The Portuguese Alphabet

The Portuguese alphabet has 26 letters, the same as English (k, w and y only in foreign words and names). Accents, ç and the nasal ã and õ change the sound; the audio is Brazilian Portuguese. Tap any letter to hear its name in Portuguese.

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Printable chart (PDF) 137 KB · 1 page

All 26 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name in Portuguese.

a say “ah” a as in “father”
bê say “beh” b as in “bed”
cê say “seh” k before a, o, u; s before e, i (ç is always s)
dê say “deh” d as in “dog”; in Brazil, before an ee sound like j in “jeans” (dia = “JEE-ah”)
é say “eh” open “eh” (é) or closed “ay” without the glide (ê); unstressed at the end, close to ee
efe say “EH-fee” f as in “fun”
gê say “zheh” g as in “go” before a, o, u; before e, i like s in “pleasure”
agá say “ah-GAH” silent
i say “ee” ee as in “see”
jota say “ZHAW-tah” s as in “pleasure”
cá say “kah” k as in “skip” (no puff of air)
ele say “EH-lee” l as in “let”; at the end of a syllable in Brazil it sounds like w (Brasil = “brah-ZEEW”)
eme say “EH-mee” as in English at the start of a syllable; at the end (bom, canto) not said: the vowel before it goes nasal
ene say “EH-nee” as in English at the start of a syllable; at the end (bom, canto) not said: the vowel before it goes nasal
ó say “aw” open “aw” (ó) or closed “oh” (ô); unstressed at the end, close to oo
pê say “peh” p as in “spin” (no puff of air)
quê say “keh” k; in que and qui the u is usually silent
erre say “EH-hee” at the start of a word: a breathy h (rato = “HAH-too”); between vowels a quick tap
esse say “EH-see” s as in “sun”; between vowels z (casa = “KAH-zah”)
tê say “teh” t as in “stop”; in Brazil, before an ee sound like ch in “cheese” (tia = “CHEE-ah”)
u say “oo” oo as in “food”
vê say “veh” v as in “van”
dáblio say “DAH-blee-oo” w as in “water”, or v (only in foreign words and names)
xis say “sheesh” usually sh (xícara); also ks (táxi), s or z: learn it with the word
ípsilon say “EEP-see-lohn” ee as in “see” (only in foreign words and names)
zê say “zeh” z as in “zoo”; at the end of a word s (feliz)

6 letters that sound different for English speakers

At the start of a word it sounds like h: restaurante = “hes-tow-RAHN-chee” o restaurante · restaurant
Before an ee sound it turns into ch: tia = “CHEE-ah” a tia · aunt
Before an ee sound it turns into j: dia = “JEE-ah” o dia · day
Like s in “pleasure”, never j as in “jam” a janela · window
Usually sh: xícara = “SHEE-kah-rah” a xícara · cup
At the end of a syllable it sounds like w: sol = “SOW” o sol · sun

Ç, the nasal vowels, LH, NH, RR and accents

Letters	Example	Sound
ç		always s as in “sun”; used only before a, o, u
ã · õ · ão		nasal vowels: let air out through the nose; ão is roughly a nasal “ow”
lh		like lli in “million”
nh		ny as in “canyon”
ch		sh as in “shop”
rr		a breathy h, like h in “hat” (carro = “KAH-hoo”)
´ · ^		´ = stressed and open (avó, “ah-VAW”), ^ = stressed and closed (avô, “ah-VOH”); ~ makes a vowel nasal

A word for every letter

Each letter below has its name and a real word from the Flashcardly course (starting with the letter where one exists), with a picture and native audio.