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 → (transcribed ah) as in “car”

  mar (meaning sea)

• I / i → (transcribed ee) as in “Bambi"

  igreja (meaning church)

• U / u → (transcribed oo) as in “student”

  rua (meaning 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 (transcribed nohee·chee, meaning “night”)

  • feira (transcribed fay·rah, meaning “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 (transcribed ah·nee·mahoo, meaning “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 (meaning which)

• Eu busquei (meaning 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

  Translation: duck

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

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

  pão

  Translation: 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].

1. The letter c is pronounced (transcribed k)before the vowels a, o, and u, forming the syllables -ca, -co, -cu.

   • café (meaning coffee)

   • cobertor (meaning blanket)

   • cura (meaning cure)

2. The letter c is pronounced (transcribed s) before the vowels e and i, forming the syllables -ce, -ci.

   • cebola (meaning onion)

   • cidade (meaning city)

   • doce (meaning sweet)

   • vacina (meaning vaccine)

Similar to the letter c, the consonant g can also have two sounds: (transcribed g) and (transcribed zh).

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

   • gato (meaning cat)

   • amigo (meaning male friend)

   • agulha (meaning needle)

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

   • gente (meaning people)

   • girassol (meaning sunflower)

   • gema (meaning egg yolk)

   • gengibre (meaning ginger)

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

• hora (transcribed awrah, meaning “hour”)

• hospital (transcribed ohspitahoo, meaning “hospital”)

• homem (transcribed ohmen, meaning “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 (transcribed 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 = (transcribed sh) as in “shower”

  • chave (meaning key)

  • sanduíche (meaning sandwich)

  • chuva (meaning rain)

• lh = (transcribed ly) as in “million"

  • abelha (meaning bee)

  • bilhete (meaning ticket)

  • espelho (meaning mirror)

• nh = (transcribed ny) as in “onion”

  • galinha (meaning chicken)

  • banheiro (meaning bathroom)

  • sonho (meaning dream)

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

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

  • longe (meaning far)

  • lagoa (meaning lagoon)

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

  • almofada (transcribed aoomohfahdah, meaning “cushion”)

  • abril (transcribed ahbreeoo, meaning “April”)

  • sul (transcribed soo, meaning “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 (transcribed 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 (transcribed bahrahtoo, meaning “cheap”)

  • caro (transcribed kahroh, meaning “expensive”)

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

  • at the beginning of a word

    rua (transcribed hooah, meaning “street”)

  • in combination with another r (as in rr)

    cachorro (transcribed kahshohhoh, meaning “dog”)

  • after an n or s

    • honra (transcribed onhah, meaning “honor”)

    • desrespeito (transcribed dayshayspayeetoo, meaning “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 (transcribed preevahdoo, meaning “private”)

  • francês (transcribed frahnsays, meaning “French”)

  • livro (transcribed leevroh, meaning “book”)

  • troca (transcribed trawkah, meaning “change”)

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

  • brincar (transcribed breenkah, meaning “to play”)

  • fazer (transcribed fahzay, meaning “to do/make”)

  • dormir (transcribed doormee, meaning “to sleep”)

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

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

  • professora (meaning female teacher)

  • pássaro (meaning bird)

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

  It is pronounced (transcribed s) in the following situations:

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

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

  • After another consonant: urso (meaning bear)

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

  It is pronounced (transcribed z) in the following situations:

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

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

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

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

  • xícara (meaning cup)

  • xale (meaning shawl)

  • caixa (meaning chess)

  • peixe (meaning fish)

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

  • extra (meaning extra)

  • expressão (meaning expression)

  • explicar (meaning explain)

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

  • exame (meaning exam)

  • exemplo (meaning example)

  • exercício (meaning exercise)

• The letter x is pronounced (transcribed ks) in only a few words in Brazilian Portuguese:

  • táxi (meaning taxi)

  • anexo (meaning attachment)

  • complexo (meaning complex)

  • tóxico (meaning toxic)

See our list with more examples of x pronounced as (transcribed ks).

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

• de (transcribed je)

• di (transcribed ji)

• te (transcribed che)

• ti (transcribed 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 (transcribed 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 (transcribed dehpehnjee, meaning “depends”)

• dia (transcribed jeeah, meaning “day”)

• pente (transcribed pehnchee, meaning “comb”)

• tia (transcribed cheeah, meaning “aunt”)

Why is the first syllable in the word in depende (meaning depends) not pronounced (transcribed jee)?

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

• dele (transcribed dehlee, meaning “of him”)

• desfrutar (transcribed jeesfrootah, meaning “to enjoy”)

• entender (transcribed ehntehndeh, meaning “to understand”)

• teatro (transcribed cheeahtroo, meaning “theater”)

Although this change to (transcribed j) and (transcribed 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.