Minimal pair · Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese /p/ vs /b/Pata or bata?
Learn to hear the difference between p and b in Portuguese words.
Practice these sounds/p/
An unvoiced lip closure
The lips close briefly and release. Listen to the opening consonant in the reference variety used here.
As inpata
/b/
A voiced lip closure
A brief stop made with the lips. Its natural realization depends on the language and sound context.
As inbata
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Pata/bata, pala/bala and pato/bato change only the first phoneme. Some words are inflected forms, such as bato, meaning I hit or I beat.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
The short gloss selects one useful sense. It does not imply every word has only that meaning or that every Portuguese region uses the same vocabulary equally often.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each wordpata
/ˈpata/paw; female duckpala
/ˈpala/visor; peak of a cappato
/ˈpatu/duckpipa
/ˈpipa/kite (Brazil)pasta
/ˈpasta/folder; pastebata
/ˈbata/smock; robebala
/ˈbala/candy; bulletbato
/ˈbatu/I hit; I beatboca
/ˈboka/mouthbota
/ˈbɔta/boot10 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.