How to pronounce the “R” in European Portuguese
The 2 (or even 3!) sounds of the letter R in European Portuguese are likely the most challenging ones to master. Let’s see if I can help. ๐
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It’s long time to here๐
Sanjay, just relax, because the pace of speaking in Portugal is slower than the speech of South India. When I watch south Indian movies, sometimes I need to rewind just to keep up. And this is a teacher, not a stand up comedian.
Muito muito obrigado senhora!
i donโt have a uvula ๐คทโโ๏ธ
So I visited your website but there is nothing about what this new course includes. Only the price. Can you tell us what we get, what to expect, when we spend that 250 bucks?
Olรก, Haily! A summary of the content is given on the last 4min of the video above. But weโll be adding more info on the site, so itโs clearer. Weโre only a small team of 2, so things take a little longer than what we would like ๐
At the moment the content covers material from level A1 to B2 as well as grammar elements from C1. But more content will be added as time goes by.
However the best way to know what this program is about and if itโs the right fit for you is to sign up for it as you can enjoy a FREE trial. No payment is made until the first 7 day period has ended.
Bom fim de semana!
Carla
Olรก, Carla! Sounds good to me. What payment options do you offer? Thanks, Haily
@haily newma click on one of the pricing options to see whatโs available. For any further questions regarding The Journey please use the chat button on the pricing page. Thanks ๐๐ฝ
terago droga ๐ฎ
Carla, that’s awesome; thank you so much for this ๐
Mil obrigados por ensinares ambos os “hard Rs”. Eu sou portuguรชs e sempre fiz o R “espanhol”/”russo”, tal como toda a gente na zona onde eu morava. Entretanto jรก conheci espanhรณis e russos que aprenderam portuguรชs e foram ensinados a pronunciar o “R” tipo francรชs, sem qualquer menรงรฃo ao facto de poderem usar a forma que jรก dominam da sua lรญngua nativa. Eu atรฉ ainda me lembro desse R estar bastante presente na televisรฃo no final de anos 80, princรญpio de 90 quando eu era crianรงa. Entretanto praticamente desapareceu dos media… valha-nos ter um Presidente da Repรบblica que os pronuncie assim, para se ir ouvindo com alguma frequรชncia.
Muito obrigada! If I speak French is the sound of double RR similar to the French one? Can I produce the same sound or it should be changed? ๐
Olรก Marlena! I donโt really speak french but based on my limited exposure to it, Iโd say the Portuguese double R is the same as the french one, yes ๐
Awesome, just learning Portugues, Obrigada
It looks like time well spent. ๐The preview looks AWESOME! Love love love your teaching methodology/STYLE.โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ Can’t wait to join. Thank you very much Carla! Muito obrigada!
Estou mais familiarizado com o portuguรชs brasileiro do que com o portuguรชs europeu! mas vocรช faz um bom trabalho. Acho o portuguรชs europeu e o portuguรชs brasileiro semelhantes em alguns aspectos do que em outros! estive em PORTUGAL para o Afro Nation 2019, todos entenderam o meu portuguรชs do Brasil sem preocupaรงรตes ..
Thanks Carla. It came fast for me. Except the words “rir” e “correr”. Been with you since last year!! Muito obrigado!!!
I loved “The Journey” trailer!! Well done, Carla!!!
Thank you, Ngurimuje! Marlon did the editing ๐
@Portuguese With Carla Carla there is an important R word that you left out. How is the Portuguese word : Rei pronounced(English : King) ?
โ@King James Chances are you might have figured this out already, but “Rei” rhymes with the English word “hey” but with a guttural or rolled R (in some parts of Brazil they pronounce it exactly like the word “hey”)
Very well done. Amazing trailer! ๐
Thank you so much Carla. I have spent so much time (amusing my family) in trying to roll my rr’s and your technique has definitely helped! I was ready to give up but you have given me hope! Muito obrigado!
Great job, keep it up.
Fine…i love portuguese language.
I pronounce the R in both version even though one of them hurt my throat but I get use kkkk
In reality the traditional “r” that is used in most of Portugal is the rolled “r”. That gutural R is a Lisbon and Southern Portuguese inovation…
Its used in Braga, Porto, Coimbra, so not just south
@skurinski In Porto and Braga it’s mostly true. In Coimbra, not really.
I have a stupid question, but: what has to be your native language to need that much of an explanation to articulate an R?
@Heiko Obermeit Not the same R as that in Portuguese or Spanish. It’s completely different
@Shaun McKenzie like the german too. We do not have nasal vowels, nor the “French J”, but after you heard it once or twice you just make it – it’s not one if those unfamiliar click sound of koi san languages.
@Heiko Obermeit not everyone has the same native language as you, and not everyone is good with languages. There are also people not familiar with european languages watching these videos. Most Germans can’t even pronounce the English TH sound properly, for example. What’s their excuse?
@Shaun McKenzie ether english is a language that needs special education in pronuncing R bebause it is not part of this language, or people not familiar with european languages…
NO germen under the age of 60 has problems with the 2 sounds of th in english.
The standart excuse for all people not able to pronunce socalled hard to pronunce sounds wrong is lazyness
@Heiko Obermeit That’s not my experience. Met plenty of Germans under 60 that can’t do TH.
Discordo totalmente que o R gutural, “ร francesa”, seja o R portuguรชs. ร, isso sim, *um* dos R’s portugueses.
Sou 100% portuguรชs e esse R francรชs nรฃo รฉ o meu R, nem o da maioria das pessoas que habitam na minha regiรฃo (Trรกs-os-Montes). O meu R รฉ o R “rolado”, a que os anglรณfonos chama “trill”.
Curiosamente, uma excepรงรฃo na minha famรญlia รฉ precisamente o meu pai, que pronuncia o R ร francesa โ razรฃo pela qual, na infรขncia, era gozado pelos colegas de escola, pois todos os outros pronunciavam o R rolado.
What a shame, since the Portuguese and many people of France are all originally from the Gallic tribes.
A great thank you from Hong Kong! Your suggestions are great help for me ๐ Finally find a way to practice R lol
Algumas pessoas Inglรชsas acham o som the R ao princรญpio soa como H???????? Nunca entendi isso mas parece ser um comeรงo para eles!
O H inglรชs nรฃo รฉ sempre pronunciado da mesma maneira, tem diferentes pronรบncias, ainda mais em zonas diferentes do paรญs. Existe a forma do H inglรชs que se aproxima do โRโ portuguรชs ๐
To be honest I really love both pronunciations of the R. The standard and the one in the North. I can’t seem to decide which one to use because they’re both so beautiful T^T
Do the one one that feels most comfortable to you or if you have Portuguese relatives and/or friends maybe do the one most of them do, I would say. ๐
This is exactly my style of learning and it’s European Portuguese! Muito obrigada โจ๐โจ
Very clear teaching. For the 1st time I’ve leart the difference in pronouncing R between spanish and portuguese, though I can do the both languages. Muito obrigado!
Hi, nice video, but I’d just like to drop a slight remark: I’m from Porto and my r goes as your first r, not the second (it would have been easier to say we pronounce that r like the French). In most of the country (and that’s mostly south, not north) you get that rolled r. Believe me when I say I find that almost impossible. So north, south, south, north, it isn’t like that. But ok, I’m quite sure about the south, but I’ll pay closer attention the next time I visit, say, Minho or Trรกs-os-Montes.
HOW DOES THIS VIDEO HAVE FEWER THAN 8000 VIEWS? In 54 years I’ve never been able to roll an R. (RR) It took me all of about 40 seconds to get my first roll! Brilliant, patient, effective teaching! Brilliant! Thank you!
So pleased to know it worked so quickly for you!! Thank you for letting us know ๐ค
OMGGGG this hurts my throat so bad how do portuguรชs people even talk on a regular basis waaaaaaah I wanna cry so bad it hurts!!!!
Awesome video and trailer!
Thanks Abdul โบ๏ธ
Thank you Carla, this really helped me with my “RR” sounds.
De nada ๐
Is this R sound similar to the R in brazilian portuguese? Acho que sim neh?
Pelo menos quando digo os nomes Rosa ou Rodrigo they sound like R, kind of like J
They can be, yes, as in Portugal we pronounce it the 2 ways mentioned in the video, but occasionally it can be pronounced in a softer way as the Brazilians do, or how the Spanish speakers pronounce their โjโ.
Carla, adorei ver-te aqui no Pinhal Novo, um beijinho meu ร mรฃe, pode ser que ela se lembre de mim, e outro para ti !
Olรก Cristina! Obrigada ๐ค tenho a certeza de que se lembra! Beijinhos
so amazing at explaining it! Love what your doing!!
Excellent lesson! Subscribed based on this video! ๐๐๐
It sounds a bit like the Welsh ‘ch’ to me. I might be a bit off with that though, not being fluent in either language.
Pretty much the same
I have to keep trying the RR . Thanks so much for this video.
Is this that hard?
This has been the most helpful video for me! Unfortunately, I still can’t produce the sound all that well. Being able to make even one of these will require lots of practice, but I’ll make sure to keep following these helpful tips. Obrigada!
Practice makes perfect ๐
I donโt know how much Portuguese i will learn, but you guys are a hoot! Iโm inโฆ.
You are the best!!! I got to do my “rr” which is really helpful for learning german as well
It’s the same R as French and German, but even stronger in Portuguese. Very difficult for English speakers. The rr in Brazil that sounds like an English ‘H’ is easiest one for us. Will keep trying. Great video at the end too.
I think our ‘R’ is like the Dutch ‘G’. ๐
Com tรฃo poucos canais que ensinem portuguรชs europeu tenho mais รฉ que dar os parabรฉns. Conteรบdo rico e transmitido com pleno domรญnio.
Portuguรชs brasileiro รฉ mais fรกcil… eu acho!
depende
I so enjoy your videos and podcasts. Thankfully I had to learn French at a very young age in Canada, so the R sound isn’t too difficult ๐
Muito obrigada!
That transition from great to grelos got me laughing
Well … I’ve recently listened to fado over and over – Amalia Rodrigues and Carlos do Carmo: simplesmente adorei, totalmente fixe !
However: both Amalia and Carlos *clearly* sing words with rr as Spanish R in perro, carro, cerrar, tierra, barrio etc. Very strong and distinct rolled R in: bairro alto, mulher da rua, terra prometida. Not even close to the sound of RR described here – actually, just the opposite.
Hence, my question is: why do they pronounce it counter to what the taught pronunciation is supposed to be? What am I missing here?
Olรก, Lubomir. I did describe 3 different Rโs in the videoโฆ
Amรกlia seems to actually use both the โFrenchโ and the โSpanishโ R. For instance, listen to this fado https://youtu.be/ARS7Zi-Zpkw and pay close attention to when she sings โTERRAS de Espanhaโโฆ
Even though both hard Rโs are used in Portugal this seems to be a bit of a controversial topic amongst the natives – just check some of the comments in this sectionโฆ
@Portuguese With Carla Thanks for the link – absolutely beautiful fado! Yeah – TERRAS de Espanha sounds certainly *quite different* than TERRA prometida in her Cheira a Lisboa. Hmm. Let’s leave this at your statement “this seems to be a bit of a controversial topic amongst the natives” – as that’s how I see it, too ๐.
This was fun! Thanks!
I just had to say, such a good video and sheโs such a lovelyyyy teacher
Your tips are amazing. Thank you so much!
Youโre welcome โบ๏ธ did you manage to do it??
@Portuguese With Carla Yes, I did ๐ I’m so happy now ๐
@Tomoyo Uchiha thatโs great โฅ๏ธ๐ค
@Portuguese With Carla Thanks to you ๐คโค
I’ve recommended your channel to my English speaking neighbors. We live in a tiny village here in Portugal ๐
@Tomoyo Uchiha ๐ค thanks! Iโm happy our content is helping you, so much so youโre sharing it with others! Thanks again ๐
Such excellent explanations! Being American, I hear a “D”. Thanks for helping me understand.
Thank you, Mike. Just glad I could help! ๐
2:28 Pov: you’re at the dentist
With some practice, I actually make that sound! But when I actually started trying to say the words, they just turned into like how you’d pronounce an “h” sound in English. I hope I get it soon! Thank you!
Well done for your perseverance and as a result making it happen ๐ tbh we donโt always stress the initial/double R too much and so often times it comes out like an English โhโ in some parts of England. So it seems youโre on the right track! ๐๐ฝ
a lot of people consider the portuguese “hard” R a voiced consonants, but living in Portugal I often hear it as unvoiced. also Carla is doing it as unvoiced, am I right?
I feel like this has actually helped and I’ve tried so many things!!
Well done, Kat ๐
I would rather pretend that I am from the North of Portugal haha
For Russians itโs very easy to pronounce it that way
Epic journey video ๐ cool ๐
Obrigada, Timofey โบ๏ธ
I find myself learning Brazilian Portuguese (being a Mexican Spanish speaker) and out of curiosity wanted to discover new ways to teach to pronunce the portuguese RR (or at least grasp it differently) which in Spanish is done in a diff way but the soft R is quite common. Before this I used to think about the idea of first drinking in one gulp a milk carton (leaving your mouth/throat highly concentrated with unpleasant mucus, lol) and then try to pronunce portuguese RR words afterwards… yeah, not exactly glamorous nor healhty, but hey, that friggin pronunciation came like being born and raise in BR…
… just kidding, gargling does it for me too. The whole milk story is just an unpleasant anecdote ๐คฃ. You’re great at teaching, keep it up!
I guess the important thing is to find what works for us ๐
Thanks โบ๏ธ
@Portuguese With Carla Indeed ๐
second r is a lot easier
Muito obrigado!
Thank you soo much …. Am in love with this sessions …very helpful …. much needed one …
De nada โบ๏ธ Iโm glad to hear youโre finding our videos helpful ๐คฉ
We havenโt finished you video yet but so far it is helping a lot
Great teacher
It’s very similar to the Arabic ‘kh’ ุฎ sound
Thatโs interesting – thanks for sharing! ๐
WOW, as a Swedish person I just had an argument with my Portuguese friend and I didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about when he said he could “Hear the R’s” in a clip.
I was about to lose my mind until I looked up this video and now it makes sense, what a cool and unique way to say “R” and “RR”.
Glad you found this video helpful ๐ค Hopefully now you wonโt be having anymore arguments with your Portuguese friends over the Portuguese Rโs ๐
@Portuguese With Carla ๐คฃ
The first R sounds like what English speakers say when they try to pronounce the French R and overshoot it.
Eu falo o R ร antiga. Sempre falei. Na comunicaรงรฃo social desapareceu mas merece menรงรฃo porque nem todos falam como em Lisboa.
Thank you very much Carla and your team. Your video presentations are very comprehensive and easy to follow and understand. You have helped me to improve the rolling of RRs ๐which I have had difficulty with for many years. I will continue to view your video presentations and improve my use of the Portuguese language. Well done!
Itโs so lovely to read your comment and to learn that you continue to improve your Portuguese pronunciation even though youโve been learning it for years – I really think thatโs a very exemplary attitude ๐ค keep up the good work!
Obrigada!
Wow, this was fantastic!!! ๐ฅ๐ฅ
โคโคโคโคโคโคโค
I dont think its much a north vs south thing, but an older vs younger and urban vs rural.
What a terrific teacher! She’s the first instructor that has made me want to learn how to speak Portuguese. I’m no linguist, but I find it a difficult language to learn since intuitively it seems to borrow from Spanish, French, and Italian in different ways. Yet, this mixture helps to explain why it’s such a beautiful language, especially when set to music.
Oh wow thatโs a great compliment, thank you ๐
this is very helpful, but im just wondering if there’s a reason the ending R’s sound like they have a “sh” sound? 8:27 is when i start to hear it the most in the examples
Iโm glad you found the info on this video helpful ๐
Thereโs no actual โshโ sound when we pronounce the ending Rโs. What you might have heard was possibly just air coming out of my mouth as I said those words – when you pronounce the soft โrโ in Portuguese you bring the tip of your tongue nearer to the alveolar bridge (rough part of the top of you mouth) and at the same time you blow out air, so the top of you tongue vibrates as it goes again the air. Hope this makes sense ๐
Muito bom! Continuam assim !
Muito obrigado ๐