Portuguese phonology
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Main article: Portuguese language
Vowels
The sound system of Portuguese is somewhat more complicated compared to Spanish. There are a greater number of vowels, and there is not a simple rule relating written vowels to their sounds, as there is in Spanish. Similarly to French, Portuguese has a set of nasal vowels and a set of nasal diphthongs.
| Oral monophthongs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Brazil | |||
| vi | 'saw' (1 sg) | |||
| vê | 'see' (3 sg) | |||
| sé | 'cathedral' | |||
| só | 'alone' | |||
| sou | 'I am' | |||
| mudo | 'mute' (m) | |||
| pagar | 'to pay' | |||
| pegar | 'to grip' | |||
| Nasal monophthongs | ||||
| Portugal | Brazil | |||
| vim | 'came' (1 sg) | |||
| entro | 'enter' | |||
| antro | 'den' | |||
| som | 'sound' | |||
| mundo | 'world' | |||
| Oral diphthongs | ||||
| Portugal | Brazil | |||
| sai | 'go out' (3 sg) | |||
| sei | 'know' (1 sg) | |||
| anéis | 'rings' (n) | |||
| sei | 'know' (1 sg) | |||
| mói | 'grind' (3 sg) | |||
| moita | 'thicket' | |||
| anuis | 'agree' (2 sg) | |||
| viu | 'saw' (3 sg) | |||
| meu | 'mine' (poss m) | |||
| véu | 'veil' | |||
| mau | 'bad' (m sg) | |||
| Nasal diphthongs | ||||
| Portugal | Brazil | |||
| mãe | 'mother' | |||
| cem | 'hundred' | |||
| anões | 'dwarves' (m) | |||
| muita | 'much, many' (f) | |||
| mão | 'hand' (n) | |||
Post-stressed o is normally /u/, and post-stressed a is normally an open central vowel. The same changes happen to pre-stressed vowels in Portugal, but not Brazil.
Consonants
| Bilabial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | |
| Plosive | [[voiceless bilabial plosive|]] b | [[voiceless dental plosive|]] d | [[voiceless velar plosive|]] g | |
| Nasal | [[bilabial nasal|]] | [[dental nasal|]] | [[palatal nasal|]] | |
| Lateral approximant | [[lateral dental approximant|]] | [[lateral palatal approximant|]] |
| Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Uvular | |
| Fricative | [[voiceless labiodental fricative|]] v | [[voiceless alveolar fricative|]] z | [[voiceless postalveolar fricative|]] [[voiced postalveolar fricative|]] | [[voiced uvular fricative|]] |
| Tap | [[alveolar tap|]] |
| pato | 'duck' (m) | ||
| bato | 'I strike' | ||
| mato | 'I kill' | ||
| fato | 'costume' | ||
| vinha | 'vine' | ||
| tacto | 'tact' | ||
| dato | 'I date' | ||
| nato | 'innate' (m) | ||
| caço | 'I hunt' | ||
| caso | 'I marry' | ||
| cacto | 'cactus' | ||
| gato | 'cat' | ||
| pinha | 'pine cone' | ||
| chato | 'flat' | ||
| jacto | 'jet' | ||
| pira | 'pyre' | ||
| rato | 'mouse' (m) | ||
| linha | 'line' | ||
| pilha | 'battery' |
There are palatal consonants lh and nh (the equivalent of Spanish ll, ñ). The consonants ch, j are postalveolar fricatives, IPA , , or the same sound as in French.
In Portugal (most dialects) and Rio de Janeiro, the letter s when final or followed by another voiceless consonant is , or before a voiced consonant . So the escudo (the previous currency - now Portugal uses the Euro) is , plural escudos . In other regions of Brazil and other former Portuguese colonies, the s is merely voiced (to ) when before a voiced consonant. The Beirão dialect of central Portugal, pronounces the final 's' as 'j'.
The letter l when final or followed by a consonant in is pronounced as in most of Brazil, and in the Caipira dialect as . In most of Brazil (excluding the North and the areas south of São Paulo), the syllables ti and unstressed te are pronounced as and di and unstressed de as . In most of Brazil with the exception of the deep South, initial, final, double and preconsonantal r are pronounced as a voiceless uvular fricative or as . In northern Portugal, in the Alto-Minhoto and Transmontano dialects, ch is spoken as . Also, in Northern Portugal's dialects, v is pronounced as .
The Portuguese language is particularly interesting to linguists because of the complexity of its vowels. The language contains 9 oral vowels (7 in Brazil), 5 nasal vowels and a large number of diphthongs.
| letter | Portuguese | Meaning | IPA | letter | Portuguese | Meaning | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | talha | cut | a | lh | alho | garlic | ʎ |
| a | amo | master | ɐ¹ a² | m- | mapa | map | m |
| á | alto, árvore | tall, tree | ɑ | n- | número | number | n |
| am, an | campo, canto | field, corner | ã | nh | ninho | nest | ɲ |
| b | bola | ball | b | o | santo, logo | saint, soon | u |
| ca, co, cu | casa | house | k | õ, om, on | limões, montanha | lemons, mountain | õ |
| ça, ce, ci, ço, çu | cedo, maçã | early, apple | s | ó | morte, moda, nó | death, fashion, knot | ɔ |
| ch | cheque | check | ʃ | ô | ovo, olho, avô | egg, eye, grandparent | o |
| d | dedo | finger | d | p | parte | part | p |
| e | leite, vale | milk, valley | ɨ¹ i or e² | qua, quo | quanto, quotidiano | how much, daily | kw |
| é | resto, festa, café | rest, party, coffee | ɛ | que qui | aquele, aqui | that one, here | k |
| ê | medo, letra, você | fear, letter, you | e | -r | mar, Marte | sea, Mars | ɾ¹ or x² |
| em, en | lembrar, então | remember, then | ẽ | r | coro, caro | choir, expensive | ɾ |
| f | ferro | iron | f | r, rr | rosa, carro | rose, car | ʀ¹ or x² |
| ga, go | gato | cat | g | s, ss | sapo, assado | frog, roasted | s |
| ge, gi | gelo | ice | ʒ | -s | galinhas, arcos | chickens, arcs | ʃ or ʒ or z ³ |
| gua | água | water | gw | (vowel)s(vowel) | raso | evenness | z |
| gue, gui | português, guia | Portuguese, guide | g | t | tosta | toast | t |
| h | harpa | harp | - | u | uvas | grapes | u |
| i | idiota | idiot | i | diphthongs with o or u | ao, mau | to, bad | w |
| diphthongs with 'i' | nacional, ideia | national, idea | j | un, um | um, untar | one, to dip in grease | ũ |
| im, in | limbo, brincar | limb, to play | ĩ | v | vento, velocidade | wind, velocity | v |
| j | jogo | game | ʒ | x | caixa, Xadrez, texto | box, chess, text | ʃ |
| l | logo | soon | l | x | próximo | next | s |
| -l | Portugal, Brasil | Portugal, Brazil | ɫ¹ w² | z, exa, exe, exi, exo, exu | exame, natureza | exam, nature | z |
| ¹ European/African Portuguese Standard |
| ² Brazilian Portuguese Standard |
| ³ The \z\ is used if followed by another word (if not a pause, only), in the cases when it precedes a vowel, and it will be [ʒ] if followed by sonorous consonants (such as "b", "m" or "n"). It will be [ʃ] in the rest of the cases. In most of Brazil and Angola the sound is allways \z\ and in Beira region (Portugal), the sound is always [ʒ]. |