Cost of Peace

Se isso te custa a tua paz, é demasiado caro.

If it costs you your peace, it is too expensive.

Today's vocabulary

😫 Custar: To cost🧘 Paz: Peace🤯 Demasiado: Too much, too many💰 Caro: Expensive

A mini lesson on the 5 sounds of s in the sentence:

The letter 's' in European Portuguese changes its sound depending on its position in a word. Using today’s sentence as a guide, we will explore the different rules for its pronunciation to help you sound more natural.

Initial ‘s’ sound

When a word starts with the letter 's', like the word 'se', it always has a sharp, hissing sound similar to the English word 'sun'.

• ❓ Se precisares de ajuda, diz-me. (If you need help, tell me.)
• ☀️ O sol está muito forte hoje. (The sun is very strong today.)
• 🚪 Vou sair agora de casa. (I am going to leave the house now.)

Double ‘s’ between vowels

To maintain that sharp 's' sound when it is placed between two vowels, we must use a double 'ss', as seen in the word 'isso'.

• 🍝 Queres comer massa italiana? (Do you want to eat Italian pasta?)
• 🚶 Podemos passar pela ponte. (We can pass by the bridge.)
• 🏠 Esta é a nossa casa nova. (This is our new house.)

‘S’ before a voiceless consonant

When the letter 's' appears before a voiceless consonant in English (like 't', 'p', 'c', or 'f'), it sounds like 'sh'. This is why 'custa' sounds like 'koosh-ta'.

• 💰 Quanto é que isto custa? (How much does this cost?)
• 🥳 A festa foi muito divertida. (The party was very fun.)
• 📄 Podes guardar esta pasta? (Can you keep this folder?)

Final ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound

At the end of a word, both 's' and 'z' are pronounced as 'sh'. In our sentence, the word 'paz' ends with this soft 'sh' sound.

• 🕊️ Todos queremos viver em paz. (We all want to live in peace.)
• 🍚 Queres um pouco de arroz? (Do you want some rice?)
• 👦 Aquele rapaz é meu primo. (That boy is my cousin.)

Single ‘s’ between vowels

When a single 's' is located between two vowels, it vibrates and sounds like a 'z'. This happens in the word 'demasiado'.

• 🏡 A minha casa é pequena. (My house is small.)
• 🪑 Podes sentar-te à mesa. (You can sit at the table.)
• 🌹 Comprei uma rosa para ela. (I bought a rose for her.)

Listen and count the sounds

Listen to the audio and read the sentences at the same time. For each sentence, count:

• How many /s/ sounds?
• How many /z/ sounds?
• How many /sh/ sounds?

1) O sol brilha na nossa casa.

2) Quanto custa essa massa?

3) A rosa está na mesa.

4) Todos queremos viver em paz.

5) Podemos passar pela festa depois.

Summary

• 🔵 Initial ‘s’: at the beginning of a word, it has a sharp ‘s’ sound, like in ‘sun’.
• 🟢 Double ‘ss’ between vowels: keeps the sharp ‘s’ sound between two vowels.
• 🟡 ‘S’ before a voiceless consonant in English: sounds like ‘sh’ before letters such as ‘t’, ‘p’, ‘c’, or ‘f’.
• 🟣 Final ‘s’ or ‘z’: at the end of a word, both are pronounced like ‘sh’ in European Portuguese.
• 🔴 Single ‘s’ between vowels: sounds like ‘z’ between two vowels.