A to Z
PORTUGUESE VOWELS
Portuguese vowel sounds can be tricky. Depending on its placement in a word, a vowel can take a distinct nasal sound, or not. Brazilians do open their mouths wider than the Portuguese, and are thus a bit easier to understand. Here is a general idea:
a as in 'father', ex falar
ã as in 'plan', ex irmã. This is a nasal sound.
e as in 'where', ex certo, or as in 'happen', ex pensar
i as in 'see', ex partida
o as in 'no', ex nova, or as in 'shoot', ex brinco
u as in 'boot', ex durmo
PORTUGUESE CONSONANTS
Portuguese consonants also differ from the English sounds in different situations. Follow the table below:
b as in 'ball', ex beleza
ç as in 'sent', ex começa
c as in 'come', ex comprar
ch as in 'shall', ex chocolate
d as in 'dark', ex dar, or like the g in 'gym', ex cidade
f as in 'fan', ex falar
g like the 's' in 'treasure', ex geleia
g as in 'gone', ex pagar
h is silent, ex hotel
j like the 's' in 'pleasure', ex julho
l as in 'lap', ex ligar
lh like the 'lli' in in 'billion', ex mulher
m as in 'map', ex mesa
n as in 'nat', ex nadar
nh like the 'ni' in 'bunion', ex vinho
p as in 'park', ex parar
q(u) as in 'quarter', ex quando
q(u) + e/i is pronounced as a silent 'u', ex queijo ('kay-zhoo')
r (initial) is almost silent and sounds like a hard 'h', ex Rio de Janeiro ('hee-o')
r as in 'run', ex compro
s as in 'salt', ex sol
s + vowels as in 'zoo', ex casa
t as in 'ton', ex todo
v as in 'vintage', ex vida
x as in 'sham', ex baixo
z as in 'zoo', ex fazer
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