Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Consonants

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:

• Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Vowels
• Mystery of the Disappearing Sounds
• The Letters S and C
• The Letter X

European Portuguese Pronunciation: Consonant Sounds

Letter	Portuguese Example	English Approximation	Notes
Bb	boca mouth	boat
Cc	cedo early	less	Before e or i
	casa house	can	Before a, o, or u
Çç	praça square, plaza	less
Ch	chuva rain	shoe
Dd	dedo fingernada nothing	dead	The Portuguese d is often pronounced with the tongue slightly more forward (touching the teeth more, approximating “th”) compared to the English d.
Ff	figo fig	fig
Gg	gelo ice	genre	Before e or i
	gato cat	gate	Before a, o, or u
Hh	hora hour	hour	Silent
Jj	João	genre
Kk			Only appears in foreign loan words
Ll	lua moon	lose
lh	bacalhau codfish	Similar to the Spanish word “paella”	No close approximation
Mm	mãe mother	mom	Beginning or middle of word
	foram they werehomem mansim yes	Similar to 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 → ão, em → ãe, im → Ĩ, om → õ, um → ũ.
Nn	nada nothing	nod	Beginning or middle of word
	contacto contacttanto so muchsinto I feel	Similar to 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 → ã, en → ẽ, in → Ĩ, on → õ, un → ũ.
nh	linha line	Similar to canyon	No close approximation
Pp	pai father	pie
Qq	queijo cheese	key	Q is always followed by a u, just like in English
	quarto room	queen
Rr	rua street		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.)
	correr run		Double r is pronounced the same as above.
	caro expensive ficar Portugal	water (American English)	Between vowels, end of syllable, or end of word: pronounced as a flap/alveolar r. No close approximations in British English.
Ss	inglês Englishisto this	English	Before an unvoiced consonant (c,ç,ch,f,p,q,s,t) or at the end of a word
	casa houseos amigos the friends	zoo	Between vowels (even if the vowel sound is in the next word)
	desligar turn off, disconnect	genre	Before a voiced consonant (b,d,g,j,l,lh,m,n,nh,r,rr,v,z)
Tt	tosse cough	tea
Vv	vinho wine	van
Ww			Only appears in foreign loan words
Xx	xarope syruptexto text baixo shorttaxa tax enxame mexer	shoe	Beginning of a word, before a consonant, after a diphthong, between vowels(and first one is not e), after me, after en
	exame exam	zoo	Between e and a vowel (except after me)
	táxi taxi	taxi	There are some exceptions to the aforementioned x rules which do not follow a set pattern, such as the “ks” pronunciation in táxi.
Yy			Only appears in foreign loan words. Some English words that start with y are spelled with io in Portuguese, such as ioga yoga and iogurte yogurt
Zz	dez ten	English	Before unvoiced consonant (c,ç,ch,f,p,q,s,t) or at the end of a word
	dez euros ten euros	zoo	End of word followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound
	felizmente fortunately	genre	Before a voiced consonant (b,d,g,j,l,lh,m,n,nh,r,rr,v,z)
	zero zeroazul blue	zoo	Everywhere else