how to pronounce<\/a> them.\u00a0<\/p>\nWith plenty of examples and audio from a native speaker, you’ll be able to practice your pronunciation and see how accents are used in various contexts.
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What are Portuguese Accent Marks?<\/h2>\n
In Portuguese, there are five types of accent marks: acute accent (\u00e1, \u00e9, \u00ed, \u00f3, \u00fa)<\/em>, grave accent (\u00e0, \u00f2)<\/em>, circumflex accent (\u00e2, \u00ea, \u00f4)<\/em>, tilde (\u00e3, \u00f5)<\/em>, and the cedilla (\u00e7)<\/em>. As a Portuguese learner, you should pay attention to accent marks because:<\/p>\n\n- They can completely change the meaning of a word.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- They tell you where to place emphasis<\/strong> within a word.<\/li>\n
- They show you how to pronounce<\/strong> a certain letter.<\/li>\n
- They exist in all varieties of the Portuguese language,<\/strong> from Portugal and Angola to Brazil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
On that last note: Luckily, accent marks don’t vary in meaning\u2014they have the same effect on pronunciation wherever you go.<\/p>\n
But be careful! Just because accent marks are pronounced the same way across countries, it doesn’t mean that they’re always used in the exact same words everywhere\u2014more on that below.<\/p>\n
Portuguese Accent Marks and Pronunciations<\/h2>\n
In the following sections, we’ll go over each of the five different types of Portuguese accent marks,<\/strong> how they change words and how to use them.<\/p>\nThe\u00a0Acento Circunflexo,<\/em> or Caret\u00a0(^)<\/h3>\nLetters that use it:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00e2, \u00ea, \u00f4<\/em><\/p>\nWhat it does: <\/strong>Turns a regular letter that would be pronounced very openly into a letter that’s pronounced with a closed mouth.<\/p>\nHow to use it:<\/strong><\/p>\nIt’s simple. All you have to do is pretend you’re drinking from a straw<\/strong> while pronouncing these letters!<\/p>\nCan you tell the difference between the letter a<\/em> in the English word “fa<\/strong>ther” and the absolutely different type of a<\/em>\u00a0you’d find in the word “alpha<\/strong>bet”?<\/p>\nThis difference also exists in Portuguese, too\u2014we just sometimes use an accent mark to change\u00a0a<\/em> into the kind you find in “alphabet.”<\/p>\nThe same is true for the letters e<\/em> and o.<\/em><\/p>\nFor instance, in a word like fe<\/strong>rro<\/em>\u00a0(iron), the letter e<\/em> will sound like in the English word\u00a0<\/em>“be<\/strong>tter.” That would be the typical e<\/em>\u00a0sound in the Portuguese language.<\/p>\nHowever, words that use a caret will transform into something similar to the English sound in the word “si<\/strong>n”\u00a0or “wi<\/strong>n.”<\/p>\nSimilarly, while the letter o<\/em> would regularly be heard in Portuguese either as a very open letter (like in the English word “o<\/strong>dd”) or as pretty much the same as the letter u<\/em> (like in the English word “troo<\/strong>ps”), the caret changes everything once again!<\/p>\nCan you think of the o<\/em>\u00a0sound in the English word “flo<\/strong>w”? That’s the effect of this little “hat” in the Portuguese vowel!<\/p>\nExamples:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00e2mbito<\/strong> <\/em>(scope)<\/p>\n\u00e2mbar<\/strong><\/em> (amber)<\/p>\np\u00ealo<\/strong> <\/em>(hair)<\/p>\nIn\u00eas<\/strong><\/em> (female name)<\/p>\np\u00f4r<\/em><\/strong> (to put)<\/p>\nRemember: Not every word that includes this sound will necessarily have an accent mark to signal it.<\/p>\n
For example, the words a<\/strong>migo<\/em> (friend), de<\/strong>ntro<\/em> (inside) and po<\/strong>rco<\/em> (pig) all have vowels that are pronounced exactly as if they had a caret on them, but they don’t. You’ll learn as you go… promise!<\/p>\nThe\u00a0Agudo e Grave,<\/em> or Acute and Grave Marks\u00a0(\u00b4, `)<\/h3>\nLetters that use them:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00e1, \u00e0, \u00e9, \u00ed, \u00f3, \u00fa<\/em><\/p>\nWhat it does:<\/strong>\u00a0Forces any letter to be very, very open, and places the stress on that letter.<\/p>\nHow to use them:<\/strong><\/p>\nOpen your mouth and say “Aaaah”!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nHere’s a guide to the equivalent sounds in English:<\/p>\n
\n- \u00e1, \u00e0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 aaahhhh (like in “fa<\/strong>ther”)<\/li>\n
- \u00e9<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 eh (like in “se<\/strong>ven”)<\/li>\n
- \u00ed<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 ee (like in “pea<\/strong>k”)<\/li>\n
- \u00f3<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 oh (like in “o<\/strong>dd”)<\/li>\n
- \u00fa<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 oo (like in “roo<\/strong>f”)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You might be wondering what the difference is between \u00e1<\/em> and \u00e0.<\/em> In terms of pronunciation, they’re exactly the same.<\/p>\nActually, the difference is only found in writing<\/strong>\u2014you’ll only find \u00e0<\/em> when the letter stands alone or with an s<\/em> in front of it with the meaning of “to” or “on.” I know, it’s so specific!<\/p>\nHere are some examples of this:<\/p>\n
Eu s\u00f3 como sopa \u00e0s<\/strong> sexta-feiras.<\/em> (I only eat soup on Fridays.)<\/p>\nEstou \u00e0<\/strong> espera!<\/em> (I’m waiting!)<\/p>\nVou \u00e0<\/strong> Alemanha.<\/em> (I will go to Germany.)<\/p>\nFui \u00e0s<\/strong> cidades mais bonitas da Europa.<\/em> (I went to the most beautiful cities in Europe.)<\/p>\nWhen using this accent mark in any other situation, always use the one pointing to the right side, like in the examples below.<\/p>\n
Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\nh\u00e1<\/strong><\/em> (there is, there are)<\/p>\nm\u00e1quina<\/strong><\/em> (machine)<\/p>\nm\u00e1<\/strong><\/em> (evil or mean female)<\/p>\n\u00e9pico<\/strong><\/em> (epic)<\/p>\n\u00edntimo<\/strong><\/em> (intimate)<\/p>\n\u00f3bvio<\/strong><\/em> (obvious)<\/p>\n\u00fatil<\/strong><\/em> (useful)<\/p>\n\u00e0<\/strong><\/em> (to, on)<\/p>\nRemember: Just like with the caret, this sound isn’t always accompanied by an accent mark.<\/p>\n
The following words, for example, all have vowels that are pronounced exactly as if they have an acute accent mark on them, but they don’t:<\/p>\n
pa<\/strong>i<\/em> (father)<\/p>\nma<\/strong>la<\/em> (bag)<\/p>\nfe<\/strong>rro<\/em> (iron)<\/p>\nco<\/strong>lo<\/em> (lap)<\/p>\nStep by step, you’ll start getting used to these specific words.<\/p>\n
Also: Remember the caret? Keep in mind that where European Portuguese (in Portugal) uses \u00f3,<\/em> Brazilian Portuguese will often use \u00f4 <\/em>instead, with the necessary pronunciation changes.<\/p>\nExamples of this are:<\/p>\n
arquitet\u00f3nico <\/em><\/strong>(PT)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2192 arquitet\u00f4nico<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(BR)<\/p>\nat\u00f3mico<\/strong> <\/em>(PT)\u00a0\u2192 at\u00f4mico<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(BR)<\/p>\nanat\u00f3mico<\/strong> <\/em>(PT)\u00a0\u2192 anat\u00f4mico<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(BR)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThis means that European Portuguese actually has some open vowel sounds that transform into very closed sounds in Brazilian Portuguese, and vice-versa.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Til,<\/em> or Tilde (~)<\/h3>\nLetters that use it:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e3, \u00f5<\/em><\/p>\nWhat it does:<\/strong> Changes a regular letter into one with a nasal sound.<\/p>\nHow to use it:<\/strong><\/p>\nThink of the English word “pa<\/strong>rt.” Now think of the English word “tra<\/strong>in.” Can you hear how the letter becomes slightly more nasal in the latter\u2014that is, you use your nose to create the sound more than usual?<\/strong><\/p>\nSimilarly, the regular o<\/em> in Portuguese would sound either like in the English word “bo<\/strong>y” or “roo<\/strong>f” (depending on the position of the letter inside a word… but that’s a story for another post!), but the letter \u00f5 <\/em>would be pronounced as in the word “ointment”\u2014again, a little bit more nasal.<\/p>\nExamples:<\/strong><\/p>\nm\u00e3e<\/strong><\/em> (mother)<\/p>\nc\u00e3o<\/strong><\/em> (dog)<\/p>\ncan\u00e7\u00e3o<\/strong><\/em> (song)<\/p>\ninten\u00e7\u00e3o<\/strong><\/em> (intention)<\/p>\nrela\u00e7\u00e3o<\/strong><\/em> (relationship)<\/p>\np\u00f5e<\/strong><\/em> (he\/she\/it puts, or imperative “put”)<\/p>\nora\u00e7\u00f5es<\/strong><\/em> (prayers)<\/p>\ncora\u00e7\u00f5es<\/em> <\/strong>(hearts)<\/p>\nOne thing you’ll soon notice about the Portuguese language is that whenever a word ends in –\u00e3o<\/em>\u00a0in the singular, it’s likely to use the sounds –\u00e3os<\/em>\u00a0and –\u00f5es<\/em>\u00a0in its plural version.<\/p>\nAdditionally, if the word ends in –\u00e3e<\/em>\u00a0in the singular, it’s likely to end with –\u00e3es<\/em>\u00a0in the plural version.<\/p>\nHere are some times when this happens:<\/p>\n
cora\u00e7\u00e3o <\/strong><\/em>\u2192 cora\u00e7\u00f5es<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(heart\u00a0\u2192<\/em> hearts)<\/p>\nm\u00e3o <\/em><\/strong>\u2192