LinguaTwelve letters, read the Brazilian way
Portuguese is written with the 26 Latin letters you already know, plus accent marks and the ç, which come in lesson 3. The shapes are not new; what is new is the Portuguese NAME of each letter and its SOUND. Today: the first twelve, A to L, capital and small. Every word in this lesson is written with these twelve letters only, so you can already read all of it. One letter needs attention from the start: h on its own is never pronounced. hora (hour) is said “ora”, hotel is “otel”. And j is never the “j” of “jam”: it sounds like the s in “measure” – jaca.
Capital A: two slanted legs that meet at the top, then the bar. Small a: the round part, then a short line down its right side. Capital B: the post, then two bellies, the upper one smaller. Small b: a tall post with one belly at the bottom.
C is one curve, open to the right. Capital D: the post, then one big belly. Small d: the round part first, then the tall post on its right – b turned around.
Capital E: the post, then three bars – top, middle, bottom. Small e: the little bar first, then curl up, over and round to the left. F is an E without its lowest bar. Small f: a hook from the top, then a short bar across.
Capital G: a C, then a short bar turning in. Small g: the round part, then a tail below the line that curls left. Capital H: two posts, then the bar between them. Small h: a tall post and one arch.
Capital I: one straight line. Small i: a short line, then the dot. Capital J: a line down that hooks to the left at the bottom. Small j: a line that drops below the line and curls left, then the dot.
K: the post, then a stroke from the upper right in to the middle, then one from there out to the lower right. Capital L: the post, then the foot to the right. Small l: one tall line with a small turn at the bottom.
| Letter | Portuguese name | How it sounds | In a word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | open a, as in “father” | aldeia |
| B b | bê | b, as in English | bala |
| C c | cê | k before a, o, u; s before e, i | faca, alface |
| D d | dê | d; before an i sound often “dj” (next unit) | fada |
| E e | é | open é or closed ê | geleia |
| F f | efe | f, as in English | fila |
| G g | gê | g of “go” before a, o, u; like the s of “measure” before e, i | liga, geleia |
| H h | agá | silent on its own | ilha |
| I i | i | ee, as in “see” | ideia |
| J j | jota | like the s of “measure” | jaca |
| K k | cá | k; only in foreign words and names | kiwi |
| L l | ele | l; at the end of a syllable like u (next unit) | liga |
A aldeia fica na ilha.The village is on the island.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a aldeia | village | A aldeia fica perto do rio. The village is near the river. |
| a bala | sweet, candy | A criança quer uma bala. The child wants a sweet. |
| a baleia | whale | A baleia é enorme. The whale is huge. |
| a faca | knife | A faca está na gaveta. The knife is in the drawer. |
| a alface | lettuce | Eu compro alface na feira. I buy lettuce at the market. |
| a fila | queue, line | A fila do banco está grande. The queue at the bank is long. |
| a geleia | jam | Pão com geleia, por favor. Bread with jam, please. |
| a liga | league | Nosso time está na primeira liga. Our team is in the first league. |
| a ilha | island | Florianópolis fica numa ilha. Florianópolis is on an island. |
| a ideia | idea | Que boa ideia! What a good idea! |
| a jaca | jackfruit | A jaca é uma fruta muito grande. Jackfruit is a very big fruit. |
| o cabide | coat hanger | O casaco está no cabide. The coat is on the hanger. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- trace the letter: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which letter do Brazilians call “agá”?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.