But, before we do so, I need to tell you a few things.

 

First of all, my family and I laughed a lot when we heard these recordings. I sound so angry! You will laugh... For sure.

 

More important, as you know, Brazil is a huge country. Like in the US, people from different areas of the country have different accents.  Plus, Brazil is not the only country in the world to have Portuguese as its official language. People in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, and other countries also speak Portuguese. And they too have different accents.

 

I am from Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, so I have a very characteristic accent. An easy way to spot a Carioca (someone born in Rio) is by listening to how we pronounce the R and the S. We don’t roll the R when they show up before a consonant or at the end of a word, such as in porta (door) or amor (love).  And when there is an S before a consonant or at the end of a word, we pronounce it as ‘sh’, like in rosto (face) and atrás (behind).

 

So, when you learn the Portuguese words below, remember: You are learning their Carioca pronunciation.