Portuguese Year 1: Letters and sounds: reading and writing words
Portuguese, Year 1 (Portugal): Every sound is written with one letter or with two together (a digraph), and some letters change their sound depending on where they are.
A letter is seen, a sound is heard
A letter is what you see; a sound is what you hear. Often one letter makes one sound, like the «m» of «mala» (suitcase). But some sounds are written with two letters together. They are called digraphs: «ch» in «chave» (key), «lh» in «olho» (eye), «nh» in «ninho» (nest), «rr» in «carro» (car) and «ss» in «osso» (bone). Each digraph makes one single sound.
Few letters, many sounds
Portuguese has 26 letters but more sounds than that. So some letters work as a team, like c and h in «chave», and some change their sound depending on where they are in the word. This is a code, like a secret: whoever knows it can read words never seen before and write words that were only heard.
Reading «chuva», writing «guitarra»
Reading «chuva» (rain). Step 1: «ch» is a digraph, one sound. Step 2: you read the sounds in order: ch – u – v – a. Step 3: you put them together, «chuva»: 4 sounds, 5 letters. Writing «guitarra» (guitar). Step 1: say it slowly: g – i – t – a – rr – a, 6 sounds. Step 2: the g sound before i is written «gu» (the u is not heard). Step 3: the strong r between vowels is written «rr». Step 4: «guitarra», 8 letters.
«Each letter always makes the same sound»
It seems fair: one letter, one sound. But it is not so. The c of «casa» (house) makes the k sound, and the c of «cinema» makes the s sound. The g of «gato» (cat) is different from the g of «gelo» (ice). The s of «sapo» (toad) sounds like s, but the s of «casa», between two vowels, sounds like z. So before you read, look at the letter and at the letters next to it.
Where you use the code
Reading your name, the letters on a poster, the rules of a game. Writing a shopping list, a message or a birthday card. Whoever knows the code reads and writes without stopping at every word, and can even try words that are new.
Test what you learned
In «ninho» (nest), what does «nh» do?
- a) It makes two sounds, an n and an h
- b) It makes one single sound, written with two letters
- c) It is a silent letter that does nothing
- d) It only makes the sound of n
Correct answer: b) It makes one single sound, written with two letters — Yes: that is what a digraph is, like «ch», «lh», «rr» and «ss».
How many sounds are there in «carro» (car)?
- a) 5, one for each letter
- b) 3
- c) 4
- d) 6
Correct answer: c) 4 — Yes: c – a – rr – o. Four sounds written with five letters.
How do you read the c in «cinema» (cinema)?
- a) Like the s of «sapo» (toad)
- b) Like the k of «casa» (house)
- c) Like the ch of «chave» (key)
- d) It is not read at all
Correct answer: a) Like the s of «sapo» (toad) — Yes: before i and e the c makes the s sound. That is why «cinema» begins like «sapo».
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