Brazilian Portuguese Grammar
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Alphabet & sounds Introduction to the sounds of the language |
There are 23 letters in the Brazilian Portuguese alphabet:
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V X Z
a b c d e f g h i j l m n o p q r s t u v x z
Note: The letters k, w and y are only used in loanwords and abbreviations mostly related to sciences.
Digraphs
Digraphs (dígrafos) are pairs of letters that represent one single sound.
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Always pronounced as one single sound => rr, ss, ch, lh and nh:
| Portuguese | English |
| carro | car |
| pássaro | bird |
| chapéu | hat |
| galho | branch |
| ninho | nest |
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Always pronounced as one single sound before e and i => gu, qu, sc and xc:
| Portuguese | English |
| guerra | war |
| queijo | cheese |
| crescimento | growth |
| exceção | exception |
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Always pronounced as one single sound before a, o and u => sç:
| Portuguese | English |
| Desça da mesa! | Get off the table! |
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Always pronounced as one single sound (nasal sounds) => am, an, em, en, im, in, im, on, um and un:
| Portuguese | English |
| tampa | lid |
| canção | song |
| embaixador | ambassador |
| quente | hot |
| limpo | clean |
| som | sound |
| elétron | electron |
| um | one |
| mundo | world |
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Visit Sound Files to hear the sounds on Alphabet & sounds |
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