Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation
for English Speakers

by Carl Youngblood
graduate student at Brigham Young University

1 - Vowel sounds

Unlike English vowels, Portuguese vowel sounds don't differ from word to word. However, there are quite a few more variations in pronunciation than the simple AEIOU vowels of Spanish. These variations are usually (but not always) indicated by the type of accent that is over the vowel.

Vowel American English equivalent Example words
A Hear it hot
pot
trot		 falar Hear it (to speak)
fato Hear it (fact)
à Hear it (same as AM, AN, ÃM, ÃN) come
under		 cama Hear it (bed)
maçã Hear it (apple)
trânsito Hear it (traffic)
falando Hear it (speaking)
lâmina Hear it (blade)
ÉHear it hell
trek		 fé Hear it (faith)
dez Hear it (ten)
ÊHear it hit *
trip *		 medo Hear it (fear)
você Hear it (you)
EM Hear it (same as EN, ÊN, ÊM, ÉM) bang *
gang *		 bem Hear it (well, good)
vento Hear it (wind noun)
tempo Hear it (time, weather)
também Hear it (also)
I Hear it meet
week		 vidro Hear it (glass)
ciclo Hear it (cycle)
IM Hear it sing *
wing *		 sim Hear it (yes)
cupim Hear it (cow hump)
Ó Hear it saw * avó Hear it (grandmother)
bola Hear it (ball)
Ô Hear it soul
coat		 avô Hear it (grandfather)
bolo Hear it (cake)
O Hear it (at the end of a word) too *
you *		 dado Hear it (datum)
vidro Hear it (glass)
bico Hear it (beak)
Õ Hear it none bom Hear it (good)
som Hear it (sound)
pombo Hear it (male pigeon)
U Hear it too
you		 uva Hear it (grape)
tortura Hear it (torture)
UM Hear it none sumir Hear it (to disappear)
túmulo Hear it (tomb)

* There is no exact equivalent in English. This is an approximation.

2 - Consonant sounds

Consonant American English equivalent Example words
B Hear it bat bola Hear it (ball)
C Hear it ceiling when followed by an e or an i 
cold when followed by an a, o, u or another consonant 		ciclo Hear it (cycle)
cama Hear it (bed)
D Hear it dart
Tongue should be against teeth, unlike in English		 dado Hear it (datum)
F Hear it far fato Hear it (fact)
G Hear it azure when followed by an e or an i 
gate when followed by an a, o, u or another consonant
guacamole when followed by a ü 		gelo Hear it (ice)
gado Hear it (cattle)
guiar Hear it (to guide)
agüentar Hear it (to endure, to put up with)
H Hear it always silent hierarquia Hear it (hierarchy)
herança Hear it (inheritance)
J Hear it azure  jato Hear it (jet)
K Hear it cat  Only used in foreign words and proper names
L Hear it like 
how at the end of a word 		lago Hear it (lake)
Brasil Hear it (Brazil)
farol Hear it (light)
mel Hear it (honey)
mal Hear it (bad, ill, evil)
M Hear it mat  medo Hear it (fear)
N Hear it navy  when followed by a vowel 
indicates nasalization when preceeded by a vowel 		nada Hear it (nothing)
vento Hear it (wind noun)
trânsito Hear it (traffic)
falando Hear it (speaking)
P Hear it part 
with more voice behind it than an English P
halfway between B and P 		papo Hear it (chit-chat, conversation)
Q Hear it cart when followed by ue or ui
quaff when followed by ua, uo or ü 		qual Hear it (which)
quem Hear it (who, whom)
química Hear it (chemistry)
freqüentar Hear it (to attend, to frequent)
quota Hear it (quota)
R Hear it At the beginning of a word or doubled anywhere in a word, R is spoken differently depending on the region of Brazil:
  • Most of Brazil: heart only stronger H sound - rato Hear it (rat), terra Hear it (earth)
  • Southern Brazil: rolled twice like Spanish tierra - rato Hear it (rat), terra Hear it (earth)
Followed by a consonant or at the end of a word followed by another word that begins with a consonant, or at the end of a word followed by a pause:
  • Northeastern Brazil and Rio: heart only stronger H sound - amor Hear it (to speak), porta Hear it (door)
  • São Paulo capital and Southern Brazil: rolled once like Spanish R - amor Hear it (to speak), porta Hear it (door)
  • São Paulo interior: pronounced like American R in or - amor Hear it (to speak), porta Hear it (door)
Single R surrounded by vowels or at the end of a word followed by another word that begins with a vowel:
  • Rolled once like in Spanish (all regions of Brazil) - para Hear it (to, for)
S Hear it sun at the beginning of a word, when followed by a consonant, or anywhere in a word when doubled
zany when surrounded by vowels or at the end of a word when the following word begins with a vowel 		sol Hear it (sun) asa Hear it (wing)
T Hear it Tact
Tongue should be against teeth, unlike in English 		tato Hear it (touch)
V Hear it vote voto Hear it (vote)
W Hear it vote Only used in foreign words and proper names
X Hear it The X takes on one of four sounds depending on the word. Words must be memorized individually:
  • shy - xícara Hear it (teacup)
  • textile - taxista Hear it (taxi driver)
  • pass - próximo Hear it (next, near)
  • zap - exortar Hear it (exhort)
Y Hear it tea Only used in foreign words and proper names
Z Hear it zephyr azar Hear it (bad luck)

3 - Accentuation

Words ending in L, U, Z, I, R (known affectionately by some Americans as the "loser" rule) receive emphasis on the last syllable:
  • falar Hear it (to speak)
  • traduz Hear it (translates)
  • Brasil Hear it (Brazil)
  • tabu Hear it (taboo)
  • tupi Hear it (an indian tribe)
All other words are accented on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable, unless they are expicitly accented elsewhere:
  • paradeiro Hear it (stopping place, hideout)
  • todo Hear it (all, every)
  • pássaro Hear it (bird)
  • laboratório Hear it (laboratory)
Words with a single tilde are accented on the syllable with the tilde, unless there is another type of accent elsewhere in the word, in which case the syllable with the tilde is nasalized, but emphasis is on the syllable with the other accent.
  • cartão Hear it (card)
  • bênção Hear it (blessing)
  • órfão Hear it (orphan)

4 - Dipthongs

Some vowels become a single syllable with a changing vowel sound when they are together. These are:
  • ai Hear it
  • ao Hear it
  • au Hear it
  • ei Hear it
  • eu Hear it
  • iu Hear it
  • oi Hear it
  • ui Hear it