IPA Reference for European Portuguese | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the universal system for representing speech sounds precisely. A single IPA symbol corresponds to a single sound, and no two sounds share a symbol. For a language like European Portuguese — where a single written letter can represent several sounds, and a single sound can be spelled in several ways — IPA transcription is the only way to describe pronunciation without ambiguity.

This page is a reference chart for all the sounds of Standard European Portuguese (the Lisbon variety). For each IPA symbol, you get: a Portuguese word containing it, an English or Spanish approximation, and notes on context and optional reductions. Use this page to look up a sound you see transcribed elsewhere, to check your ear against the target, or to learn the phonetic basis of the pronunciation rules covered in other pages.

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Students should focus first on sound-to-spelling associations — knowing that casa contains [ˈkazɐ] — before memorizing IPA symbols for their own sake. The IPA is a tool for pronunciation work, not a goal. If you never write IPA but can reliably produce every sound, you have succeeded. If you know every symbol but pronounce casa as [ˈkasɐ], the IPA has not helped you.

Oral vowels

European Portuguese has nine distinct oral vowel qualities. These appear primarily in stressed syllables; unstressed vowels reduce to a smaller set (see Vowel Reduction below).

IPA	Description	Portuguese example	English / Spanish approximation
[i]	close front unrounded	vi [vi] — I saw	English see, Spanish sí
[e]	close-mid front unrounded (the "closed e", ê)	dedo [ˈdedu] — finger	Spanish dedo; English has no exact match, between bit and bait
[ɛ]	open-mid front unrounded (the "open e", é)	pé [pɛ] — foot	English bed
[a]	open central unrounded (stressed a)	pá [pa] — shovel; casa [ˈkazɐ] first a	Spanish pan, closer to English father than cat
[ɐ]	near-open central — unstressed a, or stressed a before a nasal	casa [ˈkazɐ] final a; para [ˈpaɾɐ]; cama [ˈkɐmɐ] — bed (stressed, before nasal)	Between English schwa [ə] and [ʌ]; closer to the vowel in cup in some dialects
[ɨ]	close central unrounded (the "mute e")	de [dɨ]; pequeno [pɨˈkenu]	Russian ы; Welsh y; English has no close equivalent — not schwa
[ə]	schwa (rare in EP; sometimes merged with [ɨ])	Informal: some descriptions use [ə] where others use [ɨ]	English unstressed sofa
[ɔ]	open-mid back rounded (the "open o", ó)	avó [ɐˈvɔ] — grandmother	English law (non-rhotic), Spanish joven
[o]	close-mid back rounded (the "closed o", ô)	avô [ɐˈvo] — grandfather	Spanish lo, between English hot and home
[u]	close back rounded	uva [ˈuvɐ] — grape	Spanish tú, English food (shorter)

A avó leu uma carta para o avô antes de dormir.

Grandmother read a letter to grandfather before sleeping. (Contains [ɐ, ɔ, e, u, a, ɐ, ɐ, ɐ, o, e, dɨ, u] across the stressed and unstressed vowels.)

The [ɐ]/[a] distinction

EP distinguishes between stressed [a] (fully open) and unstressed [ɐ] (slightly raised and centralized). In a word like casa the two a*s are phonetically different: [ˈka.zɐ]. Both are written *a and there is no spelling clue; the distinction follows automatically from stress.

A casa da Ana é grande.

Ana's house is big. ([ɐ ˈkazɐ dɐ ˈɐnɐ ɛ ˈɡɾɐ̃dɨ] — every a has a specific realization based on stress and nasality)

The elusive [ɨ]

[ɨ] is the vowel that most distinguishes EP from BR and from Spanish. It is a close central unrounded vowel — tongue high like [i] but positioned centrally, and lips unrounded (no [u] quality). The closest English sound is the vowel some speakers produce in roses or the unstressed just, but even those are typically too low.

Tenho que falar contigo depois de comer.

I have to talk to you after eating. (Contains [ɨ] in que, de, comer — possibly deleted in rapid speech)

Nasal vowels

European Portuguese has five nasal vowel phonemes. They are produced with simultaneous oral and nasal airflow — the soft palate lowers, letting air pass through the nose while the vowel is articulated.

IPA	Description	Portuguese example	Spelling
[ĩ]	nasal close front	vim [vĩ] — I came	im, in consonant
[ẽ]	nasal close-mid front	entre [ˈẽtɾɨ] — between	em, en consonant
[ɐ̃]	nasal near-open central	cama — only vowel, not nasal; but canto [ˈkɐ̃tu]	ã, am, an consonant
[õ]	nasal close-mid back	conto [ˈkõtu] — story	om, on consonant; also õ
[ũ]	nasal close back	um [ũ] — one, a	um, un consonant

Um canto antigo entrou na minha mente.

An old song entered my mind. ([ũ ˈkɐ̃tu ɐ̃ˈtiɡu ẽˈtɾo nɐ ˈmiɲɐ ˈmẽtɨ] — five nasal vowels)

Oral diphthongs

A diphthong is a vowel that changes quality within a single syllable. EP has many oral diphthongs; here are the most common.

IPA	Portuguese example	Spelling	Notes
[aj]	vai [vaj] — (s)he goes	ai	as in English eye
[ɐj]	lei [lɐj] — law	ei	characteristic EP pronunciation; BR says [ej]
[ɛj]	papéis [pɐˈpɛjʃ] — papers	éi	open e + glide
[ej]	Rare in careful EP speech; may appear in borrowings		preserved in BR but shifted to [ɐj] in EP
[oj]	boi [boj] — ox	oi	as in English boy
[ɔj]	herói [iˈɾɔj] — hero	ói	open o + glide
[uj]	fui [fuj] — I went	ui	as in English gooey
[aw]	mau [maw] — bad	au	as in English cow
[ɐw]	Less common; some final positions
[ew]	meu [mew] — my (m.)	eu	closed e + glide
[ɛw]	céu [sɛw] — sky	éu	open e + glide
[iw]	viu [viw] — (s)he saw	iu	common in verb forms

Hoje vou comprar pão e beber um café.

Today I'm going to buy bread and drink a coffee. (Contains diphthongs [oj, o, aw] — hoje, vou, pão)

Nasal diphthongs

Nasal diphthongs are diphthongs in which both elements are nasalized. EP has four common ones.

IPA	Portuguese example	Spelling	Notes
[ɐ̃w̃]	pão [pɐ̃w̃] — bread	ão	very common — plurals often -ões, -ães
[ɐ̃j̃]	mãe [mɐ̃j̃] — mother	ãe	relatively rare
[õj̃]	põe [põj̃] — (s)he puts	õe	characteristic EP sound
[ũj̃]	muito [ˈmũj̃tu] — much	ui before nasal context	nasal spreading onto the u

A minha mãe pôs o pão no forno e comeu muito.

My mum put the bread in the oven and ate a lot. (Contains nasal diphthongs [ɐ̃j̃, õj̃, ɐ̃w̃, ũj̃])

Consonants

The full consonant inventory of EP, organized by place and manner of articulation.

Stops

IPA	Place / Voicing	Example	English approximation
[p]	bilabial voiceless (unaspirated)	pato [ˈpatu] — duck	English spot (no aspiration)
[b]	bilabial voiced	bato [ˈbatu] — I hit	English bat
[t]	dental voiceless (unaspirated)	tua [ˈtuɐ] — your (f.)	Spanish tú; English stop
[d]	dental voiced	dado [ˈdadu] — given; die	Spanish dar; English day (tongue more dental)
[k]	velar voiceless (unaspirated)	cá [ka] — here	English sky (no aspiration)
[ɡ]	velar voiced	gato [ˈɡatu] — cat	English go

Fricatives

IPA	Place / Voicing	Example	English approximation
[f]	labiodental voiceless	fato [ˈfatu] — suit	English f
[v]	labiodental voiced	vaca [ˈvakɐ] — cow	English v
[s]	alveolar voiceless	sete [ˈsɛtɨ] — seven; caça [ˈkasɐ]	English s
[z]	alveolar voiced	casa [ˈkazɐ] — house	English z
[ʃ]	postalveolar voiceless	chá [ʃa] — tea; três [tɾeʃ]	English sh
[ʒ]	postalveolar voiced	já [ʒa] — already; mesmo [ˈmeʒmu]	French j in jour
[ʁ]	uvular voiced	rio [ˈʁiu] — river; carro [ˈkaʁu]	French r in rouge

Nasals

IPA	Place	Example	English approximation
[m]	bilabial	mala [ˈmalɐ] — suitcase	English m
[n]	alveolar	nada [ˈnadɐ] — nothing	English n
[ɲ]	palatal	minha [ˈmiɲɐ] — my (f.)	Spanish ñ in niño; French gn in agneau

Liquids

IPA	Description	Example	English approximation
[l]	alveolar lateral (onset)	lua [ˈluɐ] — moon	English l in leaf
[ɫ]	velarized lateral (coda, "dark L")	sal [saɫ]; Portugal [puɾtuˈɡaɫ]	English l in feel (RP, some US)
[ʎ]	palatal lateral	filho [ˈfiʎu] — son	Italian gl in figlio; Spanish ll (traditional)
[ɾ]	alveolar tap	caro [ˈkaɾu] — expensive	Spanish single r; American English flap t in butter

Glides

IPA	Description	Example	English approximation
[j]	palatal glide	pai [paj] — father; ia — (s)he would go	English y in yes
[w]	labiovelar glide	quatro [ˈkwatɾu] — four; mau [maw]	English w in we

O meu filho bebeu leite quente com pão.

My son drank hot milk with bread. (Contains [ʎ, w, ɐj, k, t, ɐ̃w̃] — filho, bebeu, leite, quente, pão)

Vowel reduction in IPA notation

The following table shows how to transcribe common reductions:

Letter	Stressed	Unstressed	Notes
a, á	[a]	[ɐ]	systematic reduction
ã	[ɐ̃]	[ɐ̃]	nasal, unchanged by stress
e	[e] or [ɛ]	[ɨ] → often zero	the "mute e" often deleted in clusters
é	[ɛ]	rare unstressed	acute marks open quality
ê	[e]	rare unstressed	circumflex marks closed quality
i, í	[i]	[i]	weakened but not changed
o	[o] or [ɔ]	[u]	raised to [u]
ó	[ɔ]	rare unstressed	acute marks open quality
ô	[o]	rare unstressed	circumflex marks closed quality
u, ú	[u]	[u]	no change

From orthography to IPA — a worked example

Let's transcribe the word saudade, that famous Portuguese word, into IPA step by step.

Step 1: Identify the syllables. sau-da-de — three syllables. Stress is on the penultimate: sau-*DA-de*.

Step 2: Identify each vowel and its stress context.

sau-: diphthong [aw], unstressed — but in saudade the au is a diphthong, not reduced: [saw].
-da-: stressed a — [a].
-de: unstressed e — [ɨ], often near-silent.

Step 3: Consonants.

s before vowel — [s].
d between vowels — [d].
d at start of syllable, even before [ɨ] — [d].

Step 4: Combine. [saw.ˈda.dɨ]. Primary stress marker [ˈ] goes before the stressed syllable.

Final transcription: [sawˈdadɨ].

A saudade é uma palavra difícil de traduzir.

Saudade is a word that's difficult to translate. ([ɐ sawˈdadɨ ɛ ˈumɐ pɐˈlavɾɐ diˈfisiɫ dɨ tɾɐduˈziɾ])

Another worked example: polícia ("police").

Syllables: po-lí-cia. Stress on the second: po-*LÍ-cia*.
po-: unstressed o → [u].
-lí-: stressed i → [i].
-cia: ends in -cia, which is [sjɐ] with the final [ɐ] possibly reduced or elided.

Transcription: [puˈlisjɐ] or with further reduction, [puˈlisi(ɐ)] or even [puˈlis] in very casual speech.

A polícia chegou rápido ao local do acidente.

The police arrived quickly at the accident scene. (polícia [puˈlisjɐ] with reducible final vowel)

Notation conventions

Reading Portuguese transcriptions, you will encounter a few notational conventions worth recognizing:

Primary stress: marked [ˈ] before the syllable: [sawˈdadɨ].
Secondary stress (rare in EP): [ˌ] before the syllable.
Optional deletion: often shown in parentheses: [puˈlisi(ɐ)] = the final [ɐ] is optional.
Brackets: phonetic transcription uses square brackets . Phonemic transcription (abstract units) uses slashes / /. Most teaching material uses for precision.
Tilde for nasality: a tilde over the vowel [ɐ̃, õ, ĩ] marks nasalization. Over a glide [j̃, w̃] it marks a nasal glide in a nasal diphthong.
Length: EP does not have phonemic vowel length, so length marks [ː] are typically absent.

Scope and limitations

This is a reference chart, not a phonetics textbook. A few things are worth flagging:

Regional variation exists. Northern speakers may use [r] instead of [ʁ]; Azorean speakers may front [u] to [y]. This chart describes the Lisbon standard.
Some scholars use slightly different symbols. For example, the "mute e" is sometimes written [ə] rather than [ɨ]; the reduced a is occasionally written [ɐ̆]. These are notational variants of the same sounds.
Careful vs casual speech differs significantly in EP. Careful speech preserves more unstressed vowels; casual speech deletes them. Most transcriptions in this reference represent careful-to-neutral speech; real spontaneous speech is often more reduced.
IPA does not capture everything. Intonation, voice quality, tempo, and prosody are not represented in segmental IPA. Listen to natives as your ultimate reference.

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Learners should not obsess over IPA. Once you can recognize a few key symbols — [ɐ, ɨ, ʎ, ɲ, ʁ, ʃ, ʒ] and the nasal tilde — you can read dictionary transcriptions and use them to check your pronunciation. Going deeper is a project for the genuinely curious, not a requirement for fluency.

Further resources

Online Forvo (forvo.com): native recordings of individual words. Filter to Portugal speakers.
Priberam Dictionary (priberam.pt): Portuguese definitions with audio (in some entries).
Infopédia (infopedia.pt): another online dictionary with pronunciation audio.
Wiktionary: often provides IPA transcriptions for EP specifically, distinct from BR.
Academic sources: Mateus and d'Andrade's The Phonology of Portuguese (Oxford 2000) is the standard scholarly reference.

Key Takeaways

European Portuguese has nine oral vowels ([i, e, ɛ, a, ɐ, ɨ, ɔ, o, u]) and five nasal vowels ([ĩ, ẽ, ɐ̃, õ, ũ]), plus oral and nasal diphthongs.
The consonant system contains about 19 phonemes, with distinctive sounds like [ɫ] (dark L), [ʁ] (uvular R), [ʎ] (palatal L), [ɲ] (palatal N), and [ʃ]/[ʒ] (postalveolars).
Vowel reduction in unstressed position is systematic: /a/ → [ɐ], /e/ → [ɨ] (often deleted), /o/ → [u].
The stress marker [ˈ] goes before the stressed syllable; optional deletions are marked with parentheses.
IPA is a tool for precision and for checking your ear against targets. It is not a substitute for listening to natives.
The symbols [ɐ, ɨ, ʎ, ɲ, ʁ, ʃ, ʒ] and the nasal tilde are the most important for learners to recognize in dictionary entries and teaching materials.