Portuguese pronunciation: Portugal vs Brazil

Written Portuguese is almost the same in Portugal and Brazil, but spoken Portuguese is not. A Brazilian speaker sounds open and sing-song, and a Portuguese speaker sounds quick and clipped, with many sounds swallowed. Both are Portuguese, and speakers of each understand the other, but you will understand more if you know what to listen for.

Each section below has two lists with the same words. The first is read with a European voice (pt-PT), and the second is read with a Brazilian voice (pt-BR). Play them one after the other.

Every country has its own regional accents as well. The patterns below describe the most common ones, which are Lisbon in Portugal and São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Rhythm and unstressed vowels

This is the largest difference. In European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are shortened or dropped, so a long word sounds like a string of consonants. Brazilian Portuguese keeps most vowels, so the rhythm is closer to Spanish or Italian.

D and T before the sound "ee"

In most of Brazil, d and t change before an i sound. Di sounds like ji in "jeep", and ti sounds like chi in "cheese". The same happens with a final unstressed -de and -te, because those are pronounced with an i sound. European Portuguese keeps plain d and t.

Some parts of Brazil, notably the north-east and the far south, keep the plain d and t, so you may hear both.

The sound of S

At the end of a word or before another consonant, s is a sh sound in European Portuguese. In Brazil it depends on the region. Rio de Janeiro and the north-east also say sh, while São Paulo and the south say a plain s.

The sound of R

R at the start of a word and rr in the middle make a hard sound. In Portugal it is usually made at the back of the throat, like the French r, and in some regions it is rolled. In most of Brazil it sounds like an English h. A single r between vowels is a quick tap in both countries.

The sound of L at the end of a syllable

In Brazil, l at the end of a syllable sounds like a w or u, so Brasil sounds like "Brazeeoo". In Portugal it is a dark l, made with the tongue against the roof of the mouth.

What stays the same

Both varieties share the nasal vowels in words such as não, mãe and pão. They also share the sounds lh (as in filho) and nh (as in minha), the ç in words such as obrigação, and the written accents, which show which syllable is stressed. Spelling and grammar are almost the same, so the spelling rules you learn apply to both.

Which one should you learn?

For comprehension you can listen to both. Brazilian speech tends to be easier at first, because the vowels stay clear. European speech tends to be harder to follow, because the sounds are shorter, but it becomes easier after you have trained your ear on a few hours of audio. For speaking, pick the variety of the people you will talk to.

Practice

When you are ready, read the overview of European and Brazilian Portuguese.