What a nasal vowel is
A nasal vowel lets air escape through your nose while you say it — like the 'on' in French "bon", or the 'ng' hum at the end of English "song" (but spread through the whole vowel). Portuguese has several, and spelling tells you which one to make.
The nasal spellings
| Spelling | Sound | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ão | nasal 'ow' (a nasalised 'au'/'own' blend) | não | no / not |
| ão | same sound in mão | mão | hand |
| ão | and in pão | pão | bread |
| ã | nasal 'a' (like a nasalised 'un' in 'fun') | maçã | apple |
| am/em before b/p | nasal vowel | campo | field |
| em before p | nasal vowel | tempo | time / weather |
| an/en before other consonants | nasal vowel | canto | corner / song |
| word-final stressed -em | nasal glide | bem | well |
| ãe | nasal 'a' + 'i' glide | mãe | mother |
| õe | nasal 'o' + 'i' glide | põe | puts |
| õe | same glide in the plural | limões | lemons |
Key beginner examples to master first:
não
no / not
The single most useful nasal — you'll hear it constantly.
mão
hand
pão
bread
bem
well
nasal em — a nasal glide closer to 'baym' than to English 'bem'; copy the audio button rather than the spelling.
também
also / too
mãe
mother
nasal ãe — like 'my' with a nasal hum.
Useful patterns
- m before b/p → nasal vowel: campo, em baixo.
- n before other consonants → nasal vowel too: canto, então.
- m or n between vowels → plain vowel + separate n/m sound: cama (bed) is "KA-ma", no nasal.
- -ão at word end is a nasal diphthong — the ã itself marks nasalization: pão, então, não.
- -am at word end (unstressed) is a nasal diphthong — falam sounds close to "FA-low(n)".
- -em at word end (unstressed) is a different nasal glide — comem sounds closer to "KU-maym(b)" than "KO-lem".
The accent marks
| Mark | Name | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| á é í ó ú | acute accent | marks stress (usually open vowel quality) | táxi |
| â ê ô | circumflex | marks stress on a closed vowel | você |
| ã õ | tilde | marks a nasal vowel | não |
| à | grave accent | contraction: a + a (article), 'to the' | vou à praia |
You'll meet these constantly: á â ã à é ê í ó ô õ ú — and ç, which isn't an accent but a separate letter (always a soft s).
The full orthographic accent system has more rules than beginners need — remember: acute and circumflex mostly tell you where the stress is, tilde means nasal, and grave à is just the contraction "to the" (a + a).
Stress without accents
When no accent is written, two defaults apply (as in the pronunciation article): words ending in -a/-e/-o (and their plurals) or in -am/-em/-ens stress the second-to-last syllable (casa, falam, viagem), while -r/-l/-z/-i/-u (-im/-is) endings stress the last (falar, hotel, partir). Accent marks exist precisely to override these defaults — táxi, fácil, música.
| Word | Stress | English |
|---|---|---|
| casa | CA-sa (default) | house |
| falar | fa-LAR (default) | to speak |
| táxi | TÁ-xi (marked) | taxi |
| música | MÚ-si-ca (marked) | music |
| amanhã | a-ma-NHÃ (marked) | tomorrow |
Mini practice
Q1. Which spelling gives the nasal sound in 'não'?
- ã
- ão
- an
Answer: ão
Q2. In 'também', the -em is…
- a plain 'em' like English
- a nasal vowel
- silent
Answer: a nasal vowel
Q3. 'mãe' uses which nasal spelling?
- ãe
- õe
- ão
Answer: ãe
Q4. What does a circumflex (â/ê/ô) usually mark?
- a nasal vowel
- stress on a closed vowel
- a silent letter
Answer: stress on a closed vowel
Q5. 'm or n between vowels' (cama) produces…
- a nasal vowel
- a plain vowel + m/n sound
- silence
Answer: a plain vowel + m/n sound
