Introduction to the Portuguese Alphabet
Introduction to the Portuguese Alphabet 🇵🇹
Portuguese uses the same Latin alphabet as English, with 26 letters. However, only 23 letters are considered part of the traditional Portuguese alphabet — the letters k, w, and y are used mainly in foreign words, abbreviations, and loanwords (e.g. km, watt, playlist).
Special Characters
Portuguese adds accented letters and one special consonant not found in English:
| Character | Name | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ã / õ | til (tilde) | mãe, coração | Marks a nasal vowel sound |
| á é í ó ú | acento agudo | café, avó | Marks stress and an open vowel |
| â ê ô | acento circunflexo | você, avô | Marks stress and a closed vowel |
| à | crase | à tarde | Contraction of the preposition a + a |
| ç | cedilha (c-cedilla) | coração, francês | Makes 'c' sound like 's' before a, o, u |
Digraphs (Two Letters, One Sound)
| Digraph | Sounds Like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| lh | 'lli' in million | trabalho, filho |
| nh | 'ny' in canyon | vinho, banho |
| ch | 'sh' in shoe | chave, chuva |
| rr | strong, guttural r | carro, ferro |
| ss | sharp 's' (never 'z') | passo, assado |
Tip: Say the alphabet out loud daily. Portuguese letter names differ from English (e.g. 'h' = agá, 'j' = jota, 'w' = duplo vê), so learning them helps with spelling out words and reading acronyms.