Consonants
b
[b] as in English: baba, beber, bobo
c
[k] as in cap before a, o and u: café, copo, cura
Note that when it begins a word or a stressed syllable, the English [k] sound is usually aspirated, i.e. accompanied by a burst of breath. This does not happen with the Portuguese [k] sound.
[s] as in cite before e and i: centro, cínico, Ceará
ç
[s] as in cite: raça, moço, emoção
ch
[ʃ] as in shop: choque, chato, bicho
d
[d] as in day before a, e, o, u: dado, deixar, doido, duna
[dʒ] as in Jill before i and unstressed final e: dia, diretor, sede, juventude
also in the unstressed prefix des-: desaparecer, desvio, desfile
f
[f] as in English: farofa, fino, fofo
g
[g] as in game before a, o and u: gás, longo, gula
[ʒ] as in measure before e and i: gente, corrigir, viagem
gu
[gw] as in Gwyneth before a and o: guarda, língua, exíguo
[g] as in get before e and i: guerra, guitarra , mangueira
[gw] in some words: aguentar, linguiça, averiguei
h
silent in word-initial position: herói, hora, humano
except in some words of foreign origin, where it is pronounced [h] as in English: hall, hóquei, hip-hop
see separate alphabetical entries for the two-letter combinations ch, lh and nh
j
[ʒ] as in measure: já, jeito, queijo
k
[k] as in kit: Karina, Kátia, zika
l
[l] as in land before a vowel: longe, lado, belo
[w] as in how before a consonant or at the end of a word: alto, selva, mil, sol, multa, Brasil
lh
[ʎ] as in million: olho, joelho, olhar
m
[m] as in man before a vowel: motor, tema, imitar
before a consonant or at the end of a word, it is not pronounced as a separate letter, but merely serves to indicate that the preceding vowel is nasal: tempo, rombo, sim, trem
n
[n] as in no before a vowel: nada, sino, iniciar
before a consonant or at the end of a word, it is not pronounced as a separate letter, but merely serves to indicate that the preceding vowel is nasal: pronto, suspender, trens, hífen, pólen
nh
[ỹ] is a nasalized y sound: vinho, sonho, senha, banhar
p
[p] as in English: papo, praia, aplauso
Note that when it begins a word or a stressed syllable, the English [p] sound is usually aspirated, i.e. accompanied by a burst of breath. This does not happen with the Portuguese [p] sound.
qu
[kw] as in quake before a and o: quarto, quociente, longínquo
[k] as in bouquet before e and i: que, questão, quiser
Note that when it begins a word or a stressed syllable, the English [k] sound is usually aspirated, i.e. accompanied by a burst of breath. This does not happen with the Portuguese [k] sound.
[kw] in some words: cinquenta, frequente, quinquagésimo
r
is pronounced as a single trill, as in Spanish, Italian and Scottish English, between vowels and after most consonants (b, c, d, f, g, k, p, t, v): caro, fraco, brasileiro
The single trill pronunciation may also be considered the standard in syllable-final position, i.e. before another consonant, and word-final position (except in the infinitive form of verbs): porta, arma, forno, azar, mar, amador
in word-initial position and after the consonants m and n (indicating a preceding nasal vowel), l and s, it is pronounced like the English [h] in hot: rio, resto, genro, guelra, Israel
as the final letter of an infinitive verb, it is not usually pronounced at all: amar, fazer, pedir
though it is usually reinstated as a single trill when the following word starts with a vowel: amar os filhos, fazer isso, pedir outro
rr
[h] as in hot: carro, erro, burro
s
[s] as in sing at the beginning of a word, after a consonant or nasal vowel or before a voiceless consonant (c, f, p, qu, t): som, urso, tenso, ostra, isqueiro
[z] as in zoo between vowels or before a voiced consonant (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v): casa, rosa, asma, esgotar
[s] at the end of a word: mês, lápis, carros, latas
except when there is a word following in the same phrase which begins with a vowel or voiced consonant (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v), in which case it is pronounced [z] and the two words are run together: aquelas árvores, as mulheres, eles estão, os dados
See also Regional variation in the pronunciation of s, x and z
ss
[s] as in sing: isso, passar, sucesso
t
[t] as in top before a, e, o, u: tatu, totem, tudo
Note that when it begins a word or a stressed syllable, the English [t] sound is usually aspirated, i.e. accompanied by a burst of breath. This does not happen with the Portuguese [t] sound.
[tʃ] as in chip before i and unstressed final e: tia, notificar, forte, leste
w
pronounced [u], it only occurs in foreign words and proper names: webcam, Woody, windsurfe
In many Brazilian proper names, it is pronounced [v]: Wanderlei, Wagner
x
[ʃ] as in shop in word-initial position: xale, xis, Xerox
[s] before a voiceless consonant (c, f, p, qu, t): extra, ex-presidente, exceção, exclusivo
[z] in words beginning ex- followed by a vowel and before a voiced consonant (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v): exame, ex-mulher, exótico
[ʃ] as in shop between vowels: caixa, peixe, bruxa
[s] in auxílio, máximo, próximo, trouxe etc.
[ks] in anexo, axila, boxe, complexo, fixo etc.
[ks] in word-final position: box, duplex, Félix
y
pronounced [i], it only occurs in foreign words and proper names: Nova York
z
[z] as in zoo, though may also be heard as [s] in word-final position: zebra, zoar, fazer, luz, feliz, voz
See also Regional variation in the pronunciation of s, x and z
Regional Variations
Regional variation in the pronunciation of r
There is considerable regional variation in the pronunciation of r, especially in syllable-final position, and it is one of the ways of detecting where someone is from.
The ‘standard’ pronunciation of syllable-final r is heard in the city of São Paulo and much of the south: porta, arma, forno, azar, mar, amador
while in Rio and Bahia, it is pronounced as a guttural [χ] sound, like the ch in the German word Achtung: porta, arma, forno, azar, mar, amador
In the interior of São Paulo state, Minas Gerais and much of the midwest, it is realized as a retroflex r, similar to the American or British West Country pronunciation of r as in car: porta, arma, forno, azar, mar, amador
Regional variation in the pronunciation of s, x and z
Instead of [s] and [z], syllable-final s, x and z are pronounced as [ʃ] and [ʒ] in some parts of Brazil, especially the states of Rio de Janeiro and Pará.