What are the most important spelling and pronunciation rules in Brazilian Portuguese?

In Brazilian Portuguese, the sounds of the vowels a, i, u are very basic:

• A / a → [ah] as in “car”

  mar(sea)

• I / i → [ee] as in “Bambi"

  igreja(church)

• U / u → [oo] as in “student”

  rua(street)

On the other hand, the pronunciation of e and o have more than one pronunciation, which often depends on whether they are stressed or unstressed. Let's look more closely:

Diphthongs are combinations of two different vowel sounds that appear within the same syllable. There are two main ways to write a diphthong in Brazilian Portuguese:

• Those formed by the combining of a strong vowel (a, e, or o) with a weak vowel or “semivowel,” (i or u), though a diphthong can also be formed by combining u and i.

  • noite[nohee·chee](night)

  • feira [fay·rah](fair)

• Those formed by combining any vowel (a, e, i, o, u) with the consonant l. Whenever you see an l after a vowel in Brazilian Portuguese, it sounds like [oo].

  animal[ah·nee·mahoo](animal)

Here are some more examples of words that have diphthongs in Brazilian Portuguese:

Have a look at this additional diphthong reference table for more examples and details!

Triphthongs are a sequence of three vowel sounds that are pronounced together in the same syllable. In Brazilian Portuguese, they all start with the vowel u, which is followed by a combination of other vowels. They can also end with l, which (as we saw above) will be pronounced [oo].

• qual(which)

• Eu busquei(I searched)

Triphthongs usually occur after the letters g and q, as above.

Check out our triphthong reference table to see more details and examples!

Nasal sounds are sounds that are made by passing air through the nose as well as the mouth. These types of sounds majorly contribute to the distinct “sound” of Portuguese. Look at the difference between nasal and oral sounds:

• Oral sounds → air only goes through the mouth

  pato

  duck

  → Sounds clear, like the “ah” in “papa”

• Nasal Sounds → air goes through the mouth, but also through the nose

  pão

  bread

  → Sounds tight, like the “ah” in “mom” (said in a Minnesota accent)

There are five nasal vowels in Portuguese: a, e, i, o, u. Sometimes nasal vowels are indicated with the tilde ( ~ ), and other times by the presence of the consonants m or n directly after the vowel. Nasal sounds also often occur in diphthongs and triphthongs.

The letter c can have two sounds in Brazilian Portuguese: [k] and [s].

• The letter c is pronounced [k]before the vowels a, o, and u, forming the syllables -ca, -co, -cu.

  • café(coffee)

  • cobertor(blanket)

  • cura(cure)

• The letter c is pronounced [s] before the vowels e and i, forming the syllables -ce, -ci.

  • cebola(onion)

  • cidade(city)

  • doce(sweet)

  • vacina(vaccine)

Similar to the letter c, the consonant g can also have two sounds: [g] and [zh].

• The letter g is pronounced [g] (like in “goal”) before the vowels a, o, u, forming the syllables -ga, -go, -gu.

  • gato(cat)

  • amigo(male friend)

  • agulha(needle)

• The letter g is pronounced [zh] (like in “beige”) before the vowels e and i, forming the syllables -ge, -gi.

  • gente(people)

  • girassol(sunflower)

  • gema(egg yolk)

  • gengibre(ginger)

  Important

  In some words, the sound [zh] is spelled with the letter j instead. Compare:

  • gelo[zhayloo](ice)

  • jeito[zhayeetoo](way)

In Brazilian Portuguese, the letter h is always silent at the beginning of a word. We say:

• hora[awrah](hour)

• hospital[ohspitahoo](hospital)

• homem[ohmen](man)

Although less common, the silent h can also appear in other positions of the word, as in the name of the Brazilian state Bahia[bah·EE·ah]. The silent h in the middle of a word can often indicate that two sequential vowels (like the ia in Bahia) do not form a diphthong, but belong to separate syllables.

However, when the letter h appears after c, l, or n, it forms letter groups that have a special pronunciation. Let’s see them below.

In Brazilian Portuguese the letter combinations ch, lh, and nh are called “digraphs.” A digraph is a combination of two letters that represents a single sound that cannot be described by a single letter. In Brazilian Portuguese the digraphs with h are:

• ch = [sh] as in “shower”

  • chave(key)

  • sanduíche(sandwich)

  • chuva(rain)

• lh = [ly] as in “million"

  • abelha (bee)

  • bilhete(ticket)

  • espelho(mirror)

  Tip

  To pronounce the sound of -lh, you can try to think that the h sounds like a very fast pronunciation of the vowel -i[-ee], as in olho[ohlyoh].

• nh = [ny] as in “onion”

  • galinha(chicken)

  • banheiro(bathroom)

  • sonho(dream)

In Brazilian Portuguese, the letter l has two main pronunciations:

• The letter l is pronounced [l] (as in “land”) when it's placed before a vowel.

  • longe(far)

  • lagoa (lagoon)

• The letter l is pronounced [oo] when it’s placed before a consonant or at the end of a word.

  • almofada[aoomohfahdah](cushion)

  • abril[ahbreeoo](April)

  • sul[soo](south)

Remember also that the sequence lh has a special pronunciation!

The r in Brazilian Portuguese can have various sounds, depending on its position and the other words that appear between it.

• The letter r is pronounced [r] (a light trill) when a single r appears between vowels. To make this sound, just tap the tip of your tongue once to the roof of your mouth, as in:

  • barato[bahrahtoo](cheap)

  • caro[kahroh](expensive)

• The letter r is pronounced [h] (pronounced in the throat, sort of like the “h” in “hot”) in a few different cases:

  • at the beginning of a word

    rua[hooah](street)

  • in combination with another r (as in rr)

    cachorro[kahshohhoh](dog)

  • after an n or s

    • honra[onhah](honor)

    • desrespeito[dayshayspayeetoo](disrespect)

• The letter r is pronounced as a full trill (a quick vibration of the tip of the tongue) after consonants other than r, n, or s.

  • privado[preevahdoo](private)

  • francês[frahnsays](French)

  • livro[leevroh](book)

  • troca[trawkah](change)

• The letter r is close to silent at the end of the word, as in the examples below.

  • brincar[breenkah](to play)

  • fazer[fahzay](to do/make)

  • dormir[doormee](to sleep)

  Important

  The final r sound varies depending on the region and the speaker’s accent. In Rio de Janeiro, for instance, the final r sounds stronger than in São Paulo. Whereas it's common to say [breencah] in São Paulo, in Rio de Janeiro brincar sounds more like [breencahh], with a strong [h] sound for the final r at the end.

In Brazilian Portuguese the letter s alone has a different sound from the double letter ss.

• The double letter ss is always pronounced [s] (as in “song”)

  • professora(female teacher)

  • pássaro(bird)

• The letter s can either be pronounced [s] (as in “song”) or [z](as in “zoo”).

  It is pronounced [s] in the following situations:

  • At the beginning of a word: sapo(frog), suor(sweat)

  • At the end of a word: calças(trousers), óculos(glasses)

  • After another consonant: urso(bear)

  • Before a voiceless consonant (c, f, p, q, t): ostra(oyster), asfalto(asphalt)

  It is pronounced [z] in the following situations:

  • Between two vowels: Brasil(Brazil), asa(flag)

  • Before a voiced consonant (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v): fantasma(phantom), mesmo(same)

The pronunciation of x is very interesting, as it can have four sounds in Brazilian Portuguese: [sh], [s], [z], or [ks].

• The letter x is pronounced [sh] (like the sh in “shop”) when it is at the beginning of a word or between vowels.

  • xícara(cup)

  • xale(shawl)

  • caixa(chess)

  • peixe(fish)

  Exception!

  The x is pronounced [s] in the following words, even though it shows up between vowels:

  • auxiliar(to help)

  • máximo(maximum)

  • sintaxe(syntaxes)

  • próximo(next)

  • trouxe(brought)

• The letter x is pronounced [s] before voiceless consonants (c, f, p, q, t).

  • extra(extra)

  • expressão(expression)

  • explicar(explain)

• The letter x is pronounced [z] in words that begin with ex- followed by a vowel or a voiced consonant (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v).

  • exame(exam)

  • exemplo(example)

  • exercício(exercise)

• The letter x is pronounced [ks] in only a few words in Brazilian Portuguese:

  • táxi(taxi)

  • anexo(attachment)

  • complexo(complex)

  • tóxico(toxic)

See our list with more examples of x pronounced as [ks].

When the letters d and t are followed by the e (unstressed) or i, they are pronounced [j] and [ch], respectively.

• de[je]

• di[ji]

• te[che]

• ti[chi]

This change in pronunciation of d and t can occur in any part of a word, as long as the d or t is followed by the sound [ee] (which is spelled with an i or an unstressed e). This often happens at the end of a word (depende or pente below), but this sound can also occur at the beginning of a word (dia or tia below):

• depende[dehpehnjee](depends)

• dia[jeeah](day)

• pente[pehnchee](comb)

• tia[cheeah](aunt)

Why is the first syllable in the word in depende(depends) not pronounced [jee]?

Remember that for the letters d / t to be pronounced [j]/ [ch], the sound following the consonant must be [ee]. In the word depende, the first d is followed by a stressed “e” sound, which is pronounced [eh] or [ay] instead. Therefore the d and t are pronounced normally. Take a look at this contrast:

• dele[dehlee](of him)

• desfrutar[jeesfrootah](to enjoy)

• entender[ehntehndeh](to understand)

• teatro[cheeahtroo](theater)

Although this change to [j] and [ch] is common in cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, this change does not occur in all regions of Brazil, like in the north or some parts of the south of Brazil.