by Olly Richards
Brazilian Portuguese vs Portugal Portuguese – are they really that different? As an English speaker, you already have a little insight into the possible differences because you might have experienced one of these situations:
For instance, if you're an American who has been to England you may have been baffled when someone asked if you were “in the queue to use the lift”.
Or if you're a British native speaker who has visited the U.S., you probably had no idea what people were talking about when they discussed putting on “sneakers and sweatpants to go for a jog”.
When languages travel, just like people, they change.
Brazilian Portuguese has been enriched by the languages of the native populations already living in Brazil when the Portuguese arrived. You’ll see many names of rivers, plants, fruits and trees that still carry the indigenous names.
Brazilian Portuguese was also influenced by the languages of the Africans who were brought to Brazil during the slave trade. And the Northeast of Brazil, where the slave colonies were concentrated, still has a lot of words influenced by this phase of history.
Add to that the Polish, Italian and German settlers of the South and you have yourself a very interesting mix of sounds.
European Portuguese, on the other hand, has influences of its Spanish and Galician neighbours as well as the Arabic language. In fact, the name of the Southern coastal region, Algarve, comes from Arabic.
Now that you understand how each language was influenced by neighbouring languages, original peoples and new arrivals, let’s start with accents!
By the way, if you want to learn Portuguese fast and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is Portuguese Uncovered which teaches you through StoryLearning®.
Keep scrolling to read this article or check out the video below.
Brazilian Portuguese vs Portugal Portuguese: Accents
Brazil is a vast country, and each region has its accents, from Rio de Janeiro residents’ (known as cariocas) famous “shh” sound in place of “s” verses the harsh Germanic-sounding accent spoken by residents of the southern state Rio Grande do Sul (known as gaúchos).
Portugal, on the other hand, is a small country but its history of tiny, divided towns and cities gave each area a totally unique regional accent. The accents of the residents of the Azores islands is very different from someone from the northern city of Porto, which, in turn, is different from the residents of Lisbon.
A lot of people find the sound of Brazilian Portuguese to be more musical than European Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese has a lot of open vowels and it’s actually a language that deaf people find very easy to lip read because of that.
By comparison, the European Portuguese speak in a way where they maintain their mouths more closed and it can actually be hard for you as a new learner to catch the words as they tend to swallow them rather than pronounce them clearly.
Also, people speak much more slowly in Brazil than in Portugal. The Northeast of Brazil and the state of Bahia are famous for their slow drawl. The European Portuguese speak very quickly by comparison and it can be hard to catch what they’re saying as the words can almost sound like they’re running together.
The clearer pronunciation and slower speech patterns of Brazilian Portuguese are huge benefits when you’re trying to learn the language. On the other hand, tackling the challenges of the closed vowels and fast talkers of the European Portuguese means that learning Brazilian Portuguese afterwards will be a piece of cake!
Formal vs Informal Pronouns
European Portuguese are much more formal than Brazilian Portuguese speakers. That means that if you fail to use the right pronoun when talking to someone, you run the risk of offending them.
While most Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French) have very strict rules about using the formal and informal pronouns when talking to people, Brazilian Portuguese speakers break with tradition.
They use a blanket você (you) to address everyone. Now, in Southern Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina which was founded by immigrants from the Azores, you’ll find people who use tu instead of você.
Also, the older generation across the southern Brazilian states can still use a more formal greeting and expect someone younger or of lower social status to address them as Senhor/a (Sir or Ma’am). But the general rule of thumb is that you can just use você for everyone.
In European Portuguese, they use tu as the informal pronoun (for friends, colleagues and family members) and você as the formal pronoun (for teachers, supervisors, authority figures).
As with the older generation in Brazil, some older European Portuguese may prefer that you address them with the Senhor/a title rather than você.
These rules are pretty strict in Portugal, and people really might feel offended when you use the wrong pronoun to address them (especially when you use the informal when you should use the formal) so make sure you remember when to use one and when to use the other!
Greetings In Portugal vs Brazil
Also, when you greet someone in Portugal, you say Bom dia/boa tarde/boa noite. Como esta? (Good morning/afternoon/evening, how are you?)
When you greet someone in Brazilian Portuguese, you can say that long sentence or you can shorten it to a very simple Oi or Olá (hi or hello). The Brazilian oi is a very popular form of greeting and in fact, there is a telecommunications company in Brazil called Oi.
While it is informal and you wouldn’t use it with your boss, for example, it can be used among friends and family members. This shortened greeting doesn’t exist at all in European Portuguese.
Interestingly, the European Portuguese speakers don’t even use the slightly longer phrase Olá, even though it comes from their Spanish neighbours’ Hola, but the Brazilian Portuguese speakers do.
Brazilian Portuguese vs Portugal Portuguese: Verbs
Verbalizing
ESL students are often amazed at how nearly any word in English can be made into a verb. It was the Americans who turned the phrase “look it up on Google” into the verb “to Google.”
Brazilian Portuguese seems to have taken a cue from the Americans in this sense. You’ll often find Brazilians turning phrases into a single verb form:
| English | European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese | |
| Organise/order/decide | Dar as ordens | Ordenar |
Which Comes First, The Pronoun Or The Verb?
Whether you put the pronoun first or the verb first depends on which side of the Atlantic you’re on. In the phrase “I love you” for example, Brazilians put the pronoun before the verb Eu te amo. But, European Portuguese speakers would put the pronoun after the verb amo te.
Gerunds
It’s way more common for Brazilians to use the gerund than it is for Portuguese from Portugal to use it. In that sense, Brazilian Portuguese is more similar to English.
| English | European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese |
| I'm walking | Estou a caminhar | Estou caminhando |
| I'm making lunch | Estou a fazer almoço | Estou fazendo almoço |
| I'm working | Estou a trabalhar | Estou trabalhando |
Spelling And Vocabulary Differences Between European And Brazilian Portuguese
There are lots of words that are spelled differently in European and Brazilian Portuguese:
| English | European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese |
| Reception | Receção | Recepção |
| Baptism | Batismo | Baptismo |
| Fact | Facto | Fato |
| Contact | Contacto | Contato |
| Media | Media | Mídia |
And then there are words that have no relation whatsoever between the two languages, even though they mean the same thing:
| English | European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese |
| Pineapple | Ananás | Abacaxi |
| Cell phone | Telemóvel | Celular |
| Team | Equipa | Time |
| Grass | Relva | Grama |
| Media | Media | Mídia |
| Santa Claus | Pai Natal | Papai Noel |
| Line | Bicha | Fila |
| Swing | Baloiço | Balanço |
| Understood | Percebeu | Entendeu |
Planes, Trains And Buses
When traveling by plane, train, bus or car, you’ll notice some big differences in Brazilian vs. European Portuguese.
| English | European Portuguese | Brazilian Portuguese |
| Flight attendant | Comissário ao bordo | Aeromoça |
| Train | Comboio | Trem |
| Bus stop | Paragem de autocarro | Parada de ônibus |
When driving on the road in Brazil, you’ll see signs for a return exit marked retornar, but in Portugal, they give it a more literal spin by calling it inversão de marcha (reversing gears).
Brazilian Portuguese vs Portugal Portuguese
Portuguese is a rich language and learning it means you’ll be able to communicate in ten different countries, not just Brazil and Portugal.
But if you’re not sure which Portuguese to learn, then you might want to consider your goals.
- For example, are you more interested in traveling to Brazil or to Portugal?
- Are you looking for job opportunities in Europe or South America?
- Do you have friends you’d like to visit in either country?
If you know the answers to those questions, it might help you decide which form of Portuguese to focus on. It's a bit like the process of choosing between Spanish or Portuguese.
Be aware that even though the language has these differences, they’re easy to adapt to in a short period of time once you get the basic grammar down. It’s just a matter of fine tuning.
You’ll be able to make adjustments in pronunciation, spelling and other differences with just a little practice. And in Brazil in particular, any attempts you make to speak Portuguese will be met with a warm smile of appreciation. The important thing is that you’re making the effort to communicate. So, smile back and keep trying☺
