Like "a" in the following English words:
- Cat
- Hat
- Fast
- Bath
Examples:
The IPA symbol /a/ represents the open back unrounded vowel sound in Brazilian Portuguese. It is a low vowel, meaning that the tongue is positioned low in the mouth, and it is unrounded, meaning that the lips are not rounded. The sound is similar to the vowel in the English word "hat".
In Brazilian Portuguese, the /a/ sound can occur in any syllable position. It is the most common vowel sound in the language, and it is found in many common words, such as "casa", "falar", and "amar".
The /a/ sound can also be nasalized in Brazilian Portuguese. This means that the sound is produced with the velum (soft palate) lowered, so that the air flows through the nose as well as the mouth. Nasal vowels are often written with a tilde above the vowel symbol, as in /ã/. For more info on the /ã/, see:
