Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Portuguese spelling	Pronounced as in...	Rule	Example
t	table	before a, e, o, u	taxa *fee* terra *soil, ground* momento *moment* atum *tuna fish* barata *cockroach* curtume *tanning, tannery*
	cheese bench	before i	tio *uncle* time *team* cortiço *slum tenement house*
	cheese bench	*when a word ends in -te, except when -te* has an acute accent, such as in até (t as in table)**	instante *instant* gente *people* tente *a present subjunctive form of verb to try*
d	day	before a, e, o, u	data *date, day* adulto *adult* cuidado *care* condenar *to condemn*
d	Julie age	before i	dia *day* edito *edict, decree* ódio *hate*
d	Julie age	when a word ends in -de	idade *age* saúde *health*

The other consonants are pronounced pretty much the same as in English, regardless of their position in a word: banco (bank), fato (fact), Kafka, pote (pot) and vaso (vase).

1. The cluster gn, found in a very few number of words, should be pronounced as in long night, e.g.: gnóstico, gnomo.

2. The cluster ps should be pronounced as in chips, e.g: psicólogo, psiquiatra.

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