Hi friends, how are you? In our Dica today we’re talking about the vowels in Portuguese, the Portuguese vowel pronunciation and all about the nasal vowels in Portuguese too.
Sounds of the Vowels in Portuguese
There are 5 vowels in the Portuguese language: A, E, I, O, U and we have multiple sounds for each of them in Portuguese. Let’s see how it works. How many vowels do you have in your language? And how many sounds?
Learning the vowels in Portuguese: Sound of the letter A
So, check out this table.. We organized everything so it’ll be easier for you. First we have the vowel and the sound of the vowel alone. Then we have some examples and the sound of the vowel inside the words and then the translation of every word. The vowel a can have two different sounds, take a look:
| Á | |
| Ã |
Examples with á
Pay attention to the letters in bold, these are the ones that we are talking about in each example.
| Casa | House | |
| Mapa | Map | |
| Cadeira | Chair | |
| Chá | Tea | |
| Caneta | Pen |
Examples with ã
Pay attention to the pronunciation because nasal vowels in Portuguese can be difficult.
| Maçã | Apple | |
| Cama | Bed | |
| Mãe | Mother | |
| Lama | Mud | |
| Fama | Fame |
Sound of the letter E
The vowel e also has two different sounds, let’s learn them:
| É | |
| Ê |
Examples with é
| Pé | Foot | |
| Fé | Faith | |
| Mulher | Woman | |
| Colher | Spoon | |
| Ideia | Ideia |
Examples with ê
| Escada | Stairs | |
| Estrela | Star | |
| Cadeira | Chair | |
| Caneta | Pen | |
| Você | You |
Sound of the letter I
With the vowel i it’s easier, we only have one sound. Listen:
| I |
Examples with i
| Ilha | Island | |
| Amigo | Friend | |
| Javali | Boar | |
| Rio | River | |
| Brasil | Brazil |
Sound of the letter O
The vowel o also has two sounds, depending on the word. Let’s learn them:
| Ó | |
| Ô |
Examples with ó
| Óculos | Glasses | |
| Jiló | Scarlet eggplant | |
| Próximo | Next | |
| Tóxico | Toxic | |
| Avó | Grandmother |
Examples with ô
| Cor | Color | |
| Humor | Mood | |
| Morro | Hill | |
| Povo | People | |
| Avô | Grandfather |
Sound of the letter U
With the vowel u it’s also quite simple, we only have one sound.
| U |
Examples with u
| Uva | Grape | |
| Urubu | Vulture | |
| Aluno | Student | |
| Curso | Course | |
| Português | Portuguese |
So, we have heard the eight different sounds of the vowels in Portuguese and I hope that you could realize the differences between each of these sounds.
Sound variation of vowels in Portuguese
In Portuguese, when the words end in E and O they actually change their sound, for example, the sound E becomes I; and the sound O, becomes U. Let’s take a look at some words in which the final vowel sound changes.
About the sound E turning into I. Example: Cidade (city). We, Brazilians, we don’t say in general cidadE, we say cidadI; dente (tooth), idade (age), ponte (bridge), cabine (cabin), arte (art), pane (breakdown), Aline (person’s name), esse (this), aquele (that), then, the sound E, became I, in the end of each one of these words.
Well, let’s take a look at another situation when the sound O, becomes U. We have the words: menino (boy), carro (car), moto (motorcycle), ponto (point), moro (from the verb ‘morar’ = to live), campo (field), gato (cat), cachorro (dog), momento (moment), equilíbrio (balance). In all of these cases the vowel o turns into an u.
Check out Moisés’ video to hear all these Portuguese vowels pronunciation:
Would you like to listen to more sounds of vowels in Portuguese? Look at our video by our friend Moisés and see the vowels at work! Don’t forget to turn the subtitles on and check out more Video Dicas in our Youtube channel.
Let’s practice!
Exercise about vowels in Portuguese
Listen and complete the words with the correct vowels:
- C_s_
- L_m_
- _rc_
- C_paca_an_
- _p_nem_
Fill the words with the correct vowels to complete the sentences:
- H_j_ à n_it_ v_m_s t_d_s para L_p_ b_b_r c_ipirinh_
- G_st_ de t_d_s as pr_i_s do R_o de J_neir_
- _sto_ com m_it_ ress_c__s
That’s is! And that’s it now you know everything about the Portuguese vowel pronunciation! Keep talking and see you in the next Dica!
A big hug to you all from Rio & Learn, our Portuguese school.
Click in the link below to see more related Dicas
Best Apps to learn Portuguese
The alphabet in Portuguese
Portuguese animal onomatopoeia
Plural in Portuguese
Exercise about vowels in Portuguese: answers
- Casa
- Leme
- Urca
- Copacabana
- Ipanema
- Hoje à noite vamos todos para a Lapa beber caipirinha.
- Gosto de todas as praias do Rio de Janeiro.
- Estou com muita ressaca.
