The Portuguese nasal sounds are the single feature that most marks you as a beginner, and the fastest fix for your accent. English has nothing quite like ão in não, so your ear has to build it from scratch. Good news: once you feel where the sound goes, it clicks. This guide walks through ão, ãe and õe with audio and a trick you can try right now.
What makes a vowel nasal
A nasal vowel just means the air escapes through your nose instead of only your mouth. In Portuguese this happens with the tilde (ã, õ) and whenever a vowel is followed by m or n at the end of a syllable (bem, sim, um).
The -ão sound (the big one)
ão is a nasal glide, roughly “ah” sliding into “oo,” all through the nose. It is not “now” and not “owww.” Practice the family: não (no), pão (bread), mão (hand), irmão (brother). Bonus: many plurals turn ão into ões, so coração (heart) becomes corações.
The -ãe and -õe sounds
ãe is a nasal “ai” (as in “eye”) through the nose: mãe (mother), pães (breads). õe is a nasal “oy”: põe (puts), limões (lemons). They are less common than ão but follow the same nose-first logic. Hear them above and copy out loud.
Daily practice that works
Pick one nasal a day and say its word family ten times out loud, exaggerating the nose. Record yourself and compare to the audio. These sounds live in the fuller pronunciation guide, and they pair with the Brazilian R as the two accent upgrades worth obsessing over first.
The nasal sounds are the single biggest upgrade to your Brazilian accent.
The takeaway
The nasal sounds are the biggest single upgrade to your Brazilian accent. Master ão, ãe and õe by copying the audio out loud, nose first. The Survival Kit below includes a full audio pack so you can shadow the pronunciation until it is second nature.
Hear it out loud
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce ão in Portuguese?
It's a nasal glide from "ah" toward "oo," sent through your nose, as in não and pão. Pinch your nose and say não: if the sound changes, you're doing it right.
Why are nasal sounds so hard for English speakers?
English has no true nasal vowels, so your ear and mouth have to learn the sound from scratch. With a few days of out-loud practice it becomes natural. Hear examples above.
When is a vowel nasal in Portuguese?
When it has a tilde (ã, õ) or is followed by m or n at the end of a syllable, like bem, sim, um. See the full pronunciation guide.
Written by Rafael
Rafael has helped hundreds of learners drop the textbook stiffness and speak the way Brazilians actually do. Say oi →
Written by Rafael, Brazilian Portuguese teacher. Questions or a phrase you want covered?Say oi →
Written to help you sound like yourself, not a textbook. See the method behind the blog.
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