{"id":179980,"date":"2021-08-10T16:08:56","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T20:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/english-pronunciation-for-brazilian-speakers\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T01:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T06:30:19","slug":"english-pronunciation-for-brazilian-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/english-pronunciation-for-brazilian-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Most Common English Pronunciation Challenges for Brazilian Speakers and How to Fix Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cCashew,\u201d \u201cbanana,\u201d \u201cpotato,” and \u201cchocolate\u201d \u2013 these are all English words that Brazilian speakers would immediately understand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, English has a lot of <\/span>similar words to Brazilian Portuguese<\/span><\/a> (\u201ctotal\u201d and \u201cordinary,\u201d to name a couple more!).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, even with some overlap in vocabulary, you might struggle to say certain English words correctly as a Brazilian speaker. Or maybe you can get the pronunciation right if you really put effort into it and slow down your speech, but it becomes so much harder when you have to talk at regular speed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To help you improve your English communication skills, we\u2019ve come up with a detailed guide that tackles the most common English pronunciation mistakes for Brazilian speakers. Whether you consider yourself a beginner in English or an advanced learner, you might still make pronunciation mistakes every now and then \u2013 and they\u2019re often related to your native language!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning English for Brazilian Speakers<\/b><\/h2>\n

As a Brazilian speaker, one of the easiest languages for you to learn would be Spanish since it shares almost 90% of its vocabulary with Portuguese. There\u2019s also plenty of common ground with other Romance languages such as French and Italian.<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, it can take longer to get the hang of speaking English.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For one, Brazilian Portuguese only has 23 letters compared to <\/span>English\u2019s 26<\/span><\/a>, and it doesn\u2019t have the K, W, or Y in English as well as the TH sound. Portuguese also has less vowels, which is why Brazilian speakers sometimes find it hard to distinguish between words such as \u201chead\u201d and \u201chad.\u201d In addition, Portuguese sounds more musical than English, so you\u2019ll also have to adjust your intonation when switching to English!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese are practically sister languages, Brazilian speakers and Spanish speakers don\u2019t face the exact same challenges with English pronunciation. In fact, there are certain pronunciation mistakes that are very specific to Brazilian speakers. If you hear someone saying \u201cspeakee\u201d instead of \u201cspeak,\u201d there\u2019s a good chance they might be a Brazilian speaker.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Common Challenges in English Pronunciation for Brazilian Speakers<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u00a0Let\u2019s dive into the English pronunciation mistakes that Brazilian speakers are the most likely to make:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Adding \u201cee\u201d to the end of words<\/b><\/h3>\n

One of the more unique pronunciation tendencies that Brazilian speakers have is adding \u201cee\u201d to the end of words (or even syllables). In the sentence \u201cThat movie was so fun to watch!\u201d, some Brazilian speakers might pronounce \u201cfun\u201d as \u201cfun-ee\u201d and \u201cwatch\u201d as \u201cwatch-ee.\u201d This is because Portuguese doesn\u2019t have that many words ending in a consonant, so it feels more natural for a Brazilian speaker to add a vowel sound (usually \u201cEE\u201d) to the word.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Sometimes you might not even notice that you\u2019re doing this, so your best bet is to record yourself speaking in English! A crucial point to remember is that unlike Portuguese, English words rarely end in vowels. When you see words ending in E such as \u201clike,\u201d \u201cexample,\u201d and \u201cbadge,\u201d the E is almost always silent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Saying W instead of L<\/b><\/h3>\n

The regular L in Portuguese does sound like the English L, but when it appears at the end of a syllable, it changes\u2014it\u2019s pronounced like a combination of W and U. Because this happens all the time in Portuguese, Brazilian speakers can carry this over to English. Although they can pronounce the L normally in words such as \u201clove\u201d and \u201clight\u201d, it gets trickier when L is at the end of the syllable. The words \u201call,\u201d \u201cbottle,\u201d and \u201ctool\u201d become \u201cau,\u201d \u201cbottu,\u201d and \u201ctuu.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Whip out a mirror and observe your mouth position as you <\/span>pronounce the L sound<\/span><\/a>. If your mouth\u2019s forming a tight circle, then you\u2019re saying W or U! What you can do is to touch the tip of your tongue above your teeth instead. This isn\u2019t necessary for saying the English L, but it ensures that you\u2019ll be avoiding slipping into the W sound.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Replacing D and T<\/b><\/h3>\n

D and T can also be challenging to pronounce for Brazilian speakers when they\u2019re at the end of a word. D can get changed into DJ (\/d\u0292\/), while T is turned into TCH (\/t\u0283\/). A Brazilian speaker might want to say \u201cmad\u201d and \u201chot\u201d but they end up saying \u201cmadj\u201d and \u201chotch\u201d instead. This can seem harmless, but sometimes other people can get confused about the word. For example, \u201crid\u201d and \u201cridge\u201d don\u2019t have the same meaning at all!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> When you default to DJ or TCH, slow down your pronunciation so you can observe your mouth movements. Your tongue will usually be pressing against your teeth for the D or T at first. Try keeping it there so you don\u2019t make the extra J and CH sounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Mispronouncing TH<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you haven\u2019t gotten the hang of the TH sound yet, then you\u2019re not alone \u2013 nearly all English learners struggle with the TH sound at first because it\u2019s not very common outside of English! When saying words such as \u201cthe,\u201d \u201cmouth,\u201d and \u201cthree,\u201d you might substitute TH with related sounds such as F or S for the unvoiced TH and T or D for the voiced TH. As a result, you could say \u201cmous\u201d instead of \u201cmouth\u201d or \u201cda\u201d instead of \u201cthe.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip: <\/b>It can feel strange at first, but to make the TH sound in English, you have to stick your tongue out slightly between your teeth. This helps you avoid substituting with other sounds!<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Confusing H and R<\/b><\/h3>\n

Aside from mispronouncing TH, a lot of Brazilian speakers also mix up the H and R in English. To be specific, they can read the <\/span>English R<\/span><\/a> as H. This distorts words heavily, with \u201crain\u201d becoming \u201chain\u201d and \u201cright\u201d turning into \u201cheight.\u201d As always, there\u2019s a reason behind this! In Portuguese, the letter R is pronounced similarly to the English H. Out of force of habit, you might fall back on this when speaking English.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> To break the association between H and R, you have to let your brain get used to pronouncing them as separate letters. This comes with repetition \u2013 draw up a list of words that contain the R sound, and read them out loud until you\u2019re not slipping up anymore and accidentally pronouncing H.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Reading \u2013ED out loud<\/b><\/h3>\n

When you use <\/span>past tense verbs<\/span><\/a> like \u201ctalked\u201d and \u201cwashed,\u201d have you ever accidentally pronounced the \u2013ED in full so they sound like \u201ctaw-kehd\u201d and \u201cwa-shehd?\u201d Even at advanced levels, Brazilian speakers can forget to keep the E silent in these verbs. Consonant clusters are rare in Portuguese, so Brazilian speakers find it more intuitive to add the E (\u201ctalkehd\u201d instead of \u201ctalkd\u201d).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> The E in past tense verbs is usually silent unless the main verb ends in T or D! In verbs like \u201cwaited\u201d and \u201cfaded\u201d you would say \u2013ED in full. Otherwise, the E is silent. For practice, say the word \u201ctalk\u201d, followed by the D sound. Then narrow the gap between the two until you\u2019re saying \u201ctalkd.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Turning M into N or NG\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

The M sound does exist in Portuguese, but you\u2019ll never find it at the end of words! This isn\u2019t the case in English, where you have words ending in M such as \u201ccream,\u201d \u201cfarm,\u201d and \u201cname.\u201d Since this is unfamiliar to Portuguese speakers, they tend to turn M into a nasal sound instead such as N. They might say \u201ccrean,\u201d \u201cfarn,\u201d and \u201cnain.\u201d Sometimes it can also sound as if there\u2019s a NG sound added on (\u201ccreang\u201d and \u201cnaing\u201d).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Hum the M sound on its own for a few seconds. Afterwards, read these out loud while prolonging the M sound: AMMMM, EMMM, IMMMMM, OMMMM, and UHMMM. You know you\u2019re pronouncing it correctly if your lips are pressed together.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Mixing up vowels<\/b><\/h3>\n

Compared to English, Brazilian Portuguese has fewer vowels, and around five of these are nasal sounds that aren\u2019t even present in English! Because of this, it\u2019s not surprising that pronouncing all of the English vowels correctly can be tough for Brazilian speakers. For example, Brazilian speakers tend to pronounce \u201clip\u201d and \u201cleap\u201d as if they were the same word \u2013 and this is also true for \u201cpull\u201d and \u201cpool.\u201d They can also say \u201ctan\u201d as \u201cten\u201d because the A sound in \u201ctan\u201d doesn\u2019t exist in Portuguese.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Out of all of these pronunciation mistakes, mixing up vowels will have the greatest impact on how well you communicate. To start off, focus on minimal pairs where the words have a similar sound except for a single vowel. Check first if you can tell the difference just by listening to the words. Being able to recognize the sounds is the first step before you can work on your pronunciation.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Emphasizing the wrong syllable<\/b><\/h3>\n

In English, every word has one syllable that\u2019s stressed \u2013 you emphasize it over the others, saying it more loudly and with higher pitch. Brazilian speakers also use stress in their native Portuguese, but the catch is that English and Portuguese don\u2019t exactly follow the same stress rules. In Portuguese, the second to the last syllable is usually stressed in long words, while English sometimes stresses the first syllable instead. Instead of \u201c<\/span>Sa<\/span><\/i>turday,\u201d a Brazilian speaker might misplace the stress and say \u201cSa<\/span>tur<\/span><\/i>day.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Although English has word stress rules that it\u2019s helpful to be aware of, you\u2019ll still need to check the pronunciation of words on an individual basis. Which syllable you stress in an English word isn\u2019t always predictable. Every time you learn a new word, look it up in a dictionary to make sure you\u2019re getting the stress right!<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Stressing too many words<\/b><\/h3>\n

Beyond word stress, there\u2019s also <\/span>sentence stress<\/span><\/a> to consider. When you speak Portuguese, your pitch actually changes much more often than in English, with almost every other word being higher in pitch. You can accidentally speak English this way too! This matters because pitch signifies stress or emphasis in English. Instead of emphasizing only the most important words in a sentence, you could be stressing words too such as \u201cthe\u201d or \u201can,\u201d which can sound confusing to English speakers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b> Be mindful of your intonation when you switch from Portuguese to English. Most of the time, you should only be stressing the content words, which convey the message of the sentence. These include nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n

Part of what makes English interesting to learn is that there\u2019s still some connection with Brazilian Portuguese but the two aren\u2019t too similar. Improving your spoken English is a continuous process \u2013 and it\u2019s also exciting! As you hone your English pronunciation, you\u2019ll be able to have smoother conversations with people from varied cultures and backgrounds, and more adventures (and opportunities) can open up for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCashew,\u201d \u201cbanana,\u201d \u201cpotato,” and \u201cchocolate\u201d \u2013 these are all English words that Brazilian speakers would immediately understand.\u00a0 In general, English has a lot of similar words to Brazilian Portuguese (\u201ctotal\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":739,"featured_media":249302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"description":"In this guide, we tackle the toughest parts of English pronunciation for Brazilian speakers, from adding \"ee\" to the end of words to saying the TH sound.","title":"10 Most Common English Pronunciation Challenges for Brazilian Speakers and How to Fix Them - FluentU"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[685,704],"tags":[],"coauthors":[208],"class_list":["post-179980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-parrot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/739"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179980"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249303,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179980\/revisions\/249303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179980"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=179980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}