It is often challenging to keep up with native Portuguese speakers, even for advanced learners.

This is probably not because you don’t know the words they’re saying, but because they speak them so articulately that it becomes difficult to parse what you hear. As a result, you may miss some parts here and there.

This is why it is important to be aware of connected speech: fluid speech that dissolves words into a seamless string of sound – and that’s how native speakers talk in general.

In this post, I will walk you through a few common features of connected speech in European Portuguese. The goal is for you to become familiar with it and improve your listening and pronunciation skills. Let’s dive in.

1. Neighboring vowels

When two or more vowels belonging to different words come into direct proximity, one of the following things can happen:

• The vowel sounds merge into a diphthong
• One of the vowel sounds disappears
• A new vowel sound forms

Vowel sounds merging into diphthongs

Ele é o Ricardo → /eléu/ He’s Ricardo Ela é a Mónica → /éléa/ She’s Mónica

One vowel sound disappears

When a close vowel precedes an open vowel, the latter takes over. This is often the case for phrases articulated with the preposition de:

Garrafa de água → /dágua/ Water bottle Sala de aula → /dáula/ Classroom Barco à vela → /bárcávéla/ Sailing boat

A new vowel sound pops up

Two adjacent a’s often produce an open a-vowel sound:

Vou para a escola → /práscola/ I am going to school Ela anda a tirar um curso → /andátirar/ She’s taking a course Anda aqui → /andáqui/ Come here

In the first example, the initial a in para is dropped. That’s very common in speech.

Also, when a word ending in a is followed by the article o, an open o sound takes over:

Ela canta o fado → /cantófado/ She sings fado Ele toca o hino nacional → /tocóino/ He plays the national anthem Ela esbofeteia o Carlos → /feteiócarlos/ She slaps Carlos

The same goes for para + o, which usually becomes pró (open o-vowel sound):

Liga para o hotel → /próotel/ Call the hotel Isto é para o António → /próantónio/ This is for António Vou para o Brasil  → /próbrasil/ I’m going to Brazil

Note that h is always mute in Portuguese, so it vanishes in speech. Also, the merging of vowels sometimes creates glides, like the óa diphthong in the second example.

2. “S” stuck in between vowels

Normally, s at the end of a word makes a sh-sound (like in Carlos). But if it sits between two vowels – even across words – it turns into a z sound, just like in casa:

Todos os dias → /todozosdias/ Everyday Todas as horas  → /todazazoras/ Every hour Os algarvios → /ozalgarvios/ People from the Algarve Estás a ouvir? → /estázóvir/ Are you listening?

Same goes for auxiliary + main verbs, where a connects the two:

Agora começas a perceber → /começazaperceber/ Now you start to understand Estamos a chegar  → /estamozachegar/ We are arriving Andas a fumar? → /andazafumar/ Have you been smoking?

And with other verbs that normally are followed by a:

Não chegamos a conclusão nenhuma → /gamoszaconclu/ We didn’t reach any conclusion Vais ao cinema?  → /vaizócinema/ Are you going to the cinema? Quando voltas a Portugal? → /voltazaportugal/ When are you returning to Portugal?

3. Nasal sounds followed by vowel sounds

When a nasal (like m or ão) meets a vowel, it often creates a nh sound, like in ninho (nest):

Um alimento → /unnhalimento/ A food Sim ou não? → /sinhónão/ Yes or no? Não há! → /nãonhá/ There isn’t! O João e a Maria → /joãonhiamaria/ João and Maria

Sometimes the nasal even drops altogether, especially with com + article:

Eu estou com a Joana → /coa/ I am with Joana  A Teresa está com o tio → /coo/ Teresa is with her uncle  Ele estava com um amigo → /cum/ He was with some friends O Simão está com uma borracheira → /cuma/ Simão is drunk

4. Dropped vowels

Some vowels just vanish in speech.

Para becomes p’ra, and contracted por forms like pelo and pela often drop their initial vowel too.

Vai para casa → /p’ra/ Go home Vai pela autostrada → /p’la/ Take the highway Vai pelo Porto → /p’lo/ Go via Porto

The word até often becomes just té:

Até logo → /télogo/ See you later Até já → /téjá/ See you soon Até à próxima → /téàpróxina/ See you again

Watch for the verb estar. In fast speech, the es- at the start often disappears:

Estás bom? → /tásbom/ Are you good? Está tudo? → /tátudo/ Everything alright? Estou em casa → /tóemcasa/ I am home

That can blur the line between estar and ter in the past tense:

	Estar Pretérito perfeito	Ter Pretérito perfeito
Eu	estive	tive
Tu	estivestes	tivestes
Ele/ela	estive	tive
Nós	estivemos	tivemos
Vocês	estiveram	tiveram
Eles/elas	estiveram	tiveram

These can sound almost identical in fast speech. Context will do the heavy lifting for you.