Portuguese alphabet facts for kids

The Portuguese alphabet is how words are written in the Portuguese language. It uses 26 letters, just like the English alphabet. Portuguese also uses special marks called accents. These accents help you know how to say a word correctly. They show you which part of a word to stress and how certain vowel sounds should be pronounced.

The Portuguese Alphabet: A Closer Look

The Portuguese alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. This is the same alphabet used for English and many other languages around the world. It has the familiar 26 letters from A to Z.

Special Letters and Sounds

One special letter in Portuguese is "ç" (C with a cedilla). This letter makes an "s" sound, like the "s" in "soap." You will never see "ç" at the very beginning or end of a word. It's used for historical reasons, showing how words have changed over time.

Accent Marks: What They Do

Portuguese uses three main accent marks. These small marks are placed above vowels (a, e, i, o, u) to change their sound or show where the stress is.

The Acute Accent (´)

The acute accent (like in Áá, Éé, Íí, Óó, Úú) makes a vowel sound "open." This means your mouth is more open when you say it. It also often shows you which syllable is stressed, or said with more emphasis.

The Circumflex Accent (ˆ)

The circumflex (like in Ââ, Êê, Ôô) makes a vowel sound "closed." This means your mouth is more closed when you say it. Like the acute accent, it also helps show which part of the word is stressed.

The Tilde Accent (~)

The tilde (like in Ãã, Õõ) is special. It tells you that the vowel has a "nasal" sound. This means some air comes out of your nose when you say it, similar to the "n" sound in "sing."

Why Accents Matter

Accents are very important in Portuguese. They help you pronounce words correctly and understand their meaning. Most of the time, the syllable with an accent mark is the one you should stress. Some words can even have more than one accent, like the word "órgão," which means "organ."

Images for kids

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  Typewritten text in Portuguese; note the acute accent, tilde, and circumflex accent.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Alfabeto portugués para niños