# Portuguese Grammar/Alphabet

Portuguese alphabet, like in other Romance languages has a natural evolution from latin and so it is not strictly phonetic and has some features inheirited from its history. Although, compared to English or even French it is easy to read and not so hard to write.

## Letters

The sounds are better explained in the next chapters.
| Letter | Name of the Letter | Sound (IPA) | Sound (compared to English) | Example | Example |
| A | a | a | a as in american father | fado | fate |
| B | be | b | b as in bee (no aspiration) | beber | to drink |
| C | ce | k | c like in account | coisa | thing |
| C | ce | s | c like in since | cedo | early |
| D | de | d | d as in dozen | dois | two |
| E | e | e | é as in French fiancée or e in Spanish negro | bela | beautiful |
| E | e | ɛ | ai as in french Palais or e as in English bed | ferro | iron |
| F | efe | f | f as in fine | folha | sheet |
| G | ge | g | g as in ago | Gótico | Gothic |
| G | ge | ʒ | s as in pleasure or j as in French Jean | geográfico | geographic |
| H | agá | soundless | | hora | hour |
| I | i | i | ee as in bee but shorter or i as in spanish mina | mito | mith |
| J | jota | ʒ | s as in pleasure or j as in French Jean | joia | jewel |
| L | ele | l | l as in lamb, never as in jungle | letra | letter |
| M | eme | m | m as in mother | morteiro | mortar |
| N | ene | n | n as in never | nada | nothing |
| O | o | o | o as in French mot or o as in Spanish no | total | total |
| O | o | ɔ | a as in ball or aw as in law | lorde | lord |
| P | pe | p | p as in people; not aspired | pata | paw |
| Q | que | k | c like in account | querer | to want |
| R | erre | ɾ | dd as in ladder | caricatura | caricature |
| R | erre | ʁ | more or less, r in French patrie | carro | car |
| S | esse | s | s as in since | sela | saddle |
| S | esse | z | z as in zoo | casa | house |
| T | t | t | t as in tongue | tropas | troops |
| U | u | u | oo as in boot, but shorter or ou as in French fou | utopia | utopia |
| V | ve | v | v as in victory | vitória | victory |
| X | xis | ʃ | sh as in she | xílofone | xylophone |
| X | xis | ks | x as in oxyde | óxido | oxyde |
| X | xis | s | s as in since | explosão | explosion |
| X | xis | soundless | | exceção | exception |
| Z | ze | z | z as in Brazil | azimute | azimuth |
Note: the letter q is always preceded by a u. k, w, and y are not used in native Portuguese words.

## Digraphs

Digraphs is a pair of letters used to sign one sound.
| Digraph | Sound (IPA) | Sound (compared to English) | Example | Example |
| ch | ʃ | sh as in she | achar | to find |
| lh | ʎ | aprox. ll as in million or gli as in Italian figlio | filho | son |
| nh | ɲ | aprox. ny as in canyon or ñ as in Spanish mañana | amanhã | tomorrow |
| qu | k | c like in account | questão | question |
| rr | ʁ | h like american hello | carro | car |
| ss | s | s as in since | passo | step |
| sc | s | s as in since | descer | go down |
| sç | s | s as in since | desça | go down! |

## Diacritics

In Portuguese, a letter with no or with Diacritics are considered the same thing. So, in alphabetic order, we have: entender, ética, Europa.
| Letter with diacritic | Name | Sound (IPA) | Sound (compared to English) | Example | Example |
| á | a com acento agudo | stressed a | a as in american father | cálice | calix |
| à | a com acento grave (Crase) | a | a as in american father | Fui à cidade. | I went to the city |
| ã | a com til | ã | a as in american what | não | no |
| ç | ce cedilha | s | s as in since | moça | girl |
| é | e com acento agudo | stressed ɛ | ai as in french Palais or e as in English bed | patético | patetic |
| ê | e com acento circunflexo | stressed e | é as in French fiancée or e in Spanish negro | bêbado | drunk |
| í | i com acento agudo | stressed i | ee as in bee or i as in French midi | Líbano | Lebanon |
| ó | o com acento agudo | stressed ɔ | a as in ball or aw as in law | próprio | proper |
| ô | o com acento grave | stressed o | o as in French mot or o as in Spanish no | tônico | tonic |
| õ | o com til | õ | aprox. on as in French bon | canções | songs |
| ú | u com acento agudo | stressed u | oo as in boot, but shorter or ou as in French fou | múltiplo | multiple |
Up · Next chapter