The Portuguese alphabet, nasal vowels, special consonants (LH, NH, Ç, RR) and the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese.
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Vowels & the Portuguese Alphabet
Portuguese has 5 written vowels but up to 12 vowel sounds. Oral and nasal vowels are the soul of the language.
a aberto
/a/ · KAH-za
open a
casa — house
a fechado
/ɐ/ · bɐ-NÃ-nɐ
reduced a (unstressed)
banana — banana
e aberto
/ɛ/ · ka-FEH
open e
café — coffee
e fechado
/e/ · MEH-zɐ
closed e
mesa — table
i
/i/ · LEE-vru
clear i
livro — book
o aberto
/ɔ/ · POR-tɐ
open o
porta — door
o fechado
/o/ · a-VOH
closed o
avô — grandfather
u
/u/ · LOO-ɐ
clear u
lua — moon
In Brazilian Portuguese, unstressed final e sounds like 'i' and final o sounds like 'u': leite → 'LEI-chi', livro → 'LEE-vru'.
A casa é bonita e a lua é grande.
The house is beautiful and the moon is big.
O café está na mesa.
The coffee is on the table.
Nasal Vowels — the soul of Portuguese
Nasal vowels are THE distinctive feature of Portuguese. Air flows through the nose, creating a unique resonance.
ã
/ɐ̃/ · ma-SÃ
nasal a
maçã — apple
ão
/ɐ̃w̃/ · PÃOW
nasal ao diphthong
pão, mão — bread, hand
õe
/õj̃/ · li-MOĨSH
nasal oe diphthong
limões — lemons
ãe
/ɐ̃j̃/ · MÃI
nasal ae diphthong
mãe — mother
im / in
/ĩ/ · SĨ, VEE-nyu
nasal i
sim, vinho — yes, wine
um / un
/ũ/ · Ũ, MŨN-du
nasal u
um, mundo — one, world
To produce a nasal vowel, say the vowel but let air flow through your nose. The tilde (~) always means nasal: ã, õ. Also nasal before m or n: sim, bom, antes.
Minha mãe come pão com limão.
My mother eats bread with lemon.
Sim, o mundo é bonito.
Yes, the world is beautiful.
Special Consonants: LH, NH, Ç, SS, RR
These consonant sounds are uniquely Portuguese and essential for correct pronunciation.
lh
/ʎ/ · O-lyu, FEE-lyu
like 'lli' in million
olho, filho — eye, son
nh
/ɲ/ · BA-nyu, VEE-nyu
like 'ñ' in Spanish
banho, vinho — bath, wine
ç
/s/ · a-SOO-kar, ko-ra-SÃOW
always 's' sound
açúcar, coração — sugar, heart
ss
/s/ · PA-sa-ru, pe-SO-ɐ
double s = 's'
pássaro, pessoa — bird, person
rr
/ʁ/ · KA-hu, TE-hɐ
guttural r (like French r)
carro, terra — car, earth
r initial
/ʁ/ · HA-tu, HI-u
guttural at start
rato, rio — mouse, river
In Brazilian Portuguese, RR and initial R sound like an English 'H': carro = 'KA-hu', Rio = 'HI-u'. In European Portuguese, it's more guttural.
O filho toma banho com água quente.
The son takes a bath with hot water.
O carro vermelho é do meu irmão.
The red car is my brother's.
Brazilian vs European Portuguese
The two main variants differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and some grammar. Both are beautiful!
tu / você
· too / vo-SEH
you (PT vs BR)
Tu queres? / Você quer?
autocarro / ônibus
· ow-to-KA-hu / O-ni-bus
bus (PT vs BR)
O autocarro / O ônibus
pequeno-almoço / café da manhã
·
breakfast (PT vs BR)
O pequeno-almoço / O café da manhã
telemóvel / celular
·
cellphone (PT vs BR)
O telemóvel / O celular
comboio / trem
·
train (PT vs BR)
O comboio / O trem
Brazilian Portuguese has softer pronunciation and uses você instead of tu. European Portuguese sounds more 'compressed' with many reduced vowels. Both are mutually intelligible!