The letter nh is pronounced differently in European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. In European Portuguese it is a nasal palatal. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, it is a nasal palatal approximant.
Words with the letter include dinheiro (money), rainha (queen) and vinho (wine). The syllabification of the words differs because the nasal palatal is in the syllable onset, but the nasal palatal approximant is realized in both the syllable onset and in the syllable coda. In the word vinho, European Portuguese has no nasalization in the first syllable. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, the vowel of the first syllable is nasalized, and the palatal approximant of the second syllable is also nasalized.
The palatal nasal of European Portuguese corresponds to the nasal palatal approximant of Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese is considered more nasal than European. This is exemplified in the use of the nasal palatal approximant in Brazilian Portuguese and the nasal palatal in European Portuguese.
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