1111 Chapter 1

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4 Pronunciation and spelling
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12111 This chapter offers a pronunciation guide to European Portuguese with
3 examples of similar sounds in English. Wherever possible, we have attempt-
4 ed to provide close equivalent sounds in English but where this has proved
5 impossible, we offer approximate equivalents.
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8 1.1 Vowels
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20111 1.1.1 Oral vowels
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2 Example Pronounced as
3 a open a sapato fat
4 closed a sapato about
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unstressed a boca announce
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7 e open e cheque cheque
8 closed e cabelo fill
9 unstressed eB cheque bake
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as conjunction, or e 
1  eel
2 as first syllable of wordB elefante 
3 i fita feet
4 o B
open o loja lozenge
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closed o poço torso
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unstressed o poço zoo (approximate)
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8 u1 luta loot
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The u is silent in que, qui, gue and gui (quente, quinta, guerra, guitarra) and
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pronounced in qua, quo and gua (quatro, quorum, guarda).
41111 But there are some exceptions where the u is read: tranquilo, (tranqü iloB in Brazilian 3
Portuguese).
 1 Note: An acute accent over a vowel means that it is ‘open’ (e.g. lá , pé , avó ), 1111
Pronunciation whereas a circumflex accent means that the vowel is ‘closed’ (e.g. lê , avô ). 2
and spelling 3
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1.1.2 Nasal vowels (produced with some nasal resonance) 5
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A vowel is nasal if a tilde (~) is written above it or if it is followed by -m 7
or -n within the same syllable: 8
Example Pronounced as 9
1011
ã lã lamb 1
am amplo ample 12111
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an planta plankton 4
em empré stimo empower 5
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en entre entertain 7
om compras competition 8
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on contar contrary 20111
im sim scene 1
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in tinta tinder 3
um tumba  4
 tomb 5
un nunca  6
The word muito has a unique pronunciation because the i is pronounced 7
as a nasal vowel. 8
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1.2 ConsonantsB 2
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Most Portuguese consonants are pronounced in the same way as their 4
English equivalents, except for: 5
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Example Pronounced as
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ç 1 laço lace 8
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ch champô shampoo
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4 g + a, o, u2 gá s gash 41111
1111 g + e, i gelo measure
Consonants
2 h hora (not pronounced)
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4 j já measure
5 lh milhã o million
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7 nh vinho onion
8 q3 quadro quack
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1011 1
c is pronounced as in ‘lace’ before e and i, and as in ‘cat’ before a, o and u.
1 To be pronounced as in ‘lace’ before a, o and u, it must have a cedilla: ç .
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u after g is silent, when followed by e or i (e.g. guitarra, guerra).
12111 3
q appears only before u. Normally, the u is silent if e or i follow (e.g. má quina).
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4 r
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intervocalic or final, or preceded parar (rolling the ‘r’
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by a consonant (except n or l) a little more
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compras than in
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English)
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20111 initial, or preceded by n or l rabo robber (rolling
1 tenro the ‘r’)
2 palrar
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rr carro (as initial ‘r’)
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5 s
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initial samba samba
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8 intervocalic, or final if followed casa 
 kasbah
9 by vowel meus amigos 
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at end of syllable/word, if followed vespa 
1 
by unvoiced consonant (t, c, f, p) mosca 
2  sugar
fó sforos 
3 
meus pais 
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5 at end of syllable/word, if followed Lisboa 

6 by voiced consonant há s-de 
7 (b, d, g, m, n, r) rasgar 

8 mesmo  measure

9 cisne 
40 Israel 

41111 as mã os  5
 x 1111
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Pronunciation usual pronunciation xerife sheriff 2
and spelling Mé xico mesh 3
peixe fish 4
excelente geisha 5
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in words beginning with ex- exame  7

plus vowel existir  easy 8

exó tico  9
in a few words (memorize!) taxi taxi 1011
tó rax thorax 1
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in still fewer words (memorize!) trouxe  possible 3

pró ximo  4
z 5
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initial, or intervocalic zebra zebra 7
dizer dessert 8
final luz louche 9
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1.3 Diphthongs 2
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1.3.1 Oral diphthongs
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Example Pronounced as
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ai pai pie 8
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au mau power
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ei 1
lei lay 1
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eu1 teu phew (approximate)
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iu partiu Europe 4
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oi1 foi ‘oy!’
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ou sou though 7
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ui fui Louisiana (with more emphasis on the ‘u’)
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When these diphthongs carry an acute accent, the first vowel is pronounced with 40
6 its equivalent open sound (see 1.1.1), e.g. papé is, chapé u, só is. 41111
1111 1.3.2 Nasal diphthongsB Stress
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3 When pronouncing the examples below, it is important to remember that
4 the ‘n’ in the corresponding English words is not sounded. Imagine saying
5 the words when you have a blocked nose and you will be close!
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7 Example Pronounced as
8 ãe mã e main (approx.)
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1011 ãi cã ibra Cain (approx.)
1 ão pã o pound (but more nasal)
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3 -am amam mound (but more nasal)
4 -em, -en(s) sem saint (approx.)
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6 parabé ns chain (approx.)
7 õe põ e boing (approx.)
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1.4 Stress
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Portuguese words are normally stressed on the penultimate syllable, or on
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the final syllable if ending in -r, -l, -z or -u. In these cases, the accent is not
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required:
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6 do-cu-men-to document
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ve-lu-do velvet
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9 pro-fes-sor teacher
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ti-rar take
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2 co-mer eat
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par-tir break
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5 pa-pel paper
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a-zul blue
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8 ca-paz capable
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fe-liz happy
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41111 pe-ru turkey 7
 1 But whenever the stress falls on the antepenultimate or the last syllable, 1111
Pronunciation other than in the cases indicated above, the word has to take an accent: 2
and spelling 3
ú l-ti-mo last
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cha-mi-né chimney 5
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ir-mã sister
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fú -til futile 8
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mó -vel piece of furniture/mobile
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1.5 Accents
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In Portuguese there are four accents:
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´ acute accent (opens the vowel): á gua 6
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^ circumflex accent (closes the vowel): Zê zere
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~ tilde (nasalizes the vowel): irmã 9
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` grave accent (used only when there is a contraction of the
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preposition a with an article or pronoun): à , à quilo (a + a = à ;
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a + aquilo = à quilo)
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The accent is also used: 4
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(a) to distinguish different words:
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pelo by pê lo fur; body hair 7
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maça mace maçã apple
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pela by, for, through pé la ball 30111
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(b) to distinguish verbal forms:
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compramos we buy comprá mos we bought 3
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Note: The Brazilian variant takes no accent on the verbs with the same
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spelling but different tenses. Even the pronunciation is kept the same.
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