I created this guide because I wanted a really convenient tool for learning the pronunciation of the phonemes along with the alphabet. There are many excellent Youtube videos that teach the same thing, and I recommend watching some of them because they are good for background, but it can be a bit time consuming to search for, play and repeat things enough to make them stick. When it comes to getting things to stick, I use this tool.
I believe starting to learn a language without having a good base in pronunciation can lead to fossilized errors, which are hard to reverse in the future. The exercise below is meant to be mastered before doing anything else in the language. It is the first step.
My goal was not to cover all aspects of pronunciation – that would fill many pages. These are just the basics. Notice the complete lack of written description comparing the sounds to English. This is by design. Please rely heavily on listening to the audio and repeating as described below:
1. Listen to the audio of the first word and repeat. Do it enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly, then move onto the next one. The rules and English translations are for reference only; you don’t need to memorize them. Work your way through the entire list.
2. Go back to the top. This time, try to read the word out loud, then listen to the audio to check. If your pronunciation matches the audio, hide the word by clicking it. If your pronunciation does not match the audio, listen and repeat enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly. Move onto the next word, and work your way through the whole list. When you finish, go back the first word that you missed and try it again. Do this until all words are hidden.
3. Repeat step 2 once or twice a day until you are able to get all words correct, quickly, on the first pass.
After you have mastered this list, it is recommended that you continue working on your pronunciation by listening to and repeating full sentences. For at least 10 minutes per day, listen to the audio of sentences and repeat, trying to sound just like the audio. And that means not only hitting the right vowels and consonants, but imitating all aspects of pronunciation (stress, intonation, prosody, etc.).
café
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c (before a,o,u); coffee
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centro
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c (before e,i); center
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raça
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ç; race; breed
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choque
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ch; shock
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dado
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d (before a,e,o,u); dice
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dia
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d (before I and final e); day
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sede
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d (before I and unstressed final e); thirst
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gás
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g (before a,o,u); gas
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gente
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g (before e,i); people
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guarda
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gu (before a,o); guard
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guerra
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gu (before e,i); war
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hora
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h; hour
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hóquei
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h (foreign); hockey
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já
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j; already
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longe
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l (before vowel); far
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alto
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l (before cons, word end); high
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mil
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l (before cons, word end); thousand
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olho
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lh; eye
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motor
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m (before vowel); motor
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tempo
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m (before cons, word end); time
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nada
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n (before vowel); nothing
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pronto
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n (before cons, word end); ready
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vinho
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nh; wine
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quatro
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qu (before a,o); four
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que
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qu (before e,i); what
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porta
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r; door
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rio
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r (initial and after m,n,l,s); river
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genro
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r (initial and after m,n,l,s); son in law
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Israel
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r (initial and after m,n,l,s); Israel
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carro
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rr; car
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som
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s; sound
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rosa
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s (betw vowels, before voiced cons); rose
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asma
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s (betw vowels, before voiced cons); asthma
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isso
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ss; that
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tatu
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t (before a,e,o,u); armadillo
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tia
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t (before I, unstressed final e); aunt
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forte
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t (before I, unstressed final e); strong
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webcam
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w (foreign); webcam
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Wanderlei
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w (Brazilian name); Wanderlei
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xale
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x (initial); shawl
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box
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x (final); booth
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extra
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x (other); extra
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exame
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x (other); exam
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ex-mulher
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x (other); ex-wife
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caixa
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x (other); box
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máximo
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x (other); maximum
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sexo
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x (other); sex
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Nova York
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y; foreign word ending in non-L final consonant; New York
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zebra
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z (initial); zebra
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luz
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z (final); light
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avó
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´ (open); grandmother
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avô
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^ (close); grandfather
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falar
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a; to speak
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bebida
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e (open); drink
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ser
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e (close); to be
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tarde
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e (end); afternoon; late
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emigrar
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i; to emigrate
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famosa
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o (open); famous
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obrigado
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o (close); thanks
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gato
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o (end); cat
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nunca
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u; never
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pai
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ai; father
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mau
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au; bad
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mal
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al; badly
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dei
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ei (close); I gave
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ideia
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ei (open); idea
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papéis
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éi; papers
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meu
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eu; mine
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feltro
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el (close); felt
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céu
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éu; sky
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mel
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el (open); honey
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riu
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iu; (he) laughed
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vinil
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il; vinyl
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noite
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oi (close); night
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lençóis
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oi (open); sheets
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heróico
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ói; heroic
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lençol
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ol (open); sheet
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sou
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ou; I am
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toldo
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ol (close); awning
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fui
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ui; I went
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sul
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ul; south
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quais
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uai; which ones
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qual
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ual; which one
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averiguei
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uei; I found out
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averiguou
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uou; he found out
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mão
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~ (nasal); hand
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falam
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am; they speak
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sim
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im; yes
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honra
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on; honor
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uns
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un; some
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também
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em; also
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bom
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om; good
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mãe
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ãe; mother
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não
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ão; no
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limões
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õe; lemons
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cãibra
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ãi; cramp
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saguão
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uão; lobby
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saguões
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uõe; lobbies
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