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
Show
c (before a,o,u); coffee
Show
centro
Show
c (before e,i); center
Show
raça
Show
ç; race; breed
Show
choque
Show
ch; shock
Show
dado
Show
d (before a,e,o,u); dice
Show
dia
Show
d (before I and final e); day
Show
sede
Show
d (before I and unstressed final e); thirst
Show
gás
Show
g (before a,o,u); gas
Show
gente
Show
g (before e,i); people
Show
guarda
Show
gu (before a,o); guard
Show
guerra
Show
gu (before e,i); war
Show
hora
Show
h; hour
Show
hóquei
Show
h (foreign); hockey
Show
já
Show
j; already
Show
longe
Show
l (before vowel); far
Show
alto
Show
l (before cons, word end); high
Show
mil
Show
l (before cons, word end); thousand
Show
olho
Show
lh; eye
Show
motor
Show
m (before vowel); motor
Show
tempo
Show
m (before cons, word end); time
Show
nada
Show
n (before vowel); nothing
Show
pronto
Show
n (before cons, word end); ready
Show
vinho
Show
nh; wine
Show
quatro
Show
qu (before a,o); four
Show
que
Show
qu (before e,i); what
Show
porta
Show
r; door
Show
rio
Show
r (initial and after m,n,l,s); river
Show
genro
Show
r (initial and after m,n,l,s); son in law
Show
Israel
Show
r (initial and after m,n,l,s); Israel
Show
carro
Show
rr; car
Show
som
Show
s; sound
Show
rosa
Show
s (betw vowels, before voiced cons); rose
Show
asma
Show
s (betw vowels, before voiced cons); asthma
Show
isso
Show
ss; that
Show
tatu
Show
t (before a,e,o,u); armadillo
Show
tia
Show
t (before I, unstressed final e); aunt
Show
forte
Show
t (before I, unstressed final e); strong
Show
webcam
Show
w (foreign); webcam
Show
Wanderlei
Show
w (Brazilian name); Wanderlei
Show
xale
Show
x (initial); shawl
Show
box
Show
x (final); booth
Show
extra
Show
x (other); extra
Show
exame
Show
x (other); exam
Show
ex-mulher
Show
x (other); ex-wife
Show
caixa
Show
x (other); box
Show
máximo
Show
x (other); maximum
Show
sexo
Show
x (other); sex
Show
Nova York
Show
y; foreign word ending in non-L final consonant; New York
Show
zebra
Show
z (initial); zebra
Show
luz
Show
z (final); light
Show
avó
Show
´ (open); grandmother
Show
avô
Show
^ (close); grandfather
Show
falar
Show
a; to speak
Show
bebida
Show
e (open); drink
Show
ser
Show
e (close); to be
Show
tarde
Show
e (end); afternoon; late
Show
emigrar
Show
i; to emigrate
Show
famosa
Show
o (open); famous
Show
obrigado
Show
o (close); thanks
Show
gato
Show
o (end); cat
Show
nunca
Show
u; never
Show
pai
Show
ai; father
Show
mau
Show
au; bad
Show
mal
Show
al; badly
Show
dei
Show
ei (close); I gave
Show
ideia
Show
ei (open); idea
Show
papéis
Show
éi; papers
Show
meu
Show
eu; mine
Show
feltro
Show
el (close); felt
Show
céu
Show
éu; sky
Show
mel
Show
el (open); honey
Show
riu
Show
iu; (he) laughed
Show
vinil
Show
il; vinyl
Show
noite
Show
oi (close); night
Show
lençóis
Show
oi (open); sheets
Show
heróico
Show
ói; heroic
Show
lençol
Show
ol (open); sheet
Show
sou
Show
ou; I am
Show
toldo
Show
ol (close); awning
Show
fui
Show
ui; I went
Show
sul
Show
ul; south
Show
quais
Show
uai; which ones
Show
qual
Show
ual; which one
Show
averiguei
Show
uei; I found out
Show
averiguou
Show
uou; he found out
Show
mão
Show
~ (nasal); hand
Show
falam
Show
am; they speak
Show
sim
Show
im; yes
Show
honra
Show
on; honor
Show
uns
Show
un; some
Show
também
Show
em; also
Show
bom
Show
om; good
Show
mãe
Show
ãe; mother
Show
não
Show
ão; no
Show
limões
Show
õe; lemons
Show
cãibra
Show
ãi; cramp
Show
saguão
Show
uão; lobby
Show
saguões
Show
uõe; lobbies
Show
Italian Pronunciation (see instructions above)
cane
Show
a; dog
Show
perché
Show
accent acute; why/because
Show
città
Show
accent grave; city
Show
mai
Show
ai; never
Show
aiuole
Show
aiuo; flowerbeds
Show
autobus
Show
au; bus
Show
banana
Show
b; banana
Show
labbro
Show
bb; lip
Show
casa
Show
c; house
Show
piccante
Show
cc; spicy
Show
accento
Show
cce; accent
Show
bacchetta
Show
cch; wand
Show
acciaio
Show
cci; steel
Show
certo
Show
ce; of course
Show
chiave
Show
ch; key
Show
cielo
Show
ci; sky
Show
dolce
Show
d; sweet
Show
addio
Show
dd; goodbye
Show
bello
Show
e(close); beautiful
Show
cena
Show
e; dinner
Show
sei
Show
ei(close); six
Show
nei
Show
ei; in the
Show
euro
Show
eu(close); Euro
Show
europeo
Show
eu; European
Show
fiore
Show
f; flower
Show
caffè
Show
ff; coffee
Show
gusto
Show
g; taste
Show
gelato
Show
ge; ice cream
Show
leggere
Show
gge; to read
Show
seggio
Show
ggi; seat
Show
ghiaccio
Show
gh; ice
Show
giorno
Show
gi; day
Show
gli
Show
gl; the
Show
ogni
Show
gn; every
Show
hotel
Show
h; hotel
Show
tipo
Show
i; type
Show
fantasia
Show
ia; fantasy
Show
miao
Show
iao; meow
Show
ateniese
Show
ie (close); Athenian
Show
ieri
Show
ie; yesterday
Show
miei
Show
iei; my
Show
pioggia
Show
io (open); rain
Show
fiore
Show
io; flower
Show
aiuto
Show
iu; help
Show
jeans
Show
j; jeans
Show
kilogrammo
Show
k; kilogram
Show
leone
Show
l; lion
Show
bello
Show
ll; beautiful
Show
mela
Show
m; apple
Show
immagine
Show
mm; image
Show
nave
Show
n; ship
Show
anno
Show
nn; year
Show
rosa
Show
o (open); pink
Show
orso
Show
o; bear
Show
poi
Show
oi (open); then
Show
noi
Show
oi; we
Show
pera
Show
p; pear
Show
pneumatico
Show
pn; tire
Show
appartamento
Show
pp; apartment
Show
psicologia
Show
ps; psychology
Show
quadro
Show
q; painting
Show
mare
Show
r (between vowels); sea
Show
Roma
Show
r (start of word); Rome
Show
territorio
Show
rr; territory
Show
cosmetico
Show
s (before voiced consonant); cosmetic
Show
rosa
Show
s (between vowels); rose
Show
sole
Show
s; sun
Show
pesce
Show
sce; fish
Show
scienza
Show
sci; science
Show
massimo
Show
ss; maximum
Show
svago
Show
sv; hobby
Show
tavolo
Show
t; table
Show
otto
Show
tt; eight
Show
scusa
Show
u; excuse me
Show
uguale
Show
ua; same
Show
guai
Show
uai; troubles
Show
guerra
Show
ue (close); war
Show
questo
Show
ue; this
Show
qui
Show
ui; here
Show
uovo
Show
uo (open); egg
Show
nuotare
Show
uo; to swim
Show
puoi
Show
uoi; you can
Show
vino
Show
v; wine
Show
avventura
Show
vv; adventure
Show
web
Show
w; web
Show
xilofono
Show
x; xylophone
Show
extra
Show
xt; extra
Show
yoga
Show
y; yoga
Show
azione
Show
z (word middle); action
Show
zebra
Show
z (word start); zebra
Show
pizza
Show
zz; pizza
Show