Pronunciation Focus — Names, chamar-se, conhece/conheço

Unit 3 builds on greetings and introductions. You will learn to ask and answer “Do you know…?”, to identify people by name and relationship, and to use the pronouns ele (“he”) and ela (“she”). New pronunciation points include the flapped r between vowels (as in Yara, senhora), the nh sound in conheço/minha, and the initial vowels of ele vs. ela.

The Flapped r

Several words from previous units have a flapped r between vowels — the tongue quickly taps the roof of the mouth, much like the t/d in English “buddy” or “gotta.”

Portuguese	Pronunciation Note
senhora	flapped r in -ra
solteiro	flapped r in -ro
Maria	flapped r in -ri-
Yara	flapped r in -ra

Conhece / Conheço — You know / I know

The verb conhecer means “to know” (a person or place). The he-form is conhece and the I-form is conheço. The nh sounds like the gn of “cognac,” and the ç always represents an s sound.

Portuguese	English
conhece	know(s) (he-form)
conheço	I know
O senhor conhece a Yara?	Do you know Yara?
Conheço, sim.	Yes, I do.
Não, não conheço.	No, I don’t.

Conversational Exchange 1

Portuguese	English
A senhora conhece a Yara?	Do you know Yara?
Conheço, sim.	Yes, I do.

Conversational Exchange 2

Portuguese	English
O senhor conhece a Maria?	Do you know Maria?
Não, não conheço.	No, I don’t.

Professora / Professor — Teacher

The word for “teacher” has masculine and feminine forms. Note the flapped r in the -ora ending and the pr- cluster at the beginning.

Portuguese	English
professora	teacher (female)
professor	teacher (male)
Ela é professora.	She is a teacher.

Portuguese does not use an indefinite article (“a”) before professions in this construction.

Ela / Ele — She / He

The pronoun ela (“she”) begins with an open e (like the e of “bed”), while ele (“he”) begins with a closed e (like the ay of “say,” but clipped short). Their final vowels also differ.

Portuguese	English
ela	she
ele	he
Ela é professora.	She is a teacher.

Minha / Meu — My

The possessive “my” has two forms: minha (with feminine nouns) and meu (with masculine nouns). The definite article often precedes the possessive.

Portuguese	English
minha	my (with feminine nouns)
meu	my (with masculine nouns)
a minha professora	my teacher (female)
o meu professor	my teacher (male)
meu filho	my son
minha filha	my daughter
meu amigo	my friend (male)
minha amiga	my friend (female)

Nossa / Nosso — Our

Similarly, “our” has two forms: nossa (feminine) and nosso (masculine). The o in both sounds like the aw of English “paws.”

Portuguese	English
nossa professora	our teacher (female)
nosso professor	our teacher (male)
nossa amiga	our friend (female)
nosso amigo	our friend (male)

Conversational Exchange 3

Portuguese	English
A senhora conhece a Yara?	Do you know Yara?
Conheço, sim. Ela é professora.	Yes, I do. She’s a teacher.

Conversational Exchange 4

Portuguese	English
O senhor conhece a Maria?	Do you know Maria?
Conheço, sim. Ela é a minha professora.	Yes, I do. She’s my teacher.

Conversational Exchange 5

Portuguese	English
A senhora conhece a Yara?	Do you know Yara?
Conheço, sim. Ela é a nossa professora.	Yes, I do. She’s our teacher.

Claro — Certainly

The word claro means “certainly” or “of course.” Note the flapped r between the vowels.

Portuguese	English
claro	certainly, of course
Claro, ela é minha amiga.	Certainly, she’s my friend.

Essa / Esse — That

The demonstrative “that” has two forms: essa (feminine) and esse (masculine). The e sounds like the e of “bed.”

Portuguese	English
essa moça	that young lady
esse rapaz	that young man

Conversational Exchange 6

Portuguese	English
O senhor conhece essa moça?	Do you know that young lady?
Conheço, sim. É a Sandra.	Yes, I do. It’s Sandra.

Conversational Exchange 7

Portuguese	English
A senhora conhece esse rapaz?	Do you know that young man?
Não, não conheço.	No, I don’t.

Quem é? — Who is it?

The question word quem means “who.” It rhymes with bem and tem. It begins with a k sound.

Portuguese	English
quem	who
Quem é?	Who is it?
Quem é ele?	Who is he?
Quem é ela?	Who is she?

Conversational Exchange 8

Portuguese	English
O senhor conhece esse rapaz?	Do you know that young man?
Conheço, sim, é o Luís.	Yes, I do, it’s Luís.

Conversational Exchange 9

Portuguese	English
Quem é esse rapaz?	Who is that young man?
É o Paulo.	It’s Paulo.

Conversational Exchange 10

Portuguese	English
Quem é essa moça?	Who is that young girl?
É a Maria.	It’s Maria.

Conversational Exchange 11

Portuguese	English
Quem é?	Who is it?
É o meu amigo Marcos.	It’s my friend Marcos.

Conversational Exchange 12

Portuguese	English
Quem é?	Who is it?
É o nosso professor.	It’s our teacher.

Key Vocabulary Summary

Portuguese	English
conhece	know(s) (he-form)
conheço	I know
professora / professor	teacher (f/m)
ela	she
ele	he
minha / meu	my (f/m)
nossa / nosso	our (f/m)
amiga / amigo	friend (f/m)
filho	son
filha	daughter
claro	certainly, of course
essa / esse	that (f/m)
moça	young lady, girl
rapaz	young man
quem	who
Quem é?	Who is it?

Names and Identity

Pronunciation & Topics

Course Material