THIS IS A PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE LEARNING SUB!

I’ve seen Brazilians on the internet say that they sometimes struggle to understand Portuguese spoken in Portugal, and some even claim that they can understand Spanish more easily than European Portuguese. This genuinely made me curious.

From what I’ve heard, Brazilian Portuguese is generally easier for learners to understand because the pronunciation is clearer, while European Portuguese can sound like the words are being swallowed, with a lot of reduced vowels. There also seem to be differences in everyday expressions, grammar, and the way people speak naturally. In some cases, a Brazilian and a Portuguese person might even struggle to understand each other, especially if they speak quickly or use regional slang.

So, what actually makes them the same language rather than two separate languages?

Hello,

I want to learn Portuguese, I have actually taught myself Spanish in the past to fluency, almost entirely through watching Youtube vlogs in Spanish and doing some verb conjugation and grammar practice. I am looking for a recommendation for Brazilian vloggers that I can watch on Youtube so I can learn Portuguese. I am hoping that they be:

- young trendy woman, in her 20s

- queer

- artistic type, speaks about philosophy and art and fashion

Thank you in advance for the recs!

Hi, I'd like recommendations of Portuguese language courses that are somewhat affordable and that have a diverse student body. It would be better if it were around the Santa Cecília area, but anywhere close to a metro is fine.

Thanks!

Hey I’m just starting my journey in learning Brazilian Portuguese but I’m struggling in a lot of places. I can recognize some written and spoken words and phrases. A lot of what I’m doing is using pingo, and pimsler, I’ve also changed my language settings for things like my phone, games, and movies that I’ve played before and know most English voice lines. Listening to a lot of Brazils top hits too. It helps a little, but I’m still struggling with retention. It seems everything goes in one ear and out the other. I can recognize it in the moment, but can’t recall or use it in a sentence. Next is grammar… really struggling just when I think I’ve formed a coherent sentence it turns out I’m technically right but I still used the wrong words. I tried to look into a language class but I live in probably one of the most rural states in the lower 48 of the US and don’t have any options for that even with local community colleges. Also I don’t know any native speakers outside of the few barrel racers I’ve met in passing at jackpots. If anyone has some tips that helped them or know of some tutors let me know! This has been probably the best and hardest learning adventure I’ve ever had, and I really want to see it through! So excited to keep learning this beautiful language!

You get up from the sofa. Before you’ve even reached the kitchen, someone says:

Já que você tá de pé, pega um copo d’água pra mim?

Since you’re up, could you get me a glass of water?

All you did was stand up. Now you’re taking orders.

There’s a neat little piece of language at work here. Já que introduces something the speaker treats as already established, then uses it to justify what comes next. You’re already up, so getting that glass of water is presented as an easy addition to whatever you were doing.

The same pattern works beyond the sofa. Já que você vai ao mercado, traz pão? means “Since you’re going to the supermarket, could you bring some bread?” The trip was your idea. The bread was someone else’s.

And a request can collect another request: Aproveita e pega um pra mim também. While you’re at it, get one for me too. One person gets up; three people are suddenly thirsty.

What phrase in Brazilian Portuguese tells you a favour is coming before anyone actually asks? Who says it, and what usually comes next?

To the English speakers who learned Portuguese as an adult, Where would one look for supplementary classes that teach legal terms in Portuguese. I work for the state (non-LEO) and encounter a lot of Portuguese speakers in my line of work. I speak proficient Portuguese, but lack the vocabulary and precise words for a regulatory setting. My job involves taking statements from residents and interacting/educating the public.

As written in title. Looking for Assimil Brazillian Portuguese pdf + audio.

can offer french with ease if anyone wants :)

Obrigado.

Just though I would share this because I have been looking for in person classes in NYC and an independent mulitlingual bookstore in Brooklyn just started to offer Beginner Brazilian Portuguese Class in person starting later this month.

Buenas noches a todos, que alegría encontrar esta comunidad. Me gustaría aprender este idioma y he decidido aprender en este año. ¿Tienen canales de YouTube, una cuenta de Tik Tok, libros, y apps para recomendarme?

Estou estudando português há alguns meses (meu idioma nativo é Servio). O presente do verbo IR parece ter as terminações do pretérito perfeito dos verbos regulares em -AR, mas ao contrário:

"Eu vou" parece "Ele falou"

"Ele vai" parece "Eu falei"

Achei a semelhança curiosa. Há algum nome linguístico para este fenómeno?

Num convite por mensagem, “talvez eu consiga ir na sexta” deixa a presença em aberto. “Eu vou na sexta” já comunica uma decisão. Para mostrar interesse sem confirmar, dá para acrescentar: “Quero ir, mas ainda preciso confirmar.” A simpatia pode vir dessa segunda frase, sem apagar a incerteza da primeira.

Casual research suggests aluguer is practically identical with alugar?

If it's about renting a car or house. Wiktionary obscurely suggests that aluguer might have other uses.

Both seem to be bi-directional - the subject may be the owner or the renter, depending on context.

Does anybody have a nice Bossa Nova playlist in only Portuguese?

Other playlists could also be welcome

I feel like only listening to funk might not be ideal for improving my portuguese kkkk

Monday, October twelve, two-thousand twenty-six

Good evening my dear brother and good morning to the people of the Mediterranean. It's rather cold, chilly actually, despite being autumn we still put the air conditioning on and it nerves me, but Halima insists that it is hot. It is not hot. It is October, what a mad-mad child she is, much like yourself. How is the weather in Tokyo? What did you have for breakfast? I had bell-pepper stuffed dolma with broiled carrots. I know that's not a breakfast food, but I did not feel like cooking. ​I got rather depressed last night after a fairly lovely morning and afternoon. I prepared a future manifesto of three scholarships & an additional fully-funded PhD and then sat in the rubble of the fact that I haven't even said hello to my first class or sat down for my first study session. I gave myself ​four mountains to climb while I still didn't take my first hike, yet alone bought the equipment. When you look at life, you start to believe all things are possible, good and bad, but things happen through cause and effect, action and consequence, not through extravagant planning, though that is the start, action they say is a manifestation of thought and I have many thoughts. ​Uncle Nabil took Fatima to work today. I am in the mood for chocolate and lemon wafers, but I have to remind myself that I want to reach fifty kilos. Results don't make themselves, do they? I'm doing great. I'll send you updates throughout my day and I hope you do the same. ​Take care of yourself. – Naema.

Segunda-feira, doze de outubro de dois mil e vinte e seis

​Boa noite, meu querido irmão, e bom dia ao povo do Mediterrâneo. Está bem frio, gelado, na verdade; apesar de ser outono, ainda ligamos o ar-condicionado, e isso me irrita, mas Halima insiste que está quente. Não está quente. Estamos em outubro; que criança maluca ela é, bem parecida com você. Como está o tempo em Tóquio? O que você comeu no café da manhã? Eu comi dolma recheada com pimentão e cenouras grelhadas. Sei que não é um prato típico de café da manhã, mas não estava com vontade de cozinhar. Fiquei um pouco deprimida ontem à noite, depois de uma manhã e uma tarde bem agradáveis. Elaborei um manifesto para o futuro com três bolsas de estudo e um doutorado adicional com financiamento integral e, em seguida, fiquei remoendo o fato de que ainda nem sequer cumprimentei minha primeira turma nem me sentei para minha primeira sessão de estudos. Eu me propus quatro montanhas para escalar, enquanto ainda nem fiz minha primeira caminhada, muito menos comprei o equipamento. Quando você olha para a vida, começa a acreditar que tudo é possível, bom e ruim, mas as coisas acontecem por causa e efeito, ação e consequência, não por meio de planos extravagantes — embora isso seja o começo. Dizem que a ação é uma manifestação do pensamento, e eu tenho muitos pensamentos. O tio Nabil levou a Fátima para o trabalho hoje. Estou com vontade de comer bolachas de chocolate e limão, mas preciso me lembrar que quero chegar aos cinquenta quilos. Resultados não aparecem do nada, não é mesmo? Estou indo muito bem. Vou te enviar atualizações ao longo do dia e espero que você faça o mesmo. Cuide-se. – Naema.

hello all. I am trying to learn PT-PT.

i speak decent Portuguese for immediate requests, small comments, etc. I recently did the Caminho and people said I spoke very well (though limited). However I have always had a knack for accents and pick up on them quickly. I initially started BR-PT on duolingo before watching lessons from a PT-PT teacher on youtube. I have a pretty solidified Brazilian accent (from relatively few hrs on duo) and would like an Azorean one if possible. This is simply because my family emigrated from Sao Jorge and Terceira. I'm aware in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter, but where I'm from in the US being portuguese-american is taken seriously.

It would be much easier if more people still spoke the language, but the old stock folks have mostly passed on and many of us younger people don't speak it. My area is smaller and isolated from other large pockets of folks and when I attended festas during my university years it made me feel rather out of place to barely speak Portuguese.

Hi guys,

I just finished filling the Portuguese library in Duoninja with news, books and videos.

It's an alternative to LingQ and Readlang. And actually to Language Reactor as well. With a few tweaks:

• Each word can have several meanings
• You can look up base forms as well
• Built in proper SRS flashcards
• Books stay as books (not just a bunch of plain text)
• Texts stay as texts (continuous scrolling)
• Video library with double captions
• Chrome extension for getting double captions in YouTube
• Progress based on reading and listening input
• Duolingo-style grammar lessons to complement reading and listening
• Way cheaper than LingQ

Would love to hear your feedback.

Oi, pessoal! 😊 Estou fazendo mais uma pequena pesquisa sobre fonética e gostaria de perguntar aos brasileiros uma coisa. Quando vocês pronunciam “ti” e “di” (como em “tia” e “dia”, com sons parecidos com “tchi” e “dji”), onde fica a ponta da língua no momento do fechamento inicial, antes da liberação do ar? Ela fica embaixo, atrás dos dentes inferiores, ou sobe em direção à região atrás dos dentes superiores? Gostaria de saber como vocês pronunciam esses sons naturalmente. Muito obrigado!

I am taking the DIPLE exam (B2 Portuguese) in a month and am pretty nervous. Can anyone tell me information on what the exam was like and any tips? Thank you!

Hello everyone! ✨

I have a short, touching poem about time and life translated into Portuguese. I would love to hear how it sounds when read with real human emotion and warmth by a native speaker (not a robotic TTS).

​Could someone please record a short audio reading this poem for me? Thank you so much in advance! 🌸

​Here is the poem:

​Tu nem acreditas, quando tens vinte,

Que os males possam aproximar-se...

Que as mãos digam basta, ou as pernas,

Elas que correm tão leves pela estrada.

​Quando tens trinta, os olhos reparam

Como a mãe e o pai vão murchando.

Mas tudo ainda parece estar longe,

E que com outros será... não connosco.

​Aos quarenta, embora a fadiga chegue,

Sabemos, mas pensar na velhice não queremos,

Quando ela ainda há de vir...

Mas o tempo dispara, e eis que os cinquenta batem à porta.

​Um pouco mais pesados os pensamentos,

Um pouco o coração dói, mas bate, não para.

E os filhos já perto dos trinta,

Vêem como a mãe e o pai neles desvanecem.

​Já sessenta. Os anos descem a encosta,

E o que era doce torna-se amargo.

E os setenta em breve, e as pernas fraquejam...

E aos netos quase vinte, eles vos têm pena,

​Mas não acreditam que tal lhes aconteça um dia.

E o tempo nas páginas do livro do destino vai folheando...

Tu mal nasceste — e a vida já se esvai.

Para quê? Para lembrar que tudo é passageiro,

​E viver como gente é preciso,

Pois não somos eternos.

I'm almost at 300 hours and wanted to share more of my progress. I think I'm going to start making weekly videos, but I'll also do reddit posts every 100 hours. In the video I talk about what content I watched this week and do a speaking sample.

Here is the video I made: https://youtu.be/OM2IGVx-7oI

How do I know whether to use se or -se?

An example would be, "se levanta" and "levanta-se" (these might be spelt wrong).

Edit: Thank you all, I understand!

I'm in doubt because translation of cursing can be so particular, and interchangeable so I am curious to see what every else thinks?

I've heard people use both to express shock or surprise.