Orthography
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Alphabet & PronunciationDiacritics
Digraphs
Diphthongs
Nasalization
Alphabet & Pronunciation
There are 23 letters in the Portuguese alphabet. The table below shows each letter with the European and Brazilian names and pronunciations.
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | á | /a/, /ɐ/ | |
| Bb | bê | /b/ | |
| Cc | cê | /k/, /s/ | /s/ before "e", "i", "y", or with cedilla |
| Dd | dê | /d/, /dʒ/ | /dʒ/ before "e" or "i" in Brazil |
| Ee | é or ê | /e/, /ɛ/, /i/, /ɨ/, /ɐ/, /ɐi/ | often extremely shortened in European Portuguese |
| Ff | efe or fê | /f/ | |
| Gg | gê or guê | /ɡ/, /ʒ/ | /ʒ/ before "e", "i", "y" |
| Hh | agá | silent | used to make digraphs, see below |
| Ii | i | /i/ | |
| Jj | jota or ji | /ʒ/ | |
| Kk | capa or cá | /k/ | used only in foreign loanwords |
| Ll | ele or lê | /l/, /ɫ/, /w/ | often pronounsed as /ɫ/ or /w/ at the end of syllables |
| Mm | eme or mê | /m/ | often silent at the end of syllables or used to indicate nasalization |
| Nn | ene or nê | /n/ | often silent at the end of syllables or used to indicate nasalization |
| Oo | ó or ô | /o/, /ɔ/, /u/ | |
| Pp | pê | /p/ | |
| quê | /ke/ | always followed by "u" | |
| Rr | erre or rê | /ɾ/, /ʁ/ | /ʁ/ when "rr" or "r" at the start or words |
| Ss | esse or si | /s/, /z/, /ʃ/ | a single "s" between vowels is /z/, in Portugal "s" before consonants or at the end of words is /ʃ/ |
| Tt | tê | /t/, /tʃ/ | /tʃ/ before "e" or "i" in Brazil |
| Uu | u | /u/ | |
| Vv | vê | /v/ | |
| Ww | dâblio or duplo vê | /w/ | used only in foreign loanwords |
| Xx | xis | /ʃ/, /ks/, /z/, /s/, /gz/ | always /ʃ/ at the beginning of words |
| Yy | ípsilon or i grego | /y/ | used only in foreign loanwords |
| Zz | zê | /z/, /s/, /ʃ/ |
Diacritics
In Portuguese there are four types of accents used on vowels: acute (´), grave (`), circumflex (ˆ), and tilde (˜). These accents are used to indicate the stressed syllable or to specify the sound of the vowel. There is also the cedilla (ç) used to indicate the /s/ sound.
| Letter | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| á | /a/ |
| â | /ɐ/, /ɐ̃/ |
| ã | /ɐ̃/ |
| à | /a/ |
| ç | /s/ |
| ê | /e/, /ẽ/, /ɐj/ |
| é | /ɛ/ |
| í | /i/, /ĩ/ |
| ó | /ɔ/ |
| ô | /o/, /õ/ |
| õ | /õ/ |
| ú | /u/, /ũ/ |
Digraphs
In Portuguese there are several pairs of letters that represent a single sound.
| Spelling | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ch | /ʃ/ |
| lh | /ʎ/ |
| nh | /ɲ/ |
| rr | /ʁ/ |
| ss | /s/ |
| qu | /k/, /kw/ |
| gu | /g/, /gw/ |
Diphthongs
In Portuguese, several combinations of vowels are classified as diphthongs.
| Spelling | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ai, ái | /ai/, /ɐi/ |
| au, áu | /au/, /ɐu/ |
| ei, êi | /ei/, /e/, /əi/ |
| éi | /ɛi/, /əi/ |
| eu, êu | /eu/ |
| éu | /ɛu/ |
| iu | /iu/ |
| oi | /oi/ |
| ói | /ɔi/ |
| ou | /ou/, /o/ |
| óu | /ɔu/ |
| ui | /ui/ |
Nasalization
The nasal sound of vowels in certain words is typical of the Portuguese language. Nasalization occurs with diphthongs using the tilde and with syllables ending with "m" or "n".
| Spelling | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ãe, ãi | /ɐ̃ĩ/ |
| ão | /ɐ̃ũ/ |
| õe | /õĩ/ |
| -am, -an | /ɐ̃/, /ɐ̃ũ/ |
| -em, -en | /ẽ/, /ẽĩ/, /ɐ̃ĩ/ |
| -im, -in | /ĩ/ |
| -om, -on | /õ/ |
| -um, -un | /ũ/ |