A Guide to the Portuguese Alphabet (With Audio)

When beginning your Portuguese studies, you likely observed some fundamental differences in its written characters. The Portuguese alphabet is quite similar to the Latin one, though you'll see features like frequent accent marks, the general absence of the letters k, w, and y (which are typically only found in words borrowed from other languages), and distinct pronunciation rules.

Naturally, the distinct character of the Portuguese alphabet extends beyond these points. We will utilize the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a global system of symbols that represents various sounds.

Overview of the Portuguese Alphabet

Before we examine the details, here is the complete Portuguese alphabet:

To better understand how these letters are pronounced, you can watch these videos on the Brazilian Portuguese alphabet and the European Portuguese alphabet:

European Portuguese Alphabet

For those learning European Portuguese, the pronunciation of some vowel and consonant sounds will differ from the Brazilian variety.

Therefore, to assist with pronunciation, we will outline the various vowel and consonant sounds and the rules you should learn.

European Portuguese Vowels

Let’s begin with the European Portuguese vowels:

You’ll notice there are multiple sounds for a few of these. Essentially, some vowels are open, closed or muted, depending on the word being enunciated:

European Portuguese Consonants

Now, let’s move on to European Portuguese consonants:

As you can see, some consonant sounds are fairly straightforward:

Others have more complex rules:

Brazilian Portuguese Alphabet

It’s worth noting that some of the rules mentioned in the European Portuguese section apply to the Brazilian dialect, too. This will become clearer as we cover the main pronunciation cues you need to know.

Brazilian Portuguese Vowels

Here are the Brazilian Portuguese vowels and how they sound:

And here’s a breakdown of how each vowel sound is pronounced:

Brazilian Portuguese Consonants

For the most part, Brazilian Portuguese consonant pronunciation follows the same rules as European Portuguese.

The main differences are in the consonant sounds marked in bold below:

Here’s a look at what this entails:

Portuguese Diphthongs

Also known as gliding vowels, diphthongs are a combination of two vowel sounds in a single syllable. There are two types of diphthongs in Portuguese: oral and nasal .

Oral Diphthongs

Oral diphthongs combine the sound of open vowels (like a , e , and o ) with close vowels (like i or u ):

Nasal Diphthongs

As their name suggests, nasal diphthongs are pronounced with a more nasal sound. You’ll know this is the case when you see a nasal vowel (like ã or õ ) paired with an oral vowel (like e , i and o ):

Portuguese Double Consonants

When certain pairs of consonants come together, they also follow their own pronunciation rules:

Portuguese Accent Marks

Once you’ve overcome the hurdle that is the Portuguese alphabet in both the European and Brazilian dialects, you’ll have to move on to accent marks next.

Here’s an overview of them:

Because Portuguese accent marks deserve an entire article on their own, let me direct you to this post:

How to Learn and Practice the Portuguese Alphabet

Let’s go over some key strategies for learning and reviewing your Portuguese ABCs.

It’s a good idea to focus on the vowels first , not just because there are fewer letters to memorize, but also because their sounds will help you fine-tune your consonant pronunciation later on. Repeat the vowels to yourself several times, and make sure to mix things up a little. Recite them backward, jumble them up, say a single vowel three times before moving to the next—any exercise helps.

Once you feel confident with your vowels, add in the consonants . There are different ways you can do this:

• Memorize the consonants on their own, as you did with the vowels.
• Try your hand at reciting the alphabet in full.
• Break the alphabet into groups of four to five letters. This is a memorization technique called chunking , where information is sorted into smaller groups before being added into larger units. It’s meant to help you retain information quicker.

From there, you’ll want to start putting this knowledge into practice . At this stage, along with pronunciation, you’ll be homing in on spelling and vocabulary building. Here are some ways to get the ball rolling:

• Make a list of basic words like everyday phrases , travel essentials or even something as simple as food vocabulary . As you’re learning each word, spell it out loud to yourself in Portuguese.
• Make the most of all those amazing language learning resources you can find online.
• Browse through a dictionary or use a translator app like Linguee . Pick a few random words and try spelling them out loud. If your chosen app has an audio playback option, listen to each word a few times and practice saying it in full before spelling it out. That way, you’re getting a fuller pronunciation practice experience.
• Looking for something more interactive? Try a spelling game like 101 Languages’ Spelling Challenge or Digital Dialect’s Brazilian Portuguese Spelling Games .

Looking for more words to practice the Portuguese alphabet? Check out this video:

Don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of information here. There’s no need to rush when learning the alphabet and its pronunciation rules. Take your time, and break things down as much as you need.

All that hard work will pay off soon, as mastering the alphabet will allow you to start paving your path towards Portuguese fluency!

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