Vowels
| Open | Closed | Nasal | ||
| ah - é pra já, gato ae - acarajé, pressa aw - cocoricó, loja |
uh - vamos
eh - pêra ee - apito o - capô oo - luxo |
ung - maçã eng - tempo eeng - cachimbo ong - pombo oong - junto |
Consonants
| b - bola bp - pato d - dado dt - tatu g - gato gk - cabo |
f - faca v - vida s - sapo z - zumbi zh - jato sh - chá ch - tia dj - dia |
h - radar
tt - nora ly - galho l - lado m - mato n - navio ñ - ninho |
The open vowels é and ó have equivalent sounds in English, and á, a similar sound:
á (ah) - fada - father: á is further to the front of the mouth and with the lips wider open.
é (ae) - teto - tether: same as in English
ó (aw) - cota - cause: same as in English
The closed vowels i and u have the same sound in English, but are shorter in Portuguese.
i (ee) - rico - steeple
u (oo) - luta - hoot
â (uh) - câmara - similar to the u in undo, but more towards the front of the mouth
ê (eh) - pêlo - between the i in pin and e in end
ô (o) - lobo - like the o in more, but towards the front of the mouth
A closed vowel plus the -ng sound (as in 'sing') equals a nasal vowel.
Consonant sounds that are the same
b - bola - boy; d- dado - day; g - gato - goat
f - faca - fake; v - vida - van
s - sapo - sat; z - zumbi - zoo
zh - jato - measure; sh - chá - shirt; dj - dia - joy
h - rato - hot
l - lado - lay; m - mato - may; n - navio - now
Other consonants
bp, dt, and gk: these are "softer" sounds of p, t, and k in English. To notice the difference, first put the palm of your hand an inch or less in front of your mouth. Then, say "pot", "tot", and "cot". Notice the airflow. Then say "bought", "dot", and "got". Now, there should be little to no airflow.
The bp, dt, and gk sounds are in between the b and p in English, with little airflow but still sounding distinct from "b". For bp in particular, it sounds like the "pp" in "shipping", with a bit more emphasis.
pato, tatu, cavalo
ch: Analogous to bp, dt, and gk, being p, t, and k softened ch is a softer sounding version of the English "ch" (as in "chain"). There is less airflow coming from mouth.
tigre, gatinho
tt: The choice of t's representing a sound written as r in Portuguese may appear puzzling. Note that in Portuguese r can have two sounds: ("h" as in hover, and the "tt" sound described here). The English r, called approximant, is very different from the Portuguese r, called a flap or tap. This sounds like the tt in "utter". It is produced by a tongue movement similar to making a "d" sound, but with the tongue "tapping" the ridged surface above the teeth.
pera, garoa
ly: Another sound that does not exist in English, and is difficult to explain in words. If you are familiar with Italian or listen to a lot of opera, it is equivalent to ..gli.. in Italian. The closest English combination is lee. To produce this sound, the middle of the tongue should touch the ridged surface above the teeth.
alho, palha
ñ: Thanks to the diffusion of Spanish in the United States, most people should know this sound. If you do not, it is similar to saying "in" but much further back in the mouth, nearly in the throat.
tenho, galinha
Stressed syllable
Stress on a syllable is marked by an apostrophe preceding it. For example:
troca
'traw-gkuh
trocar
tro-'gkahr
Sentence Example
Sonhei que comia uma goiaba enquanto uma borboleta voava sobre minha cabeça.
I dreamed that I ate a guava while a butterfly flew over my head.
So-'ñeh-ee gkee gko-'mee-uh 'oo-muh go-'eeah-buh eeng-gkoo-'ung-dtoo 'oo-muh bor-boo-'leh-dtuh voo-'ah-vuh 'so-bree 'mee-ñuh cah-'beh-suh. (Level 1)
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