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

See also Regional variation in the pronunciation of r

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.

Standard pronunciation: mês, lápis, carros, latas, ostra, isqueiro, asma, esgotar, extra, ex-presidente, exclusivo, ex-mulher, luz, feliz, voz

Rio de Janeiro and Pará: mês, lápis, carros, latas, ostra, isqueiro, asma, esgotar, extra, ex-presidente, exclusivo, ex-mulher, luz, feliz, voz