The Portuguese alphabet has 26 letters, the same as English. The letters K, W and Y were officially added in the 1990 spelling agreement and appear only in foreign words and names. The table below gives each letter, its Portuguese name, how it sounds and an example word.
Portuguese also writes five marks on its letters, which creates 12 accented letters. They are listed further down, and our guide to Portuguese accent marks explains each one in detail.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
A a |
á | Like "a" in father | amigo (friend) |
B b |
bê | Like "b" in boy | bola (ball) |
C c |
cê | "k" before a, o, u; "s" before e, i | casa (house), cidade (city) |
D d |
dê | Like "d" in dog; in Brazil, like "j" in jeans before i | dia (day) |
E e |
é | Open like "e" in bet, or closed like "ay" in say | café (coffee), você (you) |
F f |
efe | Like "f" in fish | festa (party) |
G g |
gê | Hard "g" before a, o, u; like "s" in measure before e, i | gato (cat), gente (people) |
H h |
agá | Silent at the start of a word | hora (hour) |
I i |
i | Like "ee" in see | ilha (island) |
J j |
jota | Like "s" in measure | janela (window) |
K k |
cá | Like "k"; only in foreign words | kiwi |
L l |
ele | Like "l" in love; in Brazil, like "w" at the end of a syllable | lua (moon), Brasil |
M m |
eme | Like "m" in man; makes the vowel before it nasal at the end of a syllable | mãe (mother), bom (good) |
N n |
ene | Like "n" in no; makes the vowel before it nasal at the end of a syllable | noite (night), ponte (bridge) |
O o |
ó | Open like "o" in off, or closed like "o" in go; an unstressed final o sounds like "oo" | avó (grandmother), avô (grandfather) |
P p |
pê | Like "p" in pen | porta (door) |
Q q |
quê | Like "k"; always followed by u | queijo (cheese) |
R r |
erre | At the start of a word or doubled: like "h" in hat (Brazil). Between vowels: a quick tap | rio (river), caro (expensive) |
S s |
esse | Like "s" in sun; like "z" between two vowels | sol (sun), casa (house) |
T t |
tê | Like "t" in top; in Brazil, like "ch" in cheese before i | tudo (everything), tia (aunt) |
U u |
u | Like "oo" in moon | uva (grape) |
V v |
vê | Like "v" in very | vida (life) |
W w |
dáblio | Like "w" or "v"; only in foreign words | web |
X x |
xis | Usually like "sh" in shoe; can also be "ks", "z" or "s" | xícara (cup), táxi (taxi) |
Y y |
ípsilon | Like "ee"; only in foreign words | yoga |
Z z |
zê | Like "z" in zoo | zebra (zebra) |
These 12 accented letters are not separate letters of the alphabet. They are ordinary letters carrying a mark that changes the stress or the sound.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
á |
a com acento agudo | Open, stressed "ah" | água (water) |
à |
a com acento grave | Same sound as a; marks the contraction a + a | à noite (at night) |
â |
a com acento circunflexo | Closed, stressed "uh" | lâmpada (lamp) |
ã |
a com til | Nasal "ah", through the nose | maçã (apple) |
é |
e com acento agudo | Open "eh", like "e" in bet | café (coffee) |
ê |
e com acento circunflexo | Closed "ay", like say without the glide | você (you) |
í |
i com acento agudo | Stressed "ee" | país (country) |
ó |
o com acento agudo | Open "aw", like "o" in off | avó (grandmother) |
ô |
o com acento circunflexo | Closed "oh" | avô (grandfather) |
õ |
o com til | Nasal "oh", through the nose | limões (lemons) |
ú |
u com acento agudo | Stressed "oo" | último (last) |
ç |
cê-cedilha | Like "s" in sun | coração (heart) |
Book a 1-on-1 lesson with a Lingua Bud instructor and practice speaking what you just learned. Start with a free 15-minute trial lesson.
Copyright © 2026 Lingua Bud, All Rights Reserved