LinguaThe whole alphabet, the marks and the rules
You now know all 26 letters, their Portuguese names and the marks that sit on them. Portuguese is read in a very regular way: once you know a handful of rules, you can read aloud almost any word you see, even one you have never met. The table gathers the rules of this unit. Each of them is about one letter and its neighbour: which vowel follows c or g, whether q has its u, which mark sits on the vowel.
| Spelling | Sound | Words |
|---|---|---|
| ca, co, cu | k | faca, macaco |
| ce, ci, ça, ço, çu | s | alface, praça, açúcar |
| ga, go, gu | g of “go” | liga |
| ge, gi, j | soft, like the s of “measure” | geleia, jaca |
| h | silent on its own | hora, hotel |
| qu | k | parque |
| á é ó | stressed and open | avó, sofá, pé |
| â ê ô | stressed and closed | avô, bebê, lâmpada |
| ã õ | nasal | maçã |
Four letters, one shape turned around. b: the post, then the belly at the bottom right. d: the belly first, then the post on its right. p: the post going below the line, then the belly at the top right. q: the belly first, then the post going below the line.
The marks stay on capital letters too – on signs and posters you will read PRAÇA and ÔNIBUS. The mark is written last, just above the capital.
Try the rules on a word you have never seen: jabuticaba, a small black Brazilian fruit that grows right on the tree trunk. j: soft. u: “oo”. ti: in Brazil “tchi”. ca: hard, k. No mark, so the stress falls on the syllable before the last: “ja-bu-tchi-KA-ba”.
O bebê come maçã.The baby eats an apple.
A baleia e o navio.The whale and the ship.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a faca | knife | Corte o pão com esta faca. Cut the bread with this knife. |
| a alface | lettuce | A salada tem alface e tomate. The salad has lettuce and tomato. |
| a geleia | jam | A geleia de uva é da avó. The grape jam is Grandma’s. |
| a jaca | jackfruit | Tem uma jaca enorme no pé. There is a huge jackfruit on the tree. |
| o parque | park | O parque fecha às seis. The park closes at six. |
| a rua | street | A rua da escola é tranquila. The school’s street is quiet. |
| o abacaxi | pineapple | O abacaxi está maduro. The pineapple is ripe. |
| a avó | grandmother | Minha avó mora na ilha. My grandmother lives on the island. |
| o avô | grandfather | O avô gosta de dominó. Grandpa likes dominoes. |
| a praça | square (in a town) | A praça tem muitas árvores. The square has many trees. |
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 word begins with a letter that is not pronounced?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.