The Portuguese alphabet (Brazilian pronunciation)

• AaáAamigofriend
• BbbêBAYbolaball
• CccêSAYcasahouse
• DddêDAYdiaday
• EeéEHescolaschool
• FfefeEH-feefeijãobeans
• GggêZHAYgatocat
• Hhagáa-GAhorahour
• IiiEEilhaisland
• JjjotaZHAW-tajanelawindow
• KkcáKAkiwikiwi · borrowed
• LleleEH-leelivrobook
• MmemeAY-meemãemother
• NneneAY-neenoitenight
• OoóAWolhoeye
• PppêPAYpãobread
• QqquêKAYqueijocheese
• RrerreEH-heeruastreet
• SsesseEH-seesolsun
• TttêTAYtempotime, weather
• UuuOOuvagrape
• VvvêVAYvidalife
• WwdáblioDA-blee-ooWi-FiWi-Fi · borrowed
• XxxisSHEESxícaracup
• YyípsilonEE-pee-see-lohnyakisobafried noodles · borrowed
• ZzzêZAYzerozero

The Portuguese alphabet has 26 letters, the same as English. K, W and Y came back officially with the 2009 spelling agreement (Acordo Ortográfico), but they are still only used in borrowed words, names and abbreviations: kiwi, show, km, William.

Ç and the accented letters (á, â, ã, à, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú) are not separate letters. They are a, c, e and the rest with a mark that changes the sound or the stress, and a dictionary files them under the plain letter.

Some pairs of letters make a single sound. These are the ones to know.

Most letters sound close enough to English. These eight are the ones that give an English speaker away; each links to the full sound in the pronunciation guide.

• hh is silent

  At the start of a word, h makes no sound at all: hora is “OH-ra”. It only matters in ch, lh and nh.

  • hora AW-ra · hour
  • hoje OH-zhee · today
  Hear the full sound

• rr has five sounds

  At the start of a word and as rr, it is a breathy h (rato, carro). Between vowels and after a consonant, a quick tap like the tt in American “butter” (caro, prato). At the end of a word, a soft h that often disappears (falar). Before a consonant, a light r or h (porta).

  • rato HA-too · rat
  • caro KA-roo · expensive
  • falar fa-LAH · to speak
  Hear the full sound

• xx has four sounds

  Usually sh (xícara, peixe). Sometimes ks (táxi), s (próximo) or z (exame). The spelling does not say which, so learn it with the word.

  • peixe PAY-shee · fish
  • táxi TA-ksee · taxi
  • exame eh-ZA-mee · exam
  Hear the full sound

• ss between vowels is z

  One s between two vowels sounds like z: casa is “KA-za”. Write ss for the s sound: massa.

  • casa KA-za · house
  • mesa MAY-za · table
  Hear the full sound

• cc and ç

  c is k before a, o and u (casa) and s before e and i (cidade). ç is always s, and only comes before a, o and u: caça, açúcar.

  • cidade see-DA-djee · city
  • caça KA-sa · hunt
  Hear the full sound

• gg and j

  j always sounds like the s in “measure”, and so does g before e and i (gente). Before a, o and u, g is hard, as in “go”.

  • janela zha-NEH-la · window
  • gente ZHEN-tchee · people
  Hear the full sound

• ll at the end of a syllable is w

  Brasil ends like “-zeew”, and mal (badly) sounds exactly like mau (bad).

  • Brasil bra-ZEEW · Brazil
  • papel pa-PEHW · paper
  Hear the full sound

• d td and t before an i sound

  Before i, and before an e said like i at the end of a word, d becomes “dj” and t becomes “tch”: dia, leite.

  • dia DJEE-a · day
  • leite LAY-tchee · milk
  • cidade see-DA-djee · city
  Hear the full sound

Accents show which syllable is stressed and whether a vowel is open, closed or nasal. Ç is a c that sounds like s.

á é í ó ú

acento agudo (acute). Stress here; é and ó are open, as in “bet” and “law”.

• café ka-FEH · coffee

â ê ô

acento circunflexo (circumflex). Stress here; the vowel is closed, as in “day” and “go”.

• você voh-SAY · you

ã õ

til (tilde). Nasal: said partly through the nose. Usually stressed, too.

• irmã eer-MUN · sister

à

crase (grave). Marks a + a joined into one word. It does not change the sound.

• à noite a NOY-tchee · at night

ç

cedilha (cedilla). c that sounds like s before a, o and u.

• açúcar a-SOO-kah · sugar

How to type them

To spell your name on the phone or at a front desk, you will be asked “Como se escreve?” (How do you spell it?). Say each letter's name, and an accent after its letter: é com acento agudo.

“Como se escreve?” “S-A-M-U-E-L: esse, á, eme, u, é, ele.”

Double letters are said one by one: “erre, erre”. Brazilians also say “com dois erres” (with two r's) or “com dois esses”.

The letters are the same, and most names are too. W is “dáblio” in Brazil and “duplo vê” in Portugal; Y is “ípsilon” in both, and also “i grego” in Portugal.

The sounds differ more than the names. Portugal swallows its unstressed vowels, keeps d and t hard before i, and says s at the end of a syllable as sh. This page, and everything on Verbeto, is Brazilian.