Lesson 2A1

Alphabet & Pronunciation

European Portuguese uses the same 26 letters as English, but its sound system — nasal vowels, swallowed unstressed vowels, and a few letter combinations with no English equivalent — gives it a very distinct sound of its own.

Grammar Comparison

Nasal vowels: sounds English doesn't have

Portuguese

não, pão, mãe

English

no, bread, mother

The tilde (ã) and the combinations -ão, -ãe mark a nasal vowel — air escapes partly through the nose. There's no true English equivalent; the closest approximation is to say the vowel while starting to say an "ng" sound at the same time. This nasal quality is one of the most distinctive features of how Portuguese sounds.

European Portuguese swallows its unstressed vowels

Portuguese

obrigado → sounds like "obrigad"; pequeno → sounds like "pkeno"

English

thank you; small

This is a defining feature of how European Portuguese actually sounds compared to how it's written. Unstressed vowels — especially a final unstressed 'o' or an internal unstressed 'e' — are reduced almost to silence in Lisbon-standard speech. Don't be alarmed if spoken Portuguese sounds like it's missing half its vowels compared to how it's written; your ear adjusts with exposure.

nh and lh: borrowed from nowhere in English

Portuguese

vinho (wine), trabalho (work)

English

wine, work

nh makes a "ny" sound, like the "ny" in English "canyon". lh makes a "ly" sound, like the "lli" in English "million". Neither is a single English letter's sound, but both are single, easy motions once you've heard them a few times.

s at the end of a syllable often sounds like "sh"

Portuguese

livros (books) → sounds like "LEE-vroosh"

English

books

In standard European Portuguese, an 's' at the end of a word or before certain consonants is pronounced like English "sh", not a clean "s" or "z". This is one of the clearest markers of the European Portuguese accent — plural nouns in particular will often sound like they end in "-sh" rather than "-s".

Vocabulary

ãonasal "ow", no English equivalent

English: as in não (no)

ãnasal "a"

English: as in mãe (mother)

nhny (as in "canyon")

English: as in vinho (wine)

lhly (as in "million")

English: as in trabalho (work)

çs (always)

English: as in começar (to begin)

s (end of syllable)sh

English: as in livros (books)

j / g (before e, i)zh (like the 's' in English "measure")

English: as in já (already), gente (people)

r (word-initial or rr)guttural, back-of-throat

English: as in rua (street), carro (car)

r (between vowels)light single tap of the tongue

English: as in caro (expensive)

Portuguese	Pronunciation	English
ão	nasal "ow", no English equivalent	as in não (no)
ã	nasal "a"	as in mãe (mother)
nh	ny (as in "canyon")	as in vinho (wine)
lh	ly (as in "million")	as in trabalho (work)
ç	s (always)	as in começar (to begin)
s (end of syllable)	sh	as in livros (books)
j / g (before e, i)	zh (like the 's' in English "measure")	as in já (already), gente (people)
r (word-initial or rr)	guttural, back-of-throat	as in rua (street), carro (car)
r (between vowels)	light single tap of the tongue	as in caro (expensive)

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