Introduction
The European Portuguese alphabet consists of 26 letters, similar to the English alphabet. However, the pronunciation of these letters and their combinations can differ significantly from English and even from Brazilian Portuguese. This guide will help you understand how to pronounce European Portuguese letters and common letter combinations. We’ll use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for precise phonetic representations, but don’t worry if you’re not familiar with it – we’ll explain the sounds in simple terms too!
The Alphabet
Here’s the European Portuguese alphabet with the name of each letter:
| Letter | Name |
|---|---|
| A | á |
| B | bê |
| C | cê |
| D | dê |
| E | é |
| F | efe |
| G | gê |
| H | agá |
| I | i |
| J | jota |
| K | capa |
| L | ele |
| M | eme |
| N | ene |
| O | ó |
| P | pê |
| Q | quê |
| R | erre |
| S | esse |
| T | tê |
| U | u |
| V | vê |
| W | dáblio |
| X | xis |
| Y | ípsilon |
| Z | zê |
Now, let’s dive into how to pronounce each of these letters and some common combinations.
How to Pronounce Letters in European Portuguese
Vowels
How to pronounce A in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /a/ (like ‘a’ in “father”) when stressed
- /ɐ/ (similar to ‘u’ in “but”) when unstressed
- Name: á
- Examples:
- casa (house) – /ˈkazɐ/
- amanhã (tomorrow) – /ɐmɐˈɲɐ̃/
How to pronounce E in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ɛ/ (like ‘e’ in “bed”) when stressed
- /ə/ (like ‘a’ in “about”) when unstressed
- /e/ (like ‘ay’ in “say”) in some stressed positions
- Name: é
- Examples:
- pé (foot) – /pɛ/
- de (of) – /də/
- mês (month) – /meʃ/
How to pronounce I in European Portuguese
- Sound: /i/ (like ‘ee’ in “see”)
- Name: i
- Example: ilha (island) – /ˈiʎɐ/
How to pronounce O in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ɔ/ (like ‘o’ in “hot”) when stressed
- /u/ (like ‘oo’ in “boot”) when unstressed
- /o/ (like ‘o’ in “go”) in some stressed positions
- Name: ó
- Examples:
- avó (grandmother) – /ɐˈvɔ/
- olho (eye) – /ˈoʎu/
- avô (grandfather) – /ɐˈvo/
How to pronounce U in European Portuguese
- Sound: /u/ (like ‘oo’ in “boot”)
- Name: u
- Example: uva (grape) – /ˈuvɐ/
Consonants
How to pronounce B in European Portuguese
- Sound: /b/ (like ‘b’ in “bad”)
- Name: bê
- Example: bola (ball) – /ˈbɔlɐ/
How to pronounce C in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /k/ before a, o, u
- /s/ before e, i
- Name: cê
- Examples:
- casa (house) – /ˈkazɐ/
- cedo (early) – /ˈsedu/
How to pronounce D in European Portuguese
- Sound: /d/ (like ‘d’ in “dog”)
- Name: dê
- Example: dedo (finger) – /ˈdedu/
How to pronounce F in European Portuguese
- Sound: /f/ (like ‘f’ in “fun”)
- Name: efe
- Example: faca (knife) – /ˈfakɐ/
How to pronounce G in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ɡ/ before a, o, u
- /ʒ/ before e, i
- Name: gê
- Examples:
- gato (cat) – /ˈɡatu/
- gente (people) – /ˈʒẽtə/
How to pronounce H in European Portuguese
- Sound: Silent (not pronounced)
- Name: agá
- Example: hora (hour) – /ˈɔɾɐ/
How to pronounce J in European Portuguese
- Sound: /ʒ/ (like ‘s’ in “pleasure”)
- Name: jota
- Example: janeiro (January) – /ʒɐˈnɐjɾu/
How to pronounce K in European Portuguese
- Sound: /k/ (like ‘k’ in “kite”)
- Name: capa
- Example: kilo (kilogram) – /ˈkilu/
How to pronounce L in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /l/ at the beginning of syllables
- /ɫ/ (velarized ‘l’, similar to ‘l’ in “milk”) at the end of syllables
- Name: ele
- Examples:
- lua (moon) – /ˈluɐ/
- sol (sun) – /sɔɫ/
How to pronounce M in European Portuguese
- Sound: /m/ (like ‘m’ in “moon”)
- Name: eme
- Example: mama (breast) – /ˈmɐmɐ/
How to pronounce N in European Portuguese
- Sound: /n/ (like ‘n’ in “noon”)
- Name: ene
- Example: novo (new) – /ˈnovu/
How to pronounce P in European Portuguese
- Sound: /p/ (like ‘p’ in “pan”)
- Name: pê
- Example: pato (duck) – /ˈpatu/
How to pronounce Q in European Portuguese
- Sound: Always followed by U, pronounced as /k/
- Name: quê
- Example: que (that) – /kə/
How to pronounce R in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ʁ/ (guttural ‘R’) at the beginning of words or doubled (RR)
- /ɾ/ (tapped ‘R’) between vowels
- Name: erre
- Examples:
- rua (street) – /ˈʁuɐ/, carro (car) – /ˈkaʁu/
- caro (expensive) – /ˈkaɾu/
How to pronounce S in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /s/ at the beginning of words or after consonants
- /z/ between vowels
- /ʃ/ at the end of syllables
- Name: esse
- Examples:
- saco (bag) – /ˈsaku/
- casa (house) – /ˈkazɐ/
- mais (more) – /mɐjʃ/
How to pronounce T in European Portuguese
- Sound: /t/ (like ‘t’ in “top”)
- Name: tê
- Example: teto (roof) – /ˈtetu/
How to pronounce V in European Portuguese
- Sound: /v/ (like ‘v’ in “van”)
- Name: vê
- Example: vaca (cow) – /ˈvakɐ/
How to pronounce W in European Portuguese
- Sound: /w/ (like ‘w’ in “water”)
- Name: dáblio
- Example: Wagner – /ˈvaɡnəɾ/
How to pronounce X in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ʃ/ (like ‘sh’ in “ship”)
- /ks/ (like ‘x’ in “box”)
- /z/ (like ‘z’ in “zebra”)
- Name: xis
- Examples:
- xícara (cup) – /ˈʃikɐɾɐ/
- táxi (taxi) – /ˈtaksi/
- exame (exam) – /iˈzamə/
How to pronounce Y in European Portuguese
- Sound: /i/ (like ‘ee’ in “see”)
- Name: ípsilon
- Example: yoga – /ˈjɔɡɐ/
How to pronounce Z in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /z/ (like ‘z’ in “zebra”) at the beginning or middle of words
- /ʃ/ at the end of words
- Name: zê
- Examples:
- zelo (zeal) – /ˈzelu/
- luz (light) – /luʃ/
Common Letter Combinations in European Portuguese
How to pronounce CH in European Portuguese
- Sound: /ʃ/ (like ‘sh’ in “ship”)
- Example: chuva (rain) – /ˈʃuvɐ/
How to pronounce LH in European Portuguese
- Sound: /ʎ/ (similar to ‘lli’ in “million”)
- Example: filho (son) – /ˈfiʎu/
How to pronounce NH in European Portuguese
- Sound: /ɲ/ (like ‘ny’ in “canyon”)
- Example: manhã (morning) – /mɐˈɲɐ̃/
How to pronounce RR in European Portuguese
- Sound: /ʁ/ (guttural ‘R’ sound)
- Example: carro (car) – /ˈkaʁu/
How to pronounce SS in European Portuguese
- Sound: /s/ (like ‘s’ in “sun”)
- Example: passar (to pass) – /pɐˈsaɾ/
How to pronounce QU in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /k/ before e and i
- /kw/ before a and o
- Examples:
- que (that) – /kə/
- quando (when) – /ˈkwɐ̃du/
How to pronounce GU in European Portuguese
- Sounds:
- /ɡ/ before e and i
- /ɡw/ before a and o
- Examples:
- guerra (war) – /ˈɡɛʁɐ/
- água (water) – /ˈaɡwɐ/
Special Marks in European Portuguese
In European Portuguese, we use special marks called “diacritical marks” on some letters. These marks can change how a letter is pronounced or which syllable is stressed in a word. Here’s what they mean:
How to pronounce words with acute accent (´) in European Portuguese
- This little line slanting up and to the right (´) is called an acute accent.
- It tells you which part of the word to stress (say more strongly).
- It can also change how a vowel sounds.
- Example: café (coffee) – /kɐˈfɛ/ (say it like “kuh-FEH”)
How to pronounce words with circumflex accent (^) in European Portuguese
- This little pointy hat (^) is called a circumflex accent.
- It also shows which part of the word to stress.
- It makes vowels sound more closed (say it with your mouth a bit more closed).
- Example: avô (grandfather) – /ɐˈvo/ (say it like “uh-VOH”)
How to pronounce words with tilde (~) in European Portuguese
- This squiggly line (~) is called a tilde.
- It makes vowels sound nasal (like you’re talking a bit through your nose).
- Example: mãe (mother) – /mɐ̃j/ (say it like “mung” but cut off before the “g”)
How to pronounce words with cedilla (ç) in European Portuguese
- This little squiggle under the letter c (ç) is called a cedilla.
- It makes the ‘c’ sound like ‘s’ when it comes before ‘a’, ‘o’, or ‘u’.
- Example: açúcar (sugar) – /ɐˈsukɐɾ/ (say it like “uh-SOO-kahr”)
Stress Rules in European Portuguese
Knowing which part of a word to stress (say more strongly) can be tricky in European Portuguese. Here are some general rules:
- Words ending in ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘o’, ‘am’, ’em’, ‘en’ are usually stressed on the next-to-last syllable.
Example: casa (house) – /ˈkazɐ/ (say it like “KAH-zuh”) - Words ending in ‘i’, ‘u’, ‘l’, ‘r’, ‘z’, or in nasal sounds are usually stressed on the last syllable.
Example: Brasil (Brazil) – /bɾɐˈziɫ/ (say it like “bruh-ZEEL”) - If a word doesn’t follow these rules, it will have an accent mark to show you where to stress it.
Example: café (coffee) – /kɐˈfɛ/ (say it like “kuh-FEH”)
In the following sections, you can dive in to mastering your pronuncation of European Portuguese.
Next: European Portuguese Vowels: The Foundation of Melodic Speech