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FROM SPANISH TO PORTUGUESE

Inevitably some interference will arise out of the necessity of accommodating two vowel sounds in an area where you are used to dealing with only one. This will be a problem in the case of brand new, non-cognate words. It will be even more of a problem in the case of cognates. Many Spanish words with e (which we may consider closed) will show up in Portuguese with the open E. Among these are Spanish words ending in stressed -el.

Spanish Portuguese
papel papEl
pincel pincEl
hotel hotEl

In most cases, though, you will find it difficult to predict whether you will find an e or an E in the Portuguese word. Check these examples:

Spanish closed e Portuguese closed e Portuguese open E
pelo pelo
mesa mesa
pena pena
pelar pelar
tenaz tenaz
menos menos
mero mEro
sede sEde
bella bEla
fe
ella Ela
es É
cero zEro
flecha flEcha

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