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 |
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