This page offers a guide to pronunciation in Brazilian Portuguese.
Most letters in Brazilian Portuguese are pronounced the same as in English, but the table below shows some of the main exceptions:
| Letter(s) | Pronunciation | Example |
| ã | this is a nasal sound, that sounds a bit like uh | maçã 🔊 |
| ão | this makes an ah-ooh sound | pão 🔊 |
| c | c that begins a word usually sounds like a k | café 🔊 |
| c | c before an e and an i sounds like s | cinco 🔊 |
| ch | ch sounds like sh | chuva 🔊 |
| ç | ç makes an s sound | açúcar 🔊 |
| d | if a word starts with a d, it is usually a hard sound like in English. When d is followed by e or i, it has a soft sound, similar to j in English. A d in the middle of a word can have a hard sound, or sound like a j | dia 🔊 |
| em | smile to make this pronunciation | bem 🔊 |
| g | before an a, o or u — pronounced like the hard g in got | gato 🔊 |
| g | before an e or i — pronounced like the soft s sound in pleasure | gelo 🔊 |
| h | if a word begins with an h, the letter is silent | hoje 🔊 |
| h | if h follows an l, or an n, the sound is like a y | filho 🔊 |
| j | the letter j in Portuguese sounds like zh (as in Zsa Zsa Gabor) | jogar 🔊 |
| nh | nh sounds like ny | senhor 🔊 |
| q | the letter q in Portuguese has a k sound | quarto 🔊 |
| r | r at the beginning of a word sounds like h in English | rio 🔊 |
| rr | if a word has two r’s, it makes an h sound | carro 🔊 |
| t | sounds like ch when it is followed by an e, or an i | tia 🔊 |
| w | the letter w doesn’t naturally occur in Brazilian Portuguese, but when it does, it sounds like a v. The only places you will see w is in someone’s name | |
| x | generally has a sh sound in Portuguese | baixo 🔊 |
Accent Marks in Brazilian Portuguese
Accent marks in Brazilian Portuguese help you know how to say a word correctly. They show which part of the word is stressed and how to pronounce certain vowels. For example, á, é, and ó have a strong, open sound. Letters like â, ê, and ô have a softer, closed sound. The squiggly line (˜), like in não (no) or irmã (sister), makes the vowel sound nasal. Learning what these marks mean will help you sound more natural when speaking Portuguese.
Below are a few examples of words with accent marks in Brazilian Portuguese:
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