Open & Closed Vowels - The Secret to Understanding EU Portuguese Natives | Practice Portuguese

Note: Make sure to grab the free PDF guide, PLUS the interactive chart shown in the video: www.practiceportuguese.com/vo...
Many learners find European Portuguese natives much more difficult to understand than Brazilians. Today we tackle what we consider the hardest part of European Portuguese comprehension: Open, medium and closed vowel sounds.
There's LOTS of information here, but if you take the time and effort, you'll better understand what European Portuguese natives are saying and see a significant improvement in your own Portuguese accent!
Important: We designed this video to be an ultimate resource that you can return to many times, regardless of your current level. So don't expect to understand and master every single pronunciation rule after just viewing it the first time.
**CHAPTERS**
Why Focus on Vowel Pronunciation? 00:39
Phonetics Vs. Phonology 02:15
- Written Letters Can Correspond to Multiple Sounds 2:48
- "c" 3:34
- "x" 3:50
- The Same Sound Can Also Correspond to Different Letters 4:14
- [j] 4:18
- [z] 4:32
- Languages Sometimes Have Letters Are Not Pronounced, eg. "H" 4:44
Oral Vowels 5:23
- Oral Vowels in Portuguese 05:44
- 3 Traits for Producing Oral Vowel Sounds 06:46
- Demonstration of All Oral Vowel Sounds video: 08:29
- Practicing With Our Interactive Diagram video: 10:34
- Some Sounds Can Correspond to Multiple Letters video: 12:00
Stressed Vs. Un-stressed Syllables 12:41
- How to Tell Which Syllable To Stress 13:20
Vowels in Stressed Syllables 14:27
- Vowels Sounds in Stressed Syllables Can Change the Word's Meaning 15:09
- Is the Vowel Open or Medium? 16:30
- If the word ends with "or", the *o* will always sound like [o] 17:55
- When the letter "e" is followed by… 18:19
- If the vowel appears before an " m" or "n", the vowel will not be open, but medium 19:18
Vowels in Un-stressed Syllables 19:37
- [i] / [u] 20:14
Remember that the [u] sound 20:14
- The Letter "e"* 21:51
- Words That Start with "E" 22:32
- Case of the Missing [ɨ] 22:32
- What Do Brazilians Use If They Don't Have [ɨ]? 24:43
- The Letter "a" 25:24
- The Letter "o" 26:22
- Sometimes Extra Vowel Sounds Even Get Added! 28:35
- Quick Summary of Unstressed Vowels 29:43
Stressed Vs. Un-stressed Vowel Examples 30:27
Exceptions to Unstressed Vowel Sounds 32:14
- "AL" and "EL" Stay Open 32:36
- "OL" Stays Medium [o] 33:33
- "ai" and "au" Stay Open, [a] 34:11
- "ou" and "oi" Stay Medium, [o] 34:34
- Words Ending With "er" Stay Open, [ɛ] 34:50
- Words Starting With "e" or "o" Don't Close 35:14
- Special Suffixes 35:55

[@codyives5409]

There’s not nearly as much resources to learn European Portuguese. Thank you so much. I’m hoping I can find more channels like yours.

[@dylanchacon7191]

Yeah, I'm not learning Portugese, I'm learning French, but I've just been watching videos to give myself the ability to read Portuguese because I may learn it later on, anyway yeah, majority of the videos I've found are about Brazilian portugese.

[@Brs.B]

@@dylanchacon7191 ........

[@dnlgncqvd1]

I FINALLY found the video about I've been looking for on the net. I'm from Chile and for so long I've been studying Euroean Portuguese but almost all the information I've found is about Brazilian Portuguese. Now I feel more confident to improve my European Portuguese pronunciation. Thank you guys. Kind regards from Santiago de Chile!

[@lindabotelho1087]

The Open and Closed Vowels need a lot of detailed study. This is the sixth time that I am going through the video and taking down the important points that I have missed out. Thanks for the painstaking effort to compile the matter.Muitissimo obrogada Rui e Joel.Que Deus abençoe vocês imensamente. 👌🏾👌🏾👏👏🙏

[@maximilianobalmaceda4139]

I am Spanish speaker, so that I was not aware of open and closed vowels in Portuguese. And your video explains it in a very clear way. Thank you

[@MNUrkuri]

OK. OK. I’ve studied 13 languages - including Polish, Slovak, Norwegian, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew…..You guys are absolutely THE BEST!!!!! In so many ways. Keep this all coming. I’m going to sign up. Have dabbled in Portuguese before (started with Continental but had to move to Brazilian bc of lack of resources). You’ve solved this all. Muito obrigado!!!!!!!!!!! Fabuloso!!!!!!!

[@colingiles537]

Respect to you guys for the formidable amount of work you have put into this. Unbelievable!

[@Trekker1867]

Excellent overview. I've been working on DuoLingo's Portuguese for over 800 days, but these videos add dimension and texture to that learning. I'll continue to subscribe in order to work on comprehension, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. My purpose as a nearly 80 year old is to speak when and if I travel and stay in Portugal. Eventually, Brazil. Good humor and clarity.

[@JohnGBeckett]

I really love the positive energy in this video. It covered a ton of content, but remained positive throughout, which helped me get through it all.

[@PracticePortuguese]

Thanks John, that really means a lot! Glad to be of help :) - Joel

[@lindabotelho1087]

Thanks a million for the elaborate, patient and painstaking presentation and explanation of - Vowels-- Open, Closed and Medium. Congratulations for this marvellous video-- it was almost like an encyclopedia on Vowels in the Portuguese language. Muitissimo obrigada, Rui e Joel. Que Deus abençoe vocês imensamente. 👌🏾👌🏾👏👏🍰🎵🙏

[@andyh87able]

That interactive diagram really is a thing of beauty, thank you so much!

[@maryrowe2793]

This makes the learning of Portuguese seem an even more daunting task !

[@UK07531]

Your videos, podcasts and online lessons are THE BEST!!!!! I have been searching for online European Portuguese lessons for years and cannot believe I only just found you! Please keep doing them just as you are, it's really wonderful!! Thank you!

[@elainelam6883]

Muito obrigada, you guys have put a lot of effort for foreigners to learn Portuguese!

[@PracticePortuguese]

Olá Elaine! Glad our efforts are paying off and you're finding our work helpful! Thanks for the comment :)

[@sandracarvalho3343]

Não imaginam a minha felicidade quando dei com o vosso canal enquanto procurava vídeos em Português Europeu para mostrar a colegas que querem aprender a nossa Língua! Depois de tantas apps e canais em Português do Brasil, tiro-vos o chapéu pelo vosso fantástico trabalho! Muito obrigada!

[@pascallaw5909]

25:11 Sorry as a Chinese I could not stop laughing here lmao. "Voce sabe" in Brazilian Portuguese really sounds like "I am stupid" in Mandarin.

[@princesademarqui]

Você sabe 我是傻逼？😆🤣

[@lindabotelho1087]

The information and the explanation that you gave was so good that I felt the urgent need to go through it again Thanks a million, Rui and Joel. You are excellent teachers and you have the expertise to present your teaching. May God bless you and help you to be extremely successful in all your endeavours. I am from India, living in Goa which is known as a, Tourist's Paradise. Looking forward to more videos from you, Joel and Rui.👌🏾👌🏾👏👏👌🏾🙏

[@q.b.405]

Thank you for hosting these online classes. Your videos have been very helpful and pleasant to watch. I absolutely love your chemistry. Rui’s accent is very clear and I appreciate the slower pace when he reads. Joel your expressions give me life! I make the same ones.

[@wendymartin1494]

Great explanations, obrigada! I will need to go through this a few times but just watching once it’s explained so much about how & why my neighbours pronounce words & how I should pronounce them too.

[@roydevries4258]

Very useful. Good overview. I can't wait until you start talking about the various forms of the R pronunciation.

[@murraydup]

Thanks guys, you explained that all really well. As a beginner, getting pronunciation more or less correct is so important, especially with Portuguese!

[@PixieMonica]

Olá, muito obrigada! I learned portuguese during my 6-month stay in Portugal and this particular lesson helped me now to understand better the pronounciation of the vowels. It´s very useful and clearly explained. Thumbs up for the interactive diagram, that´s just awesome. Keep up with the good work.

[@alicesfa9092]

I like your video! It's a lot of hard work and fun. Muito obridaga!

[@Luckystuff]

Just learning Portuguese before, fingers crossed, move to Madeira. Whew, need to watch this about 100 times! Think it is great and is really useful, love hearing a familiar accent with a Portuguese accent and the little cheeky comments too. The visuals really help me organize it in my brain....just realized you are the guys who made the app I am using!! Cool. Thanks guys, great job!!

[@sharondessisso8400]

So happy to have found your channel. This video is exactly what I needed. Bit by bit I’ve figured out some things in connected speech & vowels, but this excellent video will accelerate it. Again, thank you… Obrigada

[@rncrrd3282]

I'm an on and off subscriber to the website! I really like the shorties :) I really appreciate this technical diagram with the IPA system. When I was studying Italian I bought a book which focused on this kind of stuff because I wanted to speak with perfect pronunciation. I imagine there isn't a book as technical as this for European Portuguese for foreigners! The only sound that I still think I need to perfect in this language is the "upside down" A. Most of these vowel sounds exist in Italian, but that kind of A doesn't (in Italian there's only one type of A). This is really useful to me right now because I'm starting to read graded readers (A1 book ahaha) and whilst I read out loud I try to do pronounce correctly!

[@bingwhip]

have been looking forward to this, and you didn't disappoint, óptimo vídeo

[@sangeetaS7]

I discovered your podcasts on KZbin 2 weeks ago and am so glad I did. This has helped him immensely. Thank you so much

[@Clarkvivian]

Thank you! Very helpful, now I have to listen it again and again and again and practice.

[@hadapurpura]

Thank you so much!!! This is the clearest I've seen these vowels explained!

[@robinlayman7179]

Muito obrigada! Gosto muito de achar uma explicação tão clara! Obrigada mil vezes

[@deftbrain]

Many thanks for this and all other videos that you’ve made, guys! Really appreciate your work!

[@Olivia22s1]

This particular video makes me very happy it helps me so much just like the last one. Just wanted to let you guys know that you're awesome and you're really helping us out here.

[@edm3784]

Brilliant explanation! Just discovered your channel - treasure!

[@MrDonobanc]

It really was a pleasure to hear you too. LOL. Seriously, the video is perfect. Thank you.

[@arthurlemmens]

Great stuff! By far the best explanation of Portuguese vowels I've seen. Thank you.

[@94velly]

You guys, this is amazing!!! Thank you so much for creating this!

[@devedec1]

Ótimo vídeo, útil até mesmo para nós brasileiros, que às vezes temos dificuldade de entender os portugueses quando suprimem as vogais na fala.

[@silveriorebelo2920]

habitualmente não suprimimos, só quando alguém fala de modo rápido/trapalhão

[@openthebruiseup]

Your chart is a masterpiece. I've been studying PTBR for three years and PTPT for two, but you managed to unlock some stuff I was still struggling with. Congrats and thank you !

[@amydacosta5443]

Obrigado, miudos, bom trabalho! Ha muito informacao neste video e eu preciso ver regularmente...porque eu tenho uma sotaque Candiana

[@dustyroads7067]

You guys hit it out of the ballpark on this one. Obrigado!

[@sarahmccormick1976]

Um trabalho ótimo! Muito obrigada!

[@chadowarsana6714]

This is the perfect video one can watch to learn the vowel sounds in the European Portuguese !

[@dbclark50]

Truly excellent. You both clearly explained a lot of the Brazilian/Continental differences a new learner sort of hears, but not really, and certainly doesn't understand. An overwhelming amount of material but very nicely presented, kudos e muito obrigado. Or "brigad" : )

[@constablebentonfraser5014]

This is an informantion beast of video for European Portuguese. Obrigado.

[@onamooch9415]

That's a lot of information to take in but you guys are good teachers. I am only a few days into learning Portuguese so I will revisit this video when my vocabulary improves. Thanks.

[@stellabrophy2715]

Felt it had a lot of information but very good!!! Thank you

[@claudiajohnson9347]

Great teaching. Truly one of the best I've tried.

[@MamtaBishtMukherjee]

It is very appreciable the way you teach.

[@joblakelisbon]

Absolutely fantastic video. Thanks so much.

[@JuanMorales-rq3xe]

Excelente trabalho! Parabéns, rapazes. :)

[@abigailwall6708]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, it's a great resource for people who speak Brazilian Portuguese and are trying to switch to a more European Portuguese accent!

[@Aviao100]

Best channel i ever seen. Definitetly buying your courses. hands down. please continue the amazing work! greetings from Holland

[@coowoodoo1391]

This was so helpful!! I’ll have to watch it a lot to get it into my head though!! Thank you.

[@suzannederringer1607]

This is SO clear! Thank you !!!

[@ya_alexandra_]

Your diagram is absolutely FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for your work, guys❤

[@mleslie49]

Magnifico! E isto que vinha procurando!

[@caitancorreia8379]

I have just started learning Portuguese and this has helped me a lot .....keep up the good work...thanks

[@PracticePortuguese]

Glad we could help Caitan and thanks for the comment! :) Boas festas

[@TangerineSpecs]

Great job guys thank you very much, that was a really helpful video. I'm just at the very beginning of my Portuguese journey, but I wanted to start off with how to pronounce the language correctly and you've given me a great chance! That's was only the 6 pages of notes I took for the start of my notebook ;)

[@elliottdb]

Fantástico! Muito obrigado.

[@lindapearson5372]

Delightful and oh--useful too! Thanks.

[@afroculturekidz2223]

Really enjoying this. Great teaching, thx

[@lilianwong4295]

Obrigada! love love it so much:-) Thank you very very much, this is SUPER helpful!

[@rebeccawallen5479]

Really helpful. Thanks guys!

[@ggv8487]

Um video muito bom! Obrigado!

[@chix8648]

Y'all are so smart and very passionate, love y'all!!!!!!

[@PortugalForYou]

Vídeo excelente! Parabéns, está muito bom!

[@MichaelRosenberg6153]

These are brilliant, my partner and I are learning Portuguese as we just moved to Coimbra. We greatly appreciate your hard work. This is a huge help. Obrigado

[@rodericksibelius8472]

Excellent Video Presentation. I started learning BP this year 2020 and it cleared up a lot of my FRUSTRATION on how O strange at first but beautiful Portuguese Language is. MUITO OBRIGADO

[@vita2687]

Muito bom video!! Obrigada!!

[@helentalbot8120]

Nice work, obrigada!

[@OShaughnessyC]

Excellent teachers! Thank you!

[@elodiedulac7677]

Olà Joel e Rui ! Muito obrigada para tudo ! Chegei em Lisboa há quase um ano e nunca tive aulas de Português... Era muito difícil achar vídeos o outro documentos em Português europeu ; agradeço muito. Este vídeo foi particularmente útil para compreender a pronúncia e os podcasts são muito divertidos. Ajudam-me cada dia a falar melhor !

[@PracticePortuguese]

Obrigado nós Elodie Dulac, ainda bem que gostas :)

[@dinkasalvador]

Thanks, guys! It's so very helpful!

[@blancazarate7394]

Adorei seus vídeos, parabens para os dois!!! Eu estou a procurar falar tipo europeio além de pegar más o inglés e sabe, istos videos, seu método e seu chart interativo estão a ajudarme demais. Agradeço seus boas tecnicas°!!!!! saludos desde México. Hasta!!!

[@lifedesignguru]

Obrigado muito - este vídeo é otimo!! O melhor que tem sobre as vogais portuguesas :)

[@sudipghimire5346]

Very good

[@karinan.presttun905]

You guys are great! This is difficult stuff but it's really interesting and very, very useful. Excellent work. I will definitely be subscribing. The video with the cognates was also very nice. Thank you both :)

[@PracticePortuguese]

Thanks so much Karina! We know this stuff isn't easy so kudos for taking the time to concentrate on absorbing thie information.. it takes a bit of mental effort to follow since we tried to keep it fast paced. Keep in touch :)

[@lisafridland]

This is great, obrigada!

[@iainjamieson1215]

Fantástico! The matrix has been well thought out but requires a lot of practice. Well done and thank you to both of you.

[@PracticePortuguese]

Thanks for this feedback, glad you like it. Make sure to try it out on the website too, recording your own voice to compare with Rui's recordings. (And thanks again for having signed up to the Learning Studio and sending feedback etc.) Take care

[@heidiheinila5096]

This explanation was awesome!

[@shirleymurphy1285]

Thank you finding it good to follow

[@millermusicstudioofsimpson6085]

Very helpful!

[@liversonr.s7664]

Your class is very good! I'm glad to see people interested in our language. I live in Brazil (I'm from the Northeast), and if you need any help in the videos I can help. I really wanted to have a friend who spoke English.

[@spiritotheking]

Great job! You guys rule, you really make it click!

[@yuliyay3612]

amazing. thank you!

[@abdulalim3489]

Ola, bom dia, my dear brother, I really highly appreciate your great work on training freely the people want to learn this nice language from all around the world. Bravo, muito obrigado. Adeus.

[@classicaltimes3401]

Great video!

[@lalinguaaltinica-thealtini6974]

Obrigado, amigos... E vocês são demasiado bonitos...

[@guivnoronha]

GREAT stuff!

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Goodness me! Well explained and yet, good luck I'll need 😄

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Thank you so much.

[@jaimeete]

Obrigada...good job.

[@housingalgarve]

super! Well done...

[@TommyPinkerton]

Excellente!

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Muito obrigado☺☺😊

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Awesome!

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This is the best video I have seen

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You guys are excellent 👌

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*porreiro

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Excellent

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Great!!