The pronunciation of the letter “x” in Portuguese can be very confusing.
In the Portuguese language, there are four different ways of pronouncing “x”. This article help you to understand these differences!
Be sure to take a look at the YouTube link at the bottom of the blog for pronunciation.
In Portuguese, “x” can be pronounced with these different sounds: SH, Z, [ʃ], KS. There are some rules for each case, but yes, there are also exceptions!
Let’s take a look!
1. ‘X’ WITH ‘SH’ SOUND
In these cases, the pronunciation of “x” is like SHHH. Often pronounced like this after diphthongs (two vowels that make one sound together) and after the prefix “en”. Let’s look at some examples:
Ameixa – plumb
Peixe – fish
Caixa – checkout / box
Abaixo – below
Enxada – hoe
Enxame – swarm
Enxuto – dry
Other words where the “x” has the sound of “sh”, are:
Xale – shawl
Lixo – rubbish
Xadrez – chess
Xícara – cup
Xingar – to curse
Mexer – to move
As you can see the above words do not follow the same rules. 🤣
2. ‘X’ WITH THE SOUND OF ‘Z’
In general, “x” is pronounced with a “z” sound when it appears between two vowels. it is very similar to the English equivalent in these words:
Exame – exam
Exato – exact
Êxodo – exodus
Exercício – exercise
Exílio – exile
Exército – army
Exemplo – example
Exibição – exhibition
Exagero – exaggeration
3. ‘X’ WITH [ʃ] SOUND
(a little like the ‘s’ in the English word ‘treasure’.)
The “x” is often pronounced like this before the letters P, C, T. Here are some cases:
Expressar – to express
Explorar – to explore
Experiência – experience
Excepcional – exceptional
Exceção – exception
Excelente – excellent
Texto – text
Extremo – extreme
Externo – external
Extrovertido – extroverted
Sexta – Friday
4. ‘X’ with the sound of ‘KS’
This sounds very much like it does in English, in the word “experience”. It took me ages to be able to say the word ‘Tàxi’ properly as I was sure it would be pronounced differently. Let’s look at more examples in Portuguese:
Sintaxe – syntax
Ortodoxo – orthodox
Paradoxo – paradox
Tórax – thorax
Fixo – fixed
Anexar – annexed
Prefixo – prefix
Táxi – taxi
And finally the word you have all been waiting for!
Sexo!
As you can see, there is not always a rule for the pronunciation of “x” and, even when there is, there are many exceptions! The tip is: train your ear! You can download podcasts in Portuguese, listen to the radio and watch television programs, and films.
Here is the YouTube link: How to Pronounce the Letter ‘x’ in Portuguese.
Do you know how to pronounce the word ‘próximo’?
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