciation between So 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 R S Example in Portuguese rato ingls Meaning in English rat English

X Z

sexta-feira nariz

Friday 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":
So Paulo Bahia Curitiba Minas Gerais (Opens in new Window.)

A cce nt s us e d i n Po r t ug ue s e
Accent () acute (^) circumflex (`) grave (~) tilde (..) two dots Indicates the pronunciation is open as in caf (coffee), av (grandmother). the pronunciation is closed as in voc (you), av (grandfather). a contraction of the preposition a and the definite article a = (to). a nasal sound as in mo (hand). the letter u is pronounced as in tranqilo (quiet).

S i m i l ar i t ie s b etw e e n Po r t ug ue se a nd E ng l i s h
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 ato /eto fato, impacto, contato, aspecto, projeto, objeto, direto ado/ada irritado/a, evaporado/a,

English act/ect ed

fact, impact, compact, contact, aspect, project, direct irritated, evaporated, limited, sophisticated

al/o

ante/ente ento

o vel/vel o

cia/a

cia dade

es

esso fia gem gia

limitado/a, sofisticado/a animal, total, capital, profissional, liberal, individual, radical, tradicional, nacional, natural, poltico, tpico assistente, elefante, importante, permanente, acidente, detergente, freqente, cliente, paciente, estudante, presidente, violento, talento priso, opinio, religio, regio provvel, inevitvel, agradvel, possvel, responsvel condio, instruo, loo, negociao, reao, situao, comunicao, conversao, eleio, cooperao, soluo, contradio, organizao, exceo, qualificao, posio, informao, revoluo, corrupo, operao, instituio, assistncia, violncia, preferncia, independncia, experincia, inteligncia, provncia, polcia, sentena, presena, justia democracia, burocracia curiosidade, universidade, cidade, faculdade, sociedade, prioridade, comunidade, celebridade escndalo, estvel, esprito, estado, estao, esporte, especial, estria sucesso, processo, acesso geografia, fotografia, caligrafia, filosofia massagem, garagem, imagem, mensagem tecnologia, biologia,

al

ant/ent

animal, total, capital, professional, liberal, individual, radical, traditional, national, natural, political, typical assistant, elephant, important, permanent, accident, detergent, frequent, client, patient, student, president, violent, talent prison, opinion, religion, region probable, inevitable, agreeable, possible, responsible condition, instruction, lotion, negotiation, reaction, situation, communication, conversation, election, cooperation, solution, contradiction, organization, exception, qualification, position, information, revolution, corruption, operation, institution, assistance, violence, preference, independence, experience, intelligence, province, police, sentence, presence, justice democracy, bureaucracy curiosity, university, city, faculty, society, priority, community, celebrity

on able/ible tion

ce

cy ty

scandal, stable, spirit, state, station, sports, special, story success, process, access geography, photography, calligraphy, philosophy massage, garage, image, message technology, biology, sociology

ess phy age gy

ia/io

ico isar/izar ismo ista

ivo/iva

ma

mente

mento

ogo or oso/o

ro so sso ta ura/uro

sociologia famlia, agncia, emergncia, estria , indstria, companhia, secretria, adultrio, adversrio, necessrio, aniversrio, mistrio, categoria, histria dinmico, romntico, pblico analisar, batizar, legalizar, organizar turismo, patriotismo, comunismo dentista, artista, analista, jornalista, especialista, turista, economista explosivo, negativo, primitivo, exclusivo, criativo, positivo, alternativa programa, problema, dilema, trauma, drama, sistema, cinema exatamente, pessoalmente, inicialmente, recentemente investimento, monumento, momento, documento, instrumento, testamento dilogo, catlogo vendedor, professor, diretor, sucessor, ator famoso, curioso, generoso, nervoso, prspero, srio, tremendo centro, membro, teatro, termmetro concluso, expanso, evaso, fuso, confuso, televiso permisso, misso, expresso, discusso diplomata, astronauta cultura, agricultura, escultura, miniature, arquiterura, futuro

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

ic ise/ize ism ist/yst

dynamic, romantic, public analyze, baptize, legalize, organize tourism, patriotism, communism dentist, artist, analyst, journalist, specialist, tourist, economist explosive, primitive, exclusive, creative, positive, negative, alternative program, problem, dilemma, trauma, drama, system, cinema exactly, personally, initially, recently investment, monument, moment, document, instrument, testament dialogue, catalogue vendor, professor, director, successor, actor famous, curious, generous, nervous, prosperous, serious, tremendous center, member, theatre, thermometer conclusion, expansion, evasion, fusion, confusion, television permission, mission, expression, discussion diplomat, astronaut culture agriculture, sculpture, miniature, architecture, future

ive

am/em ma ly

ment

ogue or ous

er sion ssion at/aut ure