- Catalyst

1
Simplified Pronunciation Notes for Colloquial Brazilian Portuguese
- Includes regional differences 1. “M” at the end of a word has a nasal sound: don‟t touch your lips!
homem (man) bom (good) também (also) nuvem (cloud)
2. “The 6 r’s”
Depending on the region and the position of “r” in a word, it can be pronounced as:
(a) “h” (as in „hot‟) – in Rio de Janeiro and most of the country. In the south, it is pronounced as the
stronger Spanish “r”
r at the beginning of a word:
rosa > hosa (rose)
rr in the middle:
carro > caho (car)
r at the end of a word:
falar > falah (to speak)
r before a consonant:
arte > ahte (art)
(b) “r” (as the softer Spanish “r”) – throughout the whole country:
r between two vowels:
r after a consonant:
caro (dear/expensive)
drama (drama)
3. “l” > “u” (except in the extreme south)
Except in the south, the letter “l” at the end of a word or before a consonant is pronounced as “u”.
Brasil > Brasiu
civil > civiu
azul > “azuu” (blue)
calma > cauma
alfafa > aufafa
geral > gerau
animal > animau
carnaval > carnavau
4. “o” > “u”
The letter “o” becomes “u” at the end of a word.
curso > cursu (course)
banco > bancu (bank)
Eu falo muito > Eu falu muitu. (I speak a lot.)
O carro do Paulo é preto. > U carru du Paulu é pretu.
(The car of Paul is black.)
5. When written “e” is unstressed, it is pronounced as the Portuguese/Latin “i” (“ee”). This happens
specifically in the final syllable, including the conjunction “e” (and).
doce > doci
doze > dozi
Acre > Acri
hoje > hoji
(sweet)
(twelve)
(Brazilian state)
(today)
padre > padri (priest)
pobre >pobri (poor)
nobre > nobri (noble)
nave > navi (boat)
Words with stressed “e” (open/closed) – no change in pronunciation:
você (you)
Pelé (former soccer player)
café (coffee)
José (proper name)
esse >essi (that)
telefone >telefoni
trombone >tromboni
microfone >microfoni
inglês (English)
português (Portuguese)
=o10
2
6. “ti” & “di”
(a) “ti” becomes “tchi” and “di” becomes “dji”, anywhere in a word.
time > chimi
(team)
direito > jireito
quente > quenchi
onde >onji (where)
tipo > chipo (type)
dia > jia (day)
dente > denchi
cidade > cidaji
(b) “te” becomes “tchi” and “de” becomes “dji” only if appears at the end of a word.
Ex.: diferente (different) > diferentchi; onde (where) > ondji
One cannot predict the pronunciation of “te” and “de” when these appear in a non final position.
7. Except after the consonants “r” and “l”, Brazilian Portuguese inserts the vowel “i” whenever a
consonant is by itself. The same is done to foreign words ending in a consonant.
objeto > obijetu (object)
técnico > tékinicu (technical)
psicologia > pisicologia (psychology)
advogado > adivogadu > ajivogadu (lawyer)
pneu > pineu (tire)
Eric > Eriki
8. “s”,”z” > “is”
An “i” is inserted before the “s” or the “z” at the end of monosyllabic words or when in a stressed
syllable .
gás > gais (gas)
dez > deis (ten)
talvez > talveis (maybe)
três > treis (three)
rapaz > rapais (young man)
cartaz > cartais (poster)
mas (but) > mais (which means “more”, but one knows the difference from the context).
9. “x”
The letter “x” has four pronunciations in Portuguese: “sh” in the beginning of a word and after “n”,
as “s”, “ks”, and “z”.
“sh”
xale
xícara
xarope
enxergar
enxugar
enxaqueca
Xuxa
“s”
texto
extra
sexta
excursão
excluir
exclamar
experimentar
“ks”
táxi
Xerox
telex
index
tórax
reflexo
complexo
“z”
exemplo
exótico
exagero
executar
exame
exílio
exercício
When “x” appears between vowels, it is difficult to predict its pronunciation:
“sh”
peixe (fish)
“s”
trouxe (I brought)
“ks”
fixo (fixed)
“z”
exame (exam)