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Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Consonants

European Portuguese pronunciation for consonants
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Portuguese and English share a common alphabet, for the most part, and many of the sounds associated with each consonant are quite similar. If you’re a native English speaker, the pronunciations to pay special attention to are those associated with the vowels, which we will cover in a separate learning note, as well as the following consonants / consonant digraphs: c, ç, ch, h, lh, m, n, nh, r, s, x, and z. This guide will serve as an overview of European Portuguese pronunciation for consonants, but you should also explore these links for more detailed explanations of some of the trickier sounds:

European Portuguese Pronunciation: Consonant Sounds

Letter
Portuguese
Example
English
Approximation
Notes / Context IPA
Symbol
Bb bocamouth boat b
Cc cedoearly less Before e or i s
casahouse can Before a, o, or u k
Çç praçasquare, plaza less s
Ch chuvarain shoe
ʃ
Dd dedofinger
nadanothing
dead The Portuguese d is often pronounced with the tongue slightly more forward (touching the teeth more, approximating “th”) compared to the English d. d, d̪
Ff figofig fig f
Gg o geloice genre Before e or i
ʒ
gatocat gate Before a, o, or u
g
Hh horahour hour Silent
Jj João genre
ʒ
Kk   Only appears in foreign loan words k
Ll luamoon lose
l
lh bacalhaucodfish paella (Spanish) No close approximation
ʎ
Mm mãemother mom Beginning or middle of word m
foramthey were
homemman
simyes
town, thing No close approximation. At the end of a word or syllable, the m and the preceding vowel are replaced by a nasal vowel or diphthong.
am → ɐ̃w
em → ɐ̃j
im → ĩ
om → õ
um → ũ
Nn nadanothing nod Beginning or middle of word n
contactocontact
tantoso much
sintoI feel
thing No close approximation. Similar to m, at the end of a word or syllable, the n and the preceding vowel are replaced by a nasal vowel.
an → ɐ̃
en → ẽ
in → ĩ
on → õ
un → ũ
nh linhaline canyon
baño (Spanish)
No close approximation. The Portuguese sound is produced slightly further back in the mouth, using the body of the tongue instead of the tip of the tongue. ɲ
Pp paifather pie p
Qq queijocheese key Q is always followed by a U, just like in English. This U is generally mute if followed by the vowels E or I k
quartoroom queen The U of “qu-” is pronounced if followed by the vowels A or O kw
Rr a ruastreet No close approximation. Beginning of word. Pronounced like a guttural r, somewhere between and r and a “thick” h. It is voiced with the tongue pulling back toward the uvula. Others pronounce it more rolled. (R varies quite a bit among dialects.)
ʁ
correrrun Double r is pronounced the same as above.
ʁ
caroexpensive
ficarto stay Madeira
Portugal
water (Amer. English) Between vowels, end of syllable, or end of word: pronounced as a flap/alveolar r. No close approximations in British English.
ɾ
Ss inglêsEnglish
istothis
English Before an unvoiced consonant (c,ç,ch,f,p,q,s,t) or at the end of a word ʃ
casahouse
os amigosthe friends
zoo Between vowels (even if the vowel sound is in the next word) z
desligarturn off, disconnect genre Before a voiced consonant (b,d,g,j,l,lh,m,n,nh,r,rr,v,z) ʒ
Tt tossecough tea t
Vv vinhowine van v
Ww Only appears in foreign loan words
Xx xaropesyrup
textotext baixoshort
shoe Beginning of a word, before a consonant, after a diphthong, between vowels(and first one is not e), after me, after en ʃ
o exameexam zoo Between e and a vowel (except after me) z
xitaxi taxi There are some exceptions to the aforementioned x rules which do not follow a set pattern, such as the “ks” pronunciation in táxi. ks
Yy   Only appears in foreign loan words. Some English words that start with y are spelled with io in Portuguese, such as iogayoga and o iogurteyogurt
Zz dezten English Before unvoiced consonant (c,ç,ch,f,p,q,s,t) or at the end of a word ʃ
dez eurosten euros zoo End of word followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound z
felizmentefortunately genre Before a voiced consonant (b,d,g,j,l,lh,m,n,nh,r,rr,v,z) ʒ
zerozero
azulblue
zoo Everywhere else z
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