Portuguese nasal vowels: ão, em, im, um
A Portuguese vowel is nasal when it has a tilde (ã, õ) or is followed by m or n in the same syllable: the air goes out through the nose, and the m or n is hardly said. This page gives each spelling, how Portugal and Brazil say it, and ten real lines to hear, repeat and compare, six from Portugal and four from Brazil. Free, no account.
Say one nasal line now
Tens muitos amigos, então?
“So you have lots of friends?”
0:06–0:08 · Talk the Streets, street interview in Portugal · Nasal words: Tens, muitos, então
Three nasal words. In Portugal Tens sounds like a nasal “taynsh”. The ui of muitos is nasal although no m or n is written. então has two nasal syllables: “ẽ-TÃO”.
The nasal spellings and how they sound
A rule of thumb: m or n after a vowel and before a consonant, or at the end of a word, is not said as a consonant; it tells you the vowel is nasal. When the m or n starts the next syllable, as in temos (te-mos), the vowel before it stays oral in Portugal. The spellings in quotes are rough guides for English speakers.
| Spelling | How it sounds in Portugal and Brazil | Hear it in |
|---|---|---|
| ão | A nasal glide from a short “uh” to “w”, with no n at the end. The same in Portugal and Brazil. | não, são, então |
| ã, and am or an before a consonant | A nasal “a”: the n or m is hardly said. The same in both, and Brazil also makes a stressed a nasal before m, n or nh in the next syllable (cama, banana). | tantos, quantas, bastante |
| em or en before a consonant, and -em at the end | A nasal “e”; at the end of a word it becomes a nasal diphthong. At the end, Portugal says “ãy” (tem ≈ “tãy”), Brazil “eyn” (tem ≈ “teyn”); têm (“they have”) is doubled in Portugal. | tem, têm, gente, diferentes, entender, bem |
| im, in | A nasal “ee”. The same in Portugal and Brazil. | sim, invisíveis, línguas |
| om, on, um, un | A nasal “o” or “oo”, lips open. The same in Portugal and Brazil. | um, comum, nenhum, pronúncias |
| -am at the end of a verb | Like ão, but unstressed and weaker. The same in Portugal and Brazil. | falam |
| muito | Nasal with no m or n written. The same in Portugal and Brazil. | muito, muitos |
Six lines from Portugal
From Marco Neves’s TEDxPorto talk about accents and a street interview filmed in Portugal, short to long. Say each one after the speaker and listen for the nasal words under it.
Tens muitos amigos, então?
“So you have lots of friends?”
0:06–0:08 · Talk the Streets, street interview in Portugal · Nasal words: Tens, muitos, então
Three nasal words. In Portugal Tens sounds like a nasal “taynsh”. The ui of muitos is nasal although no m or n is written. então has two nasal syllables: “ẽ-TÃO”.
Por isso, não há um número certo.
“So there is no one right number.” (He means the number of accents.)
1:33–1:35 · Marco Neves, TEDxPorto · Nasal words: não, um
não: start on a short “uh” and glide to “w”, all through the nose, with no n at the end. um is a nasal “oo”: do not close your lips into an m.
Todas as línguas têm várias pronúncias.
“Every language has several pronunciations.”
3:24–3:27 · Marco Neves, TEDxPorto · Nasal words: línguas, têm, pronúncias
têm (“they have”) is said in Portugal as a doubled nasal, “tãy-ãy”, which tells it apart from tem (“has”). línguas and pronúncias each carry one nasal vowel before a consonant.
Todos os outros sotaques são invisíveis.
“All the other accents are invisible.”
2:00–2:04 · Marco Neves, TEDxPorto · Nasal words: são, invisíveis
são rhymes with não. In invisíveis the first i is nasal: the n is not said as a consonant, it only colours the vowel.
São formas diferentes de pôr a boca, a língua.
“They are different ways of placing your mouth, your tongue.”
3:44–3:48 · Marco Neves, TEDxPorto · Nasal words: São, diferentes, língua
diferentes has a nasal e before the t and ends, in Portugal, in “-entsh”. língua starts with a nasal i, with a light “ng” before the g.
Há tantos sotaques quantas pessoas temos aqui nesta sala.
“There are as many accents as there are people in this room.”
1:35–1:39 · Marco Neves, TEDxPorto · Nasal words: tantos, quantas
tantos and quantas both have a nasal a before the t. Keep the vowel nasal and let the n almost disappear into it. In temos the m starts the next syllable, so its e is not nasal.
Four lines from Brazil
From Brazilian hosts of Easy Portuguese talking about a trip to Portugal. Listen for the final -em: “eyn” here, where Portugal says “ãy”.
Tem gente falando no chat.
“There are people talking in the chat.”
19:42–19:44 · Easy Portuguese, Brazilian hosts · Nasal words: Tem, gente, falando
In Brazil Tem sounds like a nasal “teyn” (in Portugal, “tãy”). gente is “ZHEN-chee” and falando “fa-LAN-du”, each with a nasal vowel before the consonant.
Sim, tem bastante, acontece muito.
“Yes, there’s plenty, it happens a lot.”
25:21–25:24 · Easy Portuguese, Brazilian hosts · Nasal words: Sim, tem, bastante, acontece, muito
Five nasal words in five seconds. Sim ends on a nasal “ee” with no m; bastante is “bas-TAN-chee”; muito is nasal with nothing written to show it.
E banheiro não falam de jeito nenhum aí.
“And they don’t say banheiro there at all.” In Portugal the bathroom is the casa de banho.
23:52–23:55 · Easy Portuguese, Brazilian hosts · Nasal words: não, falam, nenhum
falam ends in an unstressed nasal “ãw”, close to não but weaker. nenhum ends on a nasal “oo”: “nee-NYUN”, lips open.
É bem mais comum perceber do que o entender.
“Perceber is much more common than entender.” Both mean “to understand”: the hosts compare the words people use in Portugal.
22:20–22:24 · Easy Portuguese, Brazilian hosts · Nasal words: bem, comum, entender
bem is a nasal “beyn”, comum ends on a nasal “oo”, and entender starts on a nasal e: “een-ten-DER”.
How to practise nasal vowels
- Feel the nose. Say “aaa”, then pinch your nose and say it again: an oral vowel does not change. Now say não with your nose pinched: you feel it buzz. That buzz is the nasal vowel.
- Do not add the consonant. In sim, um and bem, stop on the vowel. If your lips close for an m or your tongue touches for an n, you said too much.
- Record and compare. Open a line in After the speaker, record it, then play your take beside the original in Compare and listen to the nasal words only.
- Choose one variety. Copy Portugal or Brazil for a while, so the final -em settles in your ear.
What Sada checks
Compare shows which of your words Sada recognised against the captions, and your timing. It does not grade individual sounds, so it cannot tell you whether a vowel was nasal: a word can come across with an oral vowel. Its speech model also writes Portugal’s and Brazil’s Portuguese the same way. Judge the nasal vowels by ear, against the speaker.
Keep going
More lines from Portugal and the other sounds that differ from Brazil: European Portuguese shadowing. Brazilian lines and a routine for practising alone: Brazilian Portuguese speaking practice. Preparing for Portugal’s A2 exam: CIPLE A2 speaking practice.
Questions people ask
How do you pronounce ão in Portuguese?
Start on a short “uh” and glide to “w”, letting the air out through your nose the whole time, with no n at the end: não, são, então. It sounds the same in Portugal and Brazil.
What are the nasal vowels in Portuguese?
Five nasal vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and nasal diphthongs such as ão, ãe, õe and the ui of muito. A vowel is nasal when it has a tilde or is followed by m or n in the same syllable.
Are nasal vowels different in European and Brazilian Portuguese?
Mostly not. The clearest difference is -em at the end of a word: Portugal says “ãy” (tem ≈ “tãy”), Brazil “eyn”. Brazil also nasalises a stressed vowel before m, n or nh in the next syllable, as in cama.
Can Sada check my nasal vowels?
Not directly. Sada shows which words it recognised and your timing; it does not grade individual sounds. Use Compare to hear your take beside the speaker and judge the nasal vowels by ear.
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