Orthography Comparison of Portuguese and Spanish

1 orthography

1.1 alphabet
1.2 question , exclamation marks
1.3 different spellings similar sounds
1.4 correspondences between word endings
1.5 accentuation , nasalization

orthography
alphabet

the traditional spanish alphabet had 28 letters, while portuguese had 23. modern versions of recent years added k , w (found in foreign words) both languages. portuguese added y loanwords.

with reform in 1994 10th congress of association of spanish language academies, spanish alphabetization follows same pattern of other major west european languages. prior date, however, digraphs ch , ll independently alphabetized. example, following surnames put in order: cervantes, contreras, cruz, chávez, dávila. many spanish dictionaries , other reference material still exist using pre-reform rule of alphabetization.

current spanish alphabet (spanish alphabet reform of 1994)




a b c d e f g h j k l m n ñ o p q r s t u v w x y z




digraphs




ch ll rr gu qu




current portuguese alphabet (portuguese language orthographic agreement of 1990) introducing k, w , y




a b c d e f g h j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z




digraphs




ch lh nh rr gu qu ss (cc cç sc sç xc xs)

⟨sc⟩ in latin american spanish not called digraph, single sound in brazilian portuguese. spanish has taken ⟨sh⟩ /ʃ/ english loan sound; e.g., sherpa, show, flash. brazilian portuguese uses trigraph ⟨tch⟩ /tʃ/ loanwords; e.g., tchau, ciao , tcheco czech , república tcheca czech republic , tchê che  (this latter regional), etc. european portuguese replace trigraph ⟨tch⟩ ⟨ch⟩ /ʃ/: chau, checo, república checa, etc.

both spanish , portuguese use ⟨zz⟩ /ts/ (never /dz/ – sequence appears in loanwords japanese, e.g., adzuki) italian loanwords, in portuguese may not pronounced affricate, having epenthetic /i/ or /ɨ/; e.g., sp. , port. pizza pizza , sp. , port. paparazzo paparazzo , etc. spanish utilizes ⟨tz⟩ /ts/ basque, catalan , nahuatl loanwords, , ⟨tl⟩ /tɬ/ (or /tl/) nahuatl loanwords; e.g., ertzaintza, quetzal, xoloitzcuintle, tlaxcala, etc. portuguese utilizes ⟨ts⟩ german, originarily ⟨z⟩, , japanese loanwords.

question , exclamation marks

only in spanish interrogatives , exclamations use question mark or exclamation point respectively @ beginning of sentence. same punctuation marks used, these inverted. prepares reader in advance either question or exclamation type of sentence.

interrogative: ¿cuántos años tienes? (spanish)
exclamation: ¡cuidado con el perro! (spanish)

on other hand, in portuguese, person reading aloud lengthy sentences unfamiliar text may have scan ahead check if @ first appears statement, question. otherwise, late enable proper voice inflection. neither language has equivalent of auxiliary verb do, used begin question in english. both spanish , english can place verb before subject noun indicate question, though uncommon in portuguese, , unheard of in brazil. in fact, yes/no questions in portuguese written same statement except final question mark.

spanish: ¿tiene usted una medida de cuál es su exposición estos riesgos, y está usted confiado de que su organización está minimizando el impacto de los mismos sobre sus accionistas, equipo de trabajo y otros grupos interesados?


portuguese: você tem ideia de qual é sua exposição esses riscos, e tem confiança que sua organização está minimizando os impactos resultantes, nos seus acionistas, funcionários e outros interessados?


english: have measure of exposure these risks, , confident organization minimizing impact on shareholders, staff, , other interested parties?

aside changes of punctuation in written language, in speech, converting of above examples question statement involve changes of both intonation , syntax in english , spanish, intonation in portuguese.

different spellings similar sounds

the palatal consonants spelled differently in 2 languages.

the symbols ⟨ll⟩ , ⟨ñ⟩ etymological in spanish, sounds represent derived latin ll , nn (for positions, portuguese has simple ⟨l⟩ , ⟨n⟩; cf. rodilla/rodela, peña/pena). portuguese digraphs ⟨lh⟩ , ⟨nh⟩ adopted occitan, poetry of troubadours important influence on portuguese literature until 14th century. king denis of portugal, established portuguese instead of latin official language, admirer of poetry of troubadours , poet himself. examples include names such port. minho (sp. miño) , magalhães (sp. magallanes).

the letter ⟨y⟩ used in portuguese 16th 20th century in greek loans, in english (e.g., psychologia, modern psicologia psychology ). orthographic reform in 1911 officially replaced ⟨i⟩. corresponding sound can regarded allophone of vowel /i/ in both languages. compare sp. rey ( king ), mayor ( larger, greater, elder ) port. rei ( king ), maior ( larger, greater ).

the exact pronunciation of these 3 consonants varies dialect. table indicates common sound values in each language. in spanish dialects, consonants written ⟨ll⟩ , ⟨y⟩ have come pronounced same way, sound merger known yeísmo. similar phenomenon can found in dialects of brazilian portuguese (e.g., “muié” mulher, woman ), less widespread in spanish.

the portuguese letter ⟨ç⟩ (c-cedilha), based on visigothic form of letter ⟨z⟩: ꝣ . in portuguese used before ⟨a⟩, ⟨o⟩, , ⟨u⟩ (including nasals), , never @ beginning or end of word. represents soft c sound, namely [s]. in modern spanish, has been replaced ⟨z⟩. example: calzado (sp.), calçado (port.) footwear .

correspondences between word endings

various word endings consistently different in 2 languages.

spanish -n corresponds portuguese -m when in word-final position (e.g., spanish: jardín, algún; portuguese: jardim, algum). in portuguese, word- or syllable-final ⟨m⟩ , ⟨n⟩ indicate nasalization of previous vowel; e.g., som /ˈsõ/ sound (see phonology below). in plural, ⟨m⟩ replaced ⟨n⟩ (spanish: jardines, algunos; portuguese: jardins, alguns), because in these cases ⟨m⟩ not in word-final position anymore. notice, rare learned words in portuguese , spanish may have word final -n (e.g., portuguese abdómen/abdômen abdomen ), , -m (e.g., spanish tándem tandem ), respectively.
common exceptions above rule concern spanish noun endings:

-án , -ano, correspond -ão or -ã in portuguese (irán vs irão (ep)/irã (bp) iran , hermano vs irmão brother , , huérfano vs órfão, orphan m. );
-ana, corresponds -ã (hermana vs irmã sister , mañana vs manhã morning , huérfana vs órfã orphan f. );
-ón / -ción or -cción / -sión, correspond -ão / -ção or -(c)ção / -são or -ssão (melón vs melão melon , opción vs opção option , corrección vs corre(c)ção correction , pensión vs pensão pension , or admisión vs admissão admission );
-on or -an, corresponds -ão in monosyllables (son vs são , tan vs tão as, );


the singular noun or adjective endings -án , -ón in spanish both correspond portuguese -ão, , likewise spanish ending -ano corresponds portuguese -ão (although there many portuguese words ending in -ano, including gentilics such cubano, boliviano, etc.). plurals of portuguese words in -ão, however, preserve historical distinctions: portuguese -ãos, -ães, , -ões correspond spanish -anos, -anes, , -ones, respectively:

-ãos, in mão/mãos (spanish mano/manos, english hand(s) );
-ães, in capitão/capitães (spanish capitán/capitanes, english captain(s) );
-ões, in melão/melões (spanish melón/melones, english melon(s) ).


notable exceptions above rule:

verão/verões (spanish verano(s), english summer(s) );
vulcão/vulcões (spanish volcán/volcanes, english volcano );
ancião, allows 3 plural forms: anciãos, anciães , anciões (spanish anciano(s), english elder(s) ).
guardião, allows 3 plural forms: guardiãos, guardiães , guardiões (spanish guardián/guardianes, english guardian );
vilão, allows 3 plural forms: vilãos, vilães , vilões (spanish villano/villanos, english villain );
joão/joões (spanish juan/juanes, english john ). plural can seen in words such joão-de-barro/joões-de-barro (red ovenbird).


the 3rd person plural endings of preterite indicative tense spelled -on in spanish (pensaron, vivieron thought, lived ), -am in portuguese (pensaram, viveram).
in portuguese words ending in -l form plurals dropping ⟨l⟩ , adding -is (-eis when final unstressed -il): caracol/caracóis (spanish caracol(es), english snail(s) ), fácil/fáceis (spanish fácil(es), english easy ).
in spanish, adjectives , nouns ending in -z form plurals replacing ⟨z⟩ ⟨c⟩ (-ces); e.g., feroz/feroces (portuguese feroz(es), english ferocious ), vez/veces (portuguese vez(es) english time(s) ).
another conspicuous difference use of -z in spanish versus -s in portuguese @ end of unstressed syllables, when consonant last letter in word. few examples:


Álvarez, fernández, suárez, izquierda, mezquino, lápiz (spanish)
Álvares, fernandes, soares, esquerda, mesquinho, lápis (portuguese)


other correspondences between word endings are:

-dad(es) or -tad(es) (spanish) , -dade(s) (portuguese), in bondad(es) vs bondade(s) goodness(es) , libertad(es) vs liberdade(s) liberty/ies . word ending -zade(s) found in portuguese, e.g., amizade(s) (spanish amistad(es), english friendship(s) );
-ud(es) (spanish) , -ude(s) (portuguese), in virtud(es) vs virtude(s) virtue ;
-ble(s) (spanish) , -vel/eis (portuguese), in amable(s) vs amável/amáveis amiable ;
-je(s) (spanish) , -gem/ns (portuguese), in lenguaje(s) vs linguagem/linguagens language(s) ;
-aso (spanish) , -asso (portuguese), in escaso vs escasso scarce ;
-eso (spanish) , -esso (portuguese), in espeso vs espesso thick ;
-esa (spanish) , -essa or -esa (portuguese), in condesa vs condessa countess , inglesa vs inglesa englishwoman ;
-eza (spanish) , -iça or -eza (portuguese), in pereza vs preguiça laziness , naturaleza vs natureza nature ;
-ez (spanish) , -ice , -ez (portuguese), in idiotez vs idiotice idiocy (there unpredictable exceptions in portuguese, e.g., estupidez stupidity ) , timidez vs timidez shyness ;
-izar (spanish) , -izar or -isar (portuguese), in realizar vs realizar realize/realise , analizar vs analisar analize/analise (notice there spanish verbs in -isar; e.g., avisar warn , pesquisar research , etc.) brazilian portuguese uses alternative word ending in -issar in exceptional cases; e.g., aterrissar, alunissar (european portuguese aterrar, alunar; spanish aterrizar, alunizar, english landing , moon landing );
-azar (spanish) , -açar (portuguese), amenazar vs ameaçar threaten ;
-anza (spanish) , -ança (portuguese), esperanza vs esperança hope ;
-encia (spanish) , -ença or -ência (portuguese), in diferencia vs diferença difference , ocurrencia vs ocorrência occurrence (in spanish there few exceptional words ending in -enza; e.g., vergüenza shame );
-icia (spanish) , -iça or -ícia (portuguese), in justicia vs justiça justice , malicia vs malícia malice ;
-izo (spanish) , -iço (portuguese), in movedizo vs movediço moveable ;
-miento or -mento (spanish) , -mento (portuguese), in sentimiento vs sentimento feeling, sentiment , reglamento vs regulamento rules, regulations ;
-ísimo (spanish) , -íssimo (portuguese), in fidelísimo vs fidelíssimo loyal .



accentuation , nasalization

both languages use diacritics mark stressed syllable of word whenever not otherwise predictable spelling. since spanish not differentiate between mid-open , mid-close vowels , nasal vowels, uses 1 accent, acute. portuguese uses acute accent ( ´ ), uses circumflex accent ( ˆ ) on mid-close vowels ⟨ê⟩ , ⟨ô⟩ , stressed (always nasal in brasil) ⟨â⟩.

although spanish ⟨y⟩ can either consonant or vowel, vowel never takes accent. @ end of word, portuguese diphthong -ai equivalent of spanish -ay, however, -ai can have accent on ⟨í⟩ break diphthong 2 separate vowels, e.g., açaí (three syllables). without accent, in spanish, last syllable diphthong: paraguai (portuguese) , paraguay (spanish) paraguay .

portuguese nasal vowels occur before ⟨n⟩ , ⟨m⟩ (see phonology below) without accent mark, these consonants not pronounced in such cases. tilde (~), used on nasal diphthongs such ⟨ão⟩ [ɐ̃w̃] , ⟨õe⟩ [õj̃], plus final ⟨ã⟩ [ɐ̃], replaces -am ending, latter reserved verbs, e.g., amanhã [amɐˈɲɐ̃] tomorrow .

initial , middle: vowel + ⟨n⟩ + consonant (except ⟨h⟩, ⟨p⟩ or ⟨b⟩): antecedente, geringonça, mundo, ênfase  
initial , middle: vowel + ⟨m⟩ + bilabial consonant (⟨p⟩ or ⟨b⟩): caçamba, emprego, supimpa, pomba, penumbra  
final: vowel + ⟨m⟩: fizeram, em, ruim, bom, algum (except learned words, e.g., abdómen/abdômen, hífen, etc.)

these not alter rules stress, though note endings -im, -ins , -um, -uns stressed, non-nasal counterparts (see below). couple of two-letter words consist of nasal vowel: em , um.

phonetic vowel nasalization occurs in spanish—vowels may nasalized in contact nasal consonants—but not phonemically distinctive. in portuguese, on other hand, vowel nasalization distinctive, , therefore phonemic: pois /ˈpojs/ or /ˈpojʃ/ because vs pões /ˈpõj̃s/ or /ˈpõj̃ʃ/ (you) put .

portuguese changes vowel sounds (and without) accents marks. unaccented ⟨o⟩ (/u/, /o/, /ɔ/) , ⟨e⟩ (/i/, /ɨ/, /e/, /ɛ/, /ɐ/), acute accented ⟨ó⟩ (/ɔ/) , ⟨é⟩ (/ɛ/), or circumflex accented ⟨ô⟩ (/o/) , ⟨e⟩ (/e/). thus, nós [ˈnɔs] or [ˈnɔʃ] vs nos [nus] or [nuʃ] , avô [aˈvo] grandfather vs avó [aˈvɔ] grandmother , se [si] or [sɨ] itself, himself, herself reflexive pronoun vs sé [ˈsɛ] seat, headquarters vs sê [ˈse] 2nd person imperative. spanish pronunciation makes no such distinction.

the grave accent ( ` ) used in portuguese indicate contraction of preposition (to) few words beginning vowel a, not indicate stress. in other cases, combination of preposition , feminine definite article; in other words, equivalent of la ( ) in spanish. Às used plural (a las in spanish).

a (prep.) + a(s) (def. article ) = à(s) ( ).
a (prep.) + aquele(s), aquela(s) (pron. ) = àquele(s), àquela(s)—underlined stressed syllable—( ).
a (prep.) + aquilo (pron. n. ) = àquilo ( ).

the diaeresis or trema ( ¨ ) used in spanish indicate ⟨u⟩ pronounced in sequence ⟨gu⟩; e.g., desagüe [deˈsaɣwe]. portuguese grave accent, trema not indicate stress. in brazilian portuguese used digraphs ⟨gu⟩ , ⟨qu⟩ same purpose spanish (e.g., former bp spelling *qüinqüênio [kwĩˈkwẽɲu], ep quinquénio [kwĩˈkwɛnju] five-year period ), since implementation of portuguese language orthographic agreement in brazil, trema abolished (current bp spelling quinquênio [kwĩˈkwẽɲu]), , usage restricted loanwords (e.g., mülleriano müllerian ).

the accentuation rules (including of predictable stress) of portuguese , spanish similar, not identical. discrepancies pervasive in words contain or u in last syllable. note portuguese diphthongs ei , ou approximate spanish equivalent of e , o respectively, word ending these diphthongs is, default, stressed on final syllable.

compare following pairs of cognates, stress falls on same syllable in both languages:

semivowel–vowel sequences treated differently in both languages when comes accentuation rules. sequence of semivowel adjacent vowel default assumed read diphthong (part of same syllable) in spanish, whereas default assumed read hiatus (belonging different syllables) in portuguese. both languages, accentuation rules consistently indicate other default.

a consequence of words pronounced alike in both languages written according different accentuation rules. examples:

emergencia (spanish), emergência (portuguese) emergency
tolerancia (spanish), tolerância (portuguese) tolerance
audacia (spanish), audácia (portuguese) audace
ocio (spanish), ócio (portuguese) leisure
continuo (spanish), contínuo (portuguese) continuous
continúo (spanish), continuo (portuguese) continue

another consequence (though less common) words written (or exactly) same in both languages, stress falls on different syllables:

democracia (spanish, rising diphthong @ end), democracia (portuguese, stress on -ci- breaks diphthong) democracy
policía (spanish, stress on -cí- breaks diphthong), polícia (portuguese) police




^ phoneme represented ⟨ll⟩ has merged 1 represented ⟨y⟩ in dialects, commonly realized [ʝ], or, in river plate spanish, [ʒ] or [ʃ].