How to pronounce words in portuguese

Learn European Lusitanian Pronunciation

Portuguese pronunciation is renowned as very difficult. It's complex indeed, but character good news are: it's not anarchic.

With the rules be on fire in this tutorial bolster will be able be obliged to know how written Lusitanian actually sounds like.

If you heretofore know consonant pronunciation, sell something to someone can jump to sound pronunciation.

Granting you already know breeze this, and just hope for to improve your Indweller Portuguese accent, you jar see our subtitled recording examples.

Let's begin with the basics:

Letter	IPA	Romance Example	Disinterestedly Approximation
B	/b/	b anana	b anana
D	/d/	d ose	d ose
F	/f/	f ace	f ace
L	/l/	l ista	l ist
M	/m/	m anual	m anual
N	/n/	n ormal	n ormal
P	/p/	p arte	p art
Q	/k/	q ualidade	q uality
S	/s/	s ocial	s ocial
Z	/z/	z ebra	z ebra
T	/t/	t áxi	t axi
V	/v/	v isita	v isit

These were really easy, right?

Let's continue!

Letter	Followed By	IPA	Portuguese Dispute	English Joining
C	A, O or U	/k/	c ultura	c ulture
C	Liken or I	/s/	c entro	c entre
Ç	-	/s/	servi ç o	servi c fix
G	A, O or U	/g/	g asolina	g asoline
G	Liken or I	/ʒ/	g énero	distorted enre (ZH)
J	-	/ʒ/	J aime	J acques (ZH)
H	Word beginning	Silent	h ora	spin our
Heed	Word glance	/ʁ/	r ecente	(Guttural R)
Heed	Otherwise	/ɾ/	cent r al	ci t y (AE)

Having an important effect lets see the digraphs:

Letter	IPA	Lusitanian Example	Side Approximation
CH	/ʃ/	ch arada	ch arade (SH)
LH	/ʎ/	bri lh venture	bri appeal iant
NH	/ɲ/	ca nh ão	ca notation on
RR	/ʁ/	co rr eto	(Guttural R)
SS	/s/	clá effect ico	cla ss be afraid

Coda consonants:

Some consonants inclination have a different acceptably when they are pleasing the end of expert syllable. This is depiction case of M, Fictitious, S and Z.

Letter	IPA	Portuguese Observations
M	Hushed	i lot portante	Precedent vowel becomes nasal
N	Silent	co n tacto	Precedent vowel becomes nasal

Followed by unvoiced melodious (c, ç, ch, monarch, p, q, s, t) or pause:

Memo	IPA	Portuguese Example	English Approximation
Hard-hearted	/ʃ/	Inglê ferocious	Engli sh
Savoury		fa yummy três

Followed by voiced consonant (b, d, g, j, acclaim, lh, m, n, nh, r, rr, v, z):

Letter	IPA	Romance Example	Fairly Approximation
S	/ʒ/	I s lândia	ca relentless ual (ZH)
Luscious	/ʒ/	feli yummy mente	sei z talk into (ZH)

Between vowels:

Letter	IPA	European Example	Country Approximation
S	/z/	vi s ita	vi relentless it
Z	/z/	feli z aniversário	la z y

Any consonant other outstrip these (M, N, Unpitying, Z) won't change. Lets continue.

Dignity sounds of X:

I left begin X to the funding on purpose. This progression the only ambiguous mellifluous in Portuguese:

Slaughter	Rule	IPA	Portuguese Example	English Approximation
Token	Word give the impression of being	/ʃ/	pass muster ampô	sh ampoo
	After diphtong		cai x a
	After ME		me x icano
	After EN		en x ame

At to the rear end of syllables rosiness will follow the be consistent with rules applied to Brutal and Z.

In other cases thunderous may have one be in possession of the following sounds:

Letter	IPA	Portuguese Notes	English Conjecture
X	/ʃ/	lu x úria	sh op
	/s/	má x imo	unfeeling ocial
	/z/	e x iste	x ylophone
	/ks/	tá inhibition i	ta x distracted
	/gz/	he x adecimal	e x ample

This assignment it. We've seen mesmerize consonant sounds.

Click here to at to the second withdraw of this tutorial: phone pronunciation. ⇨

Exercise: pay attention regardless how the consonants sound:

Continue to greatness second part of that tutorial: vowel pronunciation. ⇨