Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation

In a country as large and diverse as Brazil, "correct" pronunciation is often a matter of who is speaking, where they come from and/or where one happens to be. In the following, we have chosen to use the pronunciation of the state of Minas Gerais because they use what many consider the most "neutral" or “general” Brazilian pronunciation – somewhat akin to "general American" English one hears spoken by most U.S. newscasters.

Unlike English, Brazilian Portuguese is most often pronounced exactly as it is spelled, consequently, knowing the Brazilian pronunciation of the various Portuguese vowels, consonants, diphthongs and diagraphs can be extremely useful in helping your improve your pronunciation.

_ —————————— Vowels ——————————

a	pronounced like the a in father
e	variously pronounced either like the ay in say or the e in bet
i	pronounced like the ee in meet
o	pronounced like the o in vote
u	pronounced like the oo in boot

—————————— Consonants ——————————

b	pronounced much like English
c	before an e or i — pronounced like the s in safe
c	before an a, o or u — pronounced like the c in coin or cat
ç	before an a, o or u — pronounced like the s in several
d	pronounced like English except before i or e where it is pronounced like the dj in judge
g	before an a, o or u — pronounced like the hard g in got
g	before an e or i — pronounced like the soft g sound in pleasure
h	silent except when followed by an n where it creates the nasal sound similar to the Spanish ñ as in señor
j	pronounced like the dj sound in measure
k	pronounced like the k in kite
l	pronounced like English except it tends to nasalize the vowel preceeding it — when following an a or i as the last letter of a word it takes on a w sound
m	pronounced like English except it tends to nasalize the vowel preceeding it — when the last letter of a word pronounced without closing the lips at the end — like an n
n	pronounced like English except it tends to nasalize the vowel preceeding it
r	as the first letter of a word – pronounced like a nasalized h in heat––––inside a word – pronounced much like English––––at the end a word – pronounced somewhat gutterally
s	between vowels pronounced like the z sound in rose, otherwise liike the s in satisfaction
t	pronounced like English except when follwed by an e or (especially) an i when it is pronounced like the chee in cheese
v	pronounced like English
w	Brazilians tend to pronounce like a v, for example, Walter becomes Valter
x	variously pronounced like the sh in shed (e.g. xuxa = shoe-sha), the s in seen or the x in taxi
y	pronounced like the y in yell or the ee sound in funny — mainly in words of foreign origin — alone = ipsilon
z	pronounced like the z in zero

—————— Diphthongs ——————

ai	pronounced like the ie in pie
ão	pronounced like the own in town but nasalized
au	pronounced like the ow in cow or the ou in ouch
ei	pronounced like the ay in day
eu	pronounced ay-oo like the ay in hay + the oo in boot
ia	pronounced ee-ah like the ee in beet + the a in father
ie	pronounced like the e in yes
io	pronounced ee-oh like the ee in meet + the o in boat
iu	pronounced ee-oo like the ee in feet + the oo in boot
oi	pronounced "closed" like the oy in toy
ou	pronounced like the ow in slow
ua	pronounced like the oo-ah in watch minus the w sound
ue	pronounced oo-eh like the oo in boot + the ay in pay
ui	pronounced oo-ee like the oo in foot + the ee in beet
uo	pronounced like the uo in quote

—————— Diagraphs ——————

ch	pronounced like the ch in machine or the sh in shoot
lh	pronounced similar to the lli in million
nh	pronounced like the ni in onion; also similar to the Spanish ñ as in señor
qu	before a or o pronounced like the qu in quota
qu	before e or i pronounced like the c in capitol
rr	pronounced like the h in heat — e.g. "marrom" (brown) pronounced mah-hone
ss	pronounced like the ss in missing
te	pronounced either like the ch in chafe or the chee in cheese
ti	pronounced like the chee in cheese