Lesson 5: Pronunciation part 3 (Consonants)

Letter Portuguese example English approximation Pronounced like this when

b basquetebol(basquetebol) bake as in English
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c construido(constructed) case before a,o,u sounds like c in case
c cenoura (carrot) bicycle before e,i sounds c in bicycle
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ch rocha (rock) shake always sounds like sh in shake
Chá ( tea )
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d dedo (finger) duck
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f faca(knife) feet
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g gelo(ice) giant/pleasure before e,i
Gelo(ice)
g gato(cat) galaxy before a,o,u
Galo(cock/rooster )
gu guerra(war) game before e,i
Guitarra(Guitar)
Guardião(Guardian)
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h história(history,story) always silent
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j jovem(young-singular) pleasure/jazz
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l lista(list) land
l possível(possible) edible at the end of a word or before a consonant; in this case, the "l" is pronuounced farther back in the mouth, the "el" in possível sounds like "ell" in fell; the "il" in inútil" sounds like ill. This all for European Portuguese, the brazilian variety "el" would sound like "oo" and "il" in inutil would sound "oo".
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lh milhões(millions) million similar to Spanish or French "ll" or Italian "gl"
Prometi-lhe ( I promised him )
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m muito(very, a lot) more when preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant, fuses with the vowel to become a nasal sound like am, em, im, om
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n caneta(pen) neat when preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant, fuses with the vowel to become a nasal sound
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nh tamanho(size) canyon similar to spanish "ñ" and italian "gn"
Amanhã ( Tomorrow )
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p praia(beach) peace
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q quente(hot) kite before "e" and "i", the "u" is not pronounced. Note: there are a few exceptions, for example, in tranquilo, the "u" is pronounced
qu qualidade(quality) queen before "a" and "o"
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r Fevereiro(February) February
rir(to laugh) usually thrilled from the throat when at the beginning of a word, or appearing as "rr". Usually thrilled slightly from the throat, like the French "r" or even lighter.
rr carro(car)
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s sete(seven) seat at the beginning or after a consonant
mesa(table) zebra between vowels
gatos(cats) shape at the end of a word( this is for European Portuguese); the Brazilian variety pronounces the "s" at the end of a word like cats
ss pássaro(bird) mess "ss" is always pronounced "s"
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t turismo(tourism) toy
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v visão(vision) vest
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x peixe(fish) sheep most commonly pronounced like this
próximo(next) safe in very few words, e.g. trouxe(i brought)
exame(exam) lazy in some words such as existir(to exist), exercício(exercise), examinar(to examine)
táxi(taxi) taxi in a few words like fixo
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z zoo(zoo) zen at the beginning or between vowels
insensatez (foolishness) meisure at the end of a word
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ç cabeça(head) face/soup

The pronunciation plays an important role in every language, therefore, it's recommendable to master well this three lessons of vowels and consonant pronunciations before advancing to next level. Always remember, it will be a bit hard to memorize all the imput on this subject but that always comes with time and constant practice.

Of course, existing two varieties of Portuguese also doesn't help much, but despite some considerable differences in its pronunciation both are mutually understood by the majority of Portuguese speakers. Some places in Brazil have some European Portuguese pronunciation, like Rio de Janeiro, so no matter where you go you can be understood when speaking any of the existing varieties.