How To Pronounce the Letter “X” in Brazilian Portuguese

June 20, 2011 by 1 Comment

10 X 268x300 How To Pronounce the Letter X in Brazilian Portuguese

THE LETTER X IN PORTUGUESE

One thing that confuses a lot of people who are learning Portuguese, is when and how to use the letter “x,” as opposed to a ch, s, z, etc.

So I found this really fun “lesson,” online on the pronunciation of the “x” in Portuguese. First, there is a paragraph with a bunch of x’s – then they explain which is pronounced how and why (well, the why part sort of…)

Antes do EXAME, oferecem-lhe uma XÍCARA de chá, pois o EXCESSO de estudos o tinha DEIXADO em grande EXCITAÇÃO nervosa. Ele era um aluno EXEMPLAR, o que justifica o tratamento de EXCEÇÃO que recebeu dos professores.Depois de tranqüilizado, fez EXCELENTE EXAME e falou com propriedade sobre o NEXO EXISTENTE entre os traumas da primeira infância e o COMPLEXO de Édipo, inspirado na EXIGÊNCIA de uma educação SEXUAL dos pais e dos educadores. Obteve a nota MÁXIMA.

So when do you pronounce which “version” of the Portuguese “x” in the above paragraph?

“z” sound:

- exame

- exemplar

- existente

- exigência

What do all of these words have in common in relation to the x?

For the “z” sound in Portuguese, the x should be before and after a vowel, but the following vowels need to be followed by consonants. Exception: máxima,  which is “s” sounding.

“s” sound:

- excesso

- exceção

- excelente

- excitação

What do all of these words have in common in relation to the x?

They’re all preceded by a vowel (e) and followed by a c! Easy enough, right?
“ks” sound:
- complexo
- nexo
- sexual
What do all of these words have in common in relation to the x?
These words are also preceded by and followed by a vowel, but which is not necessarily followed by another vowel or letter at that!
“ch” sound (but really “sshhh” sound):

- xícara

- deixado

What do all of these words have in common in relation to the x?

This is the hardest one because there are so many ways to use it and the pronunciation can be confused with the “ch” in Portuguese as well.  Overall though, there are a few rules for this pronunciation of the “x”:
- At the beginning of words – like the example, xícara, in the text.
- After a ditongo, which is a vowel & a “semi-vowel” in the same syllable.  So in deixado,  the “ditongo,” is “ei” (this rule has it’s exceptions, such as recauchutar & caucho, but overall, you should be safe).
- After “me” – With words like, mexer, mexe, méxicano, mexericar, etc.  The only exception here is “mecha“
- And after “en” – Examples are – enxada, enxame, etc. – The exceptions here are: encher, enchente, enchova.
Did that help a little? Note these aren’t scientific grammar rules, but just some assumptions we can make while trying to pronounce the x in Portuguese.  This sort of rule is not set in stone and I apologize if I missed any exceptions!
pixel How To Pronounce the Letter X in Brazilian Portuguese
Filed Under: Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation
About Laurena

My name is Laurena and I am currently based out of Boston. I write about law, finance, technology, style, Portuguese and everything to do with Brazilian culture. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you share these interests or if you are interested in getting involved with the Brazilian community in Boston.

Comments

  1. Debora Romo says:
    September 11, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    In Brazilian Portuguese, the consonant x is pronounced in four different ways.
    1. In the beginning of a word and after n, the x is pronounced like the English sh in she.
    xícara xarope xerox xale enxaqueca enxergar
    2. At the end of a word, the x is pronounced like the English x in ox.
    tórax clímax xerox pirex telex vortex
    3. Before a consonant, the x is pronounced like the English s in cast.
    excelente excepcionais expressões exposição sexta-feira contexto
    4. Between vowels, the x can be pronounced in any of the above three ways and also like the English z in zebra. Because the context does not determine its pronunciation, you will have to learn how each individual word is pronounced.
    English sh: baixo México peixe
    English x: taxi sexo oxigênio
    English s: próximo máximo aproximação
    English z: exemplo exame exercício
    O som do ch
    The Brazilian Portuguese ch is pronounced like the English sh in she.
    lanchonete chá chocolate sanduíche choro chama

    Extraído do livro Ponto de Encontro, pág.74.

    Oi Laurena,

    Eu uso esse quadro para explicar os 4 sons do x. Espero que te ajude.
    Adorei o blog.
    Débora

    Reply