Appendix:Portuguese pronunciation

This page is a guide for reading and adding Portuguese IPA pronunciations. Unless noted otherwise, the information here refers only to Standard European Portuguese and Standard Brazilian Portuguese. See Portuguese phonology.

Phonemes

The transcriptions in the second column are non-canonical and should be replaced by those in the first one.

Canonical transcription	Other broad transcriptions	Orthographical representation	Narrow transcriptions	Notes
/a/		a, á, à	[a], [ä]	Allophone [ɑ] may occur before /w/, /l/ at the end of a syllable.
/ɐ/	/ə/, /ɜ/, /ʌ/	a, â	[ə], [ɜ], [ɐ]	Also written "e" in the context of sequences of "e" plus "i" or "í" in European Portuguese	Allophone [ʌ] only in the Lisbon dialect.
/ɐ̃/	/ə̃/, /ɜ̃/	ã, â, am, an, âm, ân	[ə̃], [ɜ̃], [ɐ̃] [ə̃ɰ̃], [ɜ̃ɰ̃] [ɐ̃ɰ̃], [əə̯̃] [ɜə̯̃], [ɐə̯̃] [əə̯̃ɰ̃], [ɜə̯̃ɰ̃], [ɐə̯̃ɰ̃]
/ɛ/		e, é	[ɛ]	May diphthongize to [ɛə̯] or be lowered to [æ].	Allophone [e̞] in Brazil due to complimentary distribution with /e/, /ɨ/ in unstressed position.
/e/		e, ê	[e]	May diphthongize to [eə̯].	Allophone [e̞] in Brazil due to complimentary distribution with /ɛ/ in unstressed position.
/ẽ/		em, en, ên, êm, ém	[ẽ], [ẽɰ̟̃] [eə̯̃], [eə̯̃ɰ̟̃]	The /j̃/ that follows /ẽ/ in some cases needs to be transcribed separately	May be lowered to [ẽ̞], [ɛ̃].
/ɨ/	/ɯ/, /ə/	e, i	[ɯ̽]	European and African Portuguese
/i/		i, e	[i], [ɪ]	[ɪ] only in Brazilian Portuguese
/ĩ/		i, in, im, en, em	[ɪ̃], [ɪ̃ɰ̟̃] [ɪj̃], [ɪ̃j̃]
/ɔ/		o, ó	[ɔ]	May diphthongize to [ɔə̯].	Allophone [o̞] in Brazil due to complimentary distribution with /o/ in unstressed position.
/o/		o, ô	[o]	May diphthongize to [oə̯].	Allophone [o̞] in Brazil due to complimentary distribution with /ɔ/ in unstressed position.
/õ/		õ, om, on, ôm, ôn	[õ], [õɰ̃] [oə̯̃], [oə̯̃ɰ̃] [õʊ̯̃], [õw̃]	May be lowered to [õ̞], [ɔ̃].
/u/		o, u, ú	[u], [ʊ]	Should not be used for /w/	[y] only in the Azores and some dialects of European Portuguese. [ø] in the Azores and some European dialects. [ʊ] only in Brazilian Portuguese.
/ũ/		um, un, úm, ún	[ʊ̃], [ʊ̃ɰ̃], [ʊw̃]
/m/		m	[m]
/n/		n	[n̪]	In Brazil, [ɲ̟] allophone before /i/, /ĩ/ is prevalent among most consistent users of [tʃ], [dʒ] before the same vowel phonemes. Other speakers have alveolar [n͇] instead.
/ɲ/	/j̃/	nh	[ɲ], [j̃], [ɲ̟]	Alveolo-palatal [ɲ̟] only at the start of non-native words in Brazil, otherwise only present as the sound of the sequence /nj/.
/p/		p	[p]
/b/		b, v	[b], [β]	[β] allophone appears only in European Portuguese	v in Northern Portugal, merged with /b/ for most other speakers
/t/		t	[t̪]	Alveolar [t͇] allophone is generalized among Brazilians who do not affricate it before /i/, /ĩ/.
/d/		d	[d], [ð], [d̪]	[ð] is an allophone of intervocalic /d/ in European Portuguese, except Southern Portugal. Alveolar [d͇] allophone is generalized among Brazilians who do not affricate it before /i/, /ĩ/.
/k/		c, qu, k	[k]
/ɡ/	/ɡ/	g, gu	[ɡ], [ɣ]	[ɣ] allophone appears only in European Portuguese
/t͡ʃ/	/tʃ/	t, tch, ch	[t͡ʃʷ], [t͡ɕʷ]	Brazilian Portuguese; usually considered an allophone of /t/	Ch in Northern Portugal, merged with /ʃ/ for most other speakers.
/d͡ʒ/	/dʒ/	d, dj	[d͡ʒʷ], [d͡ʑʷ]	Brazilian Portuguese; usually considered an allophone of /d/
/f/		f	[f]
/v/		v	[v]
/s/		s, ss, ç, z, x	[s]	Merged with /s̺/ in Beirão dialect.
/s̺/		ç, s, ss	[s̺]	Distinguishable /s/ in Transmontanan dialect. It's an allophone of /s/ in Beirão dialects. Merged with /s/ in the remaining dialects.
/z/		s, z, x	[z], [z̺]
/ʃ/		x, ch, s	[ʃʷ], [ɕʷ]
/ʒ/		j, g, s	[ʒʷ], [ʑʷ]
/ʁ/	/r/, /h/, /x/, /χ/, /ř/	r, rr	[x], [ʁ], [ʀ], [r], [h], [ħ], [ɦ] [ɹ], [ɻ], [ɾ], [χ]
/ɾ/	/r/	r	[ɾ]
/l/		l	[l], [ɫ]
/ʎ/		lh	[ʎ], [ʎ̟]
/w/	/u/, /ʊ/, /u̯/, /ʊ̯/, /ʷ/	u, l, o, ü	[w], [u̯], [ʊ̯]
/w̃/	/w/, /u/, /ʊ/, /u̯/, /ʊ̯/ /ũ/, /ʊ̃/, /ũ̯/, /ʊ̯̃/	o, m	[ʊ̯̃]	usually considered an allophone of /w/ following a nasal vowel
/j/	/i/, /i̯/, /ɪ̯/, /ɪ/, /ʲ/	i	[j], [i̯], [ɪ̯]
/j̃/	/j/, /i/, /i̯/, /ɪ̯/, /ɪ/ /ĩ/, /ĩ̯/, /ɪ̯̃/, /ɪ̃/	e, i, ∅	[ɪ̯̃]	usually considered an allophone of /j/ following a nasal vowel

Issues

Alternative pronunciations

context	standard treatment	example
in most variations of Brazilian Portuguese, there are two ways to pronounce the prefix "des-"	each case is listed individually	desligar → IPA(key): /dez.li.ˈɡa(ʁ)/, /d͡ʒis.liˈɡa(ʁ)/
unstressed /i/, /u/ sometimes become /j/, /w/ when followed by another vowel	each case is listed individually	águia → /ˈa.ɡi.ɐ/, /ˈa.ɡjɐ/
word-final vowel reduction is sometimes undone by some speakers; usually /ɐ/ becomes /a/, more rarely /u/ becomes /o/ and /i/ becomes /e/	not indicated	casa → /ˈka.zɐ/, not /ˈka.za/
/lj/, /nj/ become /ʎ/, /ɲ/	only indicated when it is relatively common	família → /fa.ˈmi.li.ɐ/, /fa.ˈmi.ljɐ/, /fa.ˈmi.ʎɐ/
mid-word /o/ and /e/ sometimes become /u/ and /i/ in Brazilian Portuguese, often due to vowel harmony	each case is listed individually	dormir → /doʁ.ˈmi(ʁ)/, /duʁ.ˈmi(ʁ)/
for some Brazilian speakers, a vowel becomes slightly nasalised preceding a nasal consonant	not indicated	dono → /ˈdo.nu/, not /ˈdõ.nu/
semivowels between vowels are geminated	not indicated	caia → /ˈkaj.ɐ/, not /ˈkaj.jɐ/
/k/ and /ɡ/ followed by /w/ may be pronounced as a rounded consonant	not indicated	quando → /ˈkwɐ̃.du/, not /ˈkʷɐ̃.du/

Dropped and intrusive phonemes

context	standard treatment	example
for some speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, /n/ is added between a nasal vowel and a consonant during gerunds	not indicated	deixando → /de(j)ˈʃɐ̃du/, not /de(j)ˈʃɐ̃ndu/
in Brazilian Portuguese, /j/ is dropped from /ej/ before certain consonants	parentheses	manteiga → /mɐ̃.ˈte(j).ɡɐ/
for some speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, /d/ is sometimes replaced with /n/ at the end of gerunds	not indicated	andando → /ɐ̃ˈdɐ̃du/, not /ɐ̃ˈdɐ̃nu/
in Brazilian Portuguese, /j/ is dropped before /ʃ/ and /ʒ/	parentheses	caixa → /ˈka(j).ʃɐ/
for some speakers of European Portuguese, /j/ is added before /ʃ/ and /ʒ/	parentheses	seja → /ˈsɐ(j).ʒɐ/
in Brazilian Portuguese, final /ʁ/ is dropped from certain verb forms	parentheses	fazer → /fa.ˈze(ʁ)/
in Brazilian Portuguese, /j/ is usually added before stressed, word-final /s/ that is not a desinence	parentheses	francês → /fɾɐ̃.ˈse(j)s/
for some speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, /j̃/ is added after /ẽ/ sometimes	not indicated	entrar → /ẽ.ˈtɾa(ʁ)/, not /ẽj̃.ˈtɾa(ʁ)/
for some speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, /w̃/ is added after /õ/ sometimes	not indicated	bomba → /ˈbõ.bɐ/, not /ˈbõw̃.bɐ/
in Brazilian Portuguese, /j/ after a palatal is dropped	not indicated	régio → /ˈʁɛ.ʒi.u/, /ˈʁɛ.ʒju/
/w/ may or may not be maintained in the diphthong /ow/	parentheses	sou → /ˈso(w)/

Stress

• Monosyllabic words should include a stress mark if they are stressed in sentences (si → /ˈsi/ but se → /si/).
• Secondary stress marks are optional, but recommended.

Sandhi

Sandhi should not be noted in pronunciations of individual words, as it is entirely predictable.

Metaphony

Metaphony is the variation between /o/ in the masculine singular of a noun or adjective and /ɔ/ in other forms. Some examples are:

• ovo (“egg”) /ˈo.vu/, plural ovos /ˈɔ.vus/
• novo (“new”) /ˈno.vu/, feminine singular nova /ˈnɔ.vɐ/, masculine plural novos /ˈnɔ.vus/, feminine plural novas /ˈnɔ.vɐs/
• porco (“pig”) /ˈpoʁ.ku/, feminine singular porca (“female pig, sow”) /ˈpɔʁ.kɐ/, masculine plural porcos /ˈpɔʁ.kus/, feminine plural porcas /ˈpɔʁ.kɐs/

The occurrence of metaphony is not predictable; it occurs in several words with stressed o, but not all of them. it can be noted using |meta=1 in {{pt-noun}} and {{pt-adj}}, and adds nouns to Category:Portuguese nouns with metaphony and adjectives to Category:Portuguese adjectives with metaphony.

Dialects

European Portuguese

The dialectology of modern Galician-European Portuguese established by Luís Lindley Cintra considers three major dialectal areas: Galician dialects, Northern Portuguese dialects, and Central-Southern Portuguese dialects.

The "standard" European Portuguese of Lisbon is a member of the Central-Southern Portuguese dialects. It is characterized by:

• Monophthongization of /ow/ in <ou> to /o/ (e.g.: ouro: [ˈo.ɾu], ouvir: [o.ˈviɾ]). (conserved in Northern Portugal dialects)
• Realization of /ej/ in <ei> as /ɐj/ (e.g.: ceifar: [sɐj.ˈfaɾ], feito: [ˈfɐj.tu]) (characteristic of the Lisbon dialect that spread to the rest of the country)
• Realization of /ẽj/ and /ɛ̃j/ in <ém>/<éns> as /ɐ̃j/ (e.g.: bem: [ˈbɐ̃j], vens: [ˈvɐ̃jʃ]) (characteristic of the Lisbon dialect that spread to the rest of the country)

Northern Portugal

Northern European Portuguese dialects, closely related with Galician, are characterized by:

• Betacism: [b] and [v] are realized as [b] or [β] (e.g.: chuva: [ˈt͡ʃu.βɐ], vela: [ˈbɛ.lɐ], [ˈβɛ.lɐ]).
• Conservation the diphthong /ej/ in <ei>, instead of realizing it as /ɐj/ (e.g.: ceifar: [sej.ˈfaɾ], feito: [ˈfej.tu])
• Conservation the diphthong /ow/ in <ou>, instead of merging it with /o/ (e.g.: ouro: [ˈow.ɾu], ouvir: [ow.ˈβiɾ]).
• Conservation of the affricate /t͡ʃ/ in <ch>, instead of merging it with /ʃ/ (e.g.: chuva: [ˈt͡ʃu.βɐ], chamar: [t͡ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ]).

Lower Minhoto-Duriense-Beirão

• Sesseio: [s] and [z] are realized as apical alveolar fricatives, [s̺] and [z̺], respectively (e.g.: cozer/coser: [kuˈz̺eɾ]; passo/paço: [paˈs̺u]).

Upper Minhoto and Transmontano

• Lack of Sesseio: [s] and [z] are distinguished from apical alveolar fricatives, [s̺] and [z̺], respectively (e.g.: cozer: [kuˈzeɾ] vs. coser: [kuˈz̺eɾ]; paço: [paˈsu] vs. passo: [paˈs̺u]).

Central and Southern Portugal

Central European Portuguese dialects are characterized by:

• Conservation the diphthong /ej/ in <ei>, except Lisbon where it is realized as /ɐj/ (e.g.: ceifar: [sej.ˈfaɾ], feito: [ˈfej.tu])

Lisbon

Some peculiarities of the dialect from Lisbon are not considered standard:

• Diphthongization of final /i.u/ in <io> to /iw/ (e.g.: rio: [ˈʁiw], frio: [ˈfɾiw])

Southern Portugal

Southern European Portugal dialects comprise the Alentejan and Algarvian Portuguese. They are characterized by:

• Monophthongization of /ej/ in <ei> to /e/ (e.g.: ceifar: [se.ˈfaɾ], feito: [ˈfe.tu]).
• No rendering of intervocalic /d/ as [ð].

Old Galician-Portuguese	Galician	Northern Portuguese		Central-Southern Portuguese
		Upper Minhoto, Transmontano	Lower Minhoto, Duriense, Beirão	Central Portugal	Lisbon	Southern Portugal
[b]	[b]	[b]/[β]	[b]/[β]	[b]	[b]	[b]
[v]/[β] (?)	[b]/[β]			[v]	[v]	[v]
[t͡ʃ]	[t͡ʃ]	[t͡ʃ]	[t͡ʃ]	[ʃ]	[ʃ]	[ʃ]
[ʃ]	[ʃ]	[ʃ]	[ʃ]
[ow]	[ow]	[ow]	[ow]	[o]	[o]	[o]
[ej]	[ej]	[ej]	[ej]	[ej]	[ɐj]	[e]
[s̺]	[θ]/[s]	[s̺]	[s̺]	[s]	[s]	[s]
[t͡s]	[s]	[s]
[z̺]	[θ]/[s]	[z̺]	[z̺]	[z]	[z]	[z]
[d͡z]	[s]	[z]

Notes

• Due to the recentness of this page’s creation, not every entry conforms to its guidelines. Users are encouraged to correct nonstandard IPA transcriptions, tag them with {{attention|pt|nonstandard pronunciation}}, or inform another user about them.
• Some symbols are used in broad transcriptions even though they are usually considered allophones of another phoneme. The reasons for this are: they are traditionally used in broad transcriptions by other resources; preventing users from sounding foreign when not using that allophone sounds incorrect; in exceptional instances they are a distinct phoneme.