Consonants: p-b, t-d, k-g, f-v, s-z

The Consonant Pairs

P-B Distinction

P (voiceless)

• NO aspiration (no puff of air)
• pato (duck), pai (father)
• More like Spanish P than English

B (voiced)

• Like English B
• bolo (cake), Brasil
• Clear voicing throughout

T-D: The Brazilian Special

T Regular (before a, o, u)

• Normal T sound: tatu (armadillo)
• No aspiration: todo (all)

T before I/E → [tʃ] "tch"

• tia [tchia] (aunt)
• leite [leitchi] (milk)
• forte [fortchi] (strong)
• noite [noitchi] (night)

D Regular (before a, o, u)

• Normal D sound: dado (dice)
• Clear voicing: dor (pain)

D before I/E → [dʒ] "dj"

• dia [djia] (day)
• cidade [sidadji] (city)
• verde [verdji] (green)
• tarde [tardji] (afternoon)

K-G Sounds

K (spelled C/QU)

• C before a, o, u: café, como, custo
• QU before e, i: quero, aqui
• Never aspirated (less air than English)

G (two different sounds)

• Hard G before a, o, u: gato, logo, gula
• Soft G [ʒ] before e, i: gente [ʒẽtchi], girafa [ʒirafa]

F-V Distinction

F (voiceless)

• Like English F
• falar (to speak), café

V (voiced)

• Like English V
• viver (to live), novo
• Some speakers soften it slightly

S-Z: The Positional Rules

S sounds like [s]:

• Beginning of words: sala, sempre
• After consonants: pensar, falso
• Double SS: passar, isso

S sounds like [z]:

• Between vowels: casa [kaza], mesa [meza]
• Before voiced consonants: mesmo [mezmu]

Z always sounds like [z]:

• zero, fazer, brazil

Important Patterns

Final Consonants

• Often reduced or dropped
• "falar" → [fala] in casual speech
• "comer" → [come]

Double Consonants

• SS = always [s]: passar [pasar]
• RR = strong R (covered separately)
• No other true doubles in Portuguese