The Student Room Group

Brazilian/European Portuguese

Does anyone know anything about the two? Which one would it be more fulfilling to learn? I definitely want to learn how to speak either Brazilian or European Portuguese because I like the way they sound, but I'm not sure which one would be better(/easier?) to learn.
Hey!

I'm planning to learn Brazilian Portuguese because Brazil's a bigger country/economy so you'll get more people speaking the language :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by beyknowles
Does anyone know anything about the two? Which one would it be more fulfilling to learn? I definitely want to learn how to speak either Brazilian or European Portuguese because I like the way they sound, but I'm not sure which one would be better(/easier?) to learn.


Brazilian and European Portuguese are quite different, more so than UK and American English, but this is more to do with vocabulary than the basic grammar, so neither would really be easier to learn than the other.

Pronunciation is very different. Someone who doesn't know the language and heard the two versions would probably not believe they are even the same language!

As far as writing is concerned, a recent and much-contested "spelling agreement" between the two countries means that spelling has been standardised, ironing out differences that would compare to colour/color etc in English.

Better is relative. It would depend a lot on what you hope to do with the language. MSC is spot on in saying that Brazil is a bigger country/economy and you can add to that the fact that it is also a fast-developing economy, so demand for Brazilian Portuguese is definitely on the rise. However, that is not the be-all and end-all. If you are in Europe and planning on staying/working in Europe, you would probably be better off with European Portuguese. If, on the other hand, you are considering going to Brazil or the US, then proximity would mean Brazilian Portuguese is a better bet.

In the long run, however, both are understood by all Portuguese speakers in exactly the same way as UK and US English are and universities that offer the language often have lecturers of both nationalities, so you may well come into contact with both versions anyway.

Hope this helps. :smile:
Reply 3
Original post by MrsSheldonCooper
Hey!

I'm planning to learn Brazilian Portuguese because Brazil's a bigger country/economy so you'll get more people speaking the language :smile:



Original post by FionaMG
Brazilian and European Portuguese are quite different, more so than UK and American English, but this is more to do with vocabulary than the basic grammar, so neither would really be easier to learn than the other.

Pronunciation is very different. Someone who doesn't know the language and heard the two versions would probably not believe they are even the same language!

As far as writing is concerned, a recent and much-contested "spelling agreement" between the two countries means that spelling has been standardised, ironing out differences that would compare to colour/color etc in English.

Better is relative. It would depend a lot on what you hope to do with the language. MSC is spot on in saying that Brazil is a bigger country/economy and you can add to that the fact that it is also a fast-developing economy, so demand for Brazilian Portuguese is definitely on the rise. However, that is not the be-all and end-all. If you are in Europe and planning on staying/working in Europe, you would probably be better off with European Portuguese. If, on the other hand, you are considering going to Brazil or the US, then proximity would mean Brazilian Portuguese is a better bet.

In the long run, however, both are understood by all Portuguese speakers in exactly the same way as UK and US English are and universities that offer the language often have lecturers of both nationalities, so you may well come into contact with both versions anyway.

Hope this helps. :smile:

Obrigada/obrigado to the both of you !

What you've written is very helpful. I think I'm going to focus more-so on Brazilian Portugeuse. Now's the time to buy a textbook.
Hi. I speak European Portuguese so might be able to help :smile:

I wouldn't go as far to say that they are 'very different', but I guess it's comparable to UK/US English. The difference is that Brazilian Portuguese has also been influenced by Brazilian tribal languages as well, so some vocabulary used in Brazil isn't used in Portugal (e.g Abacaxi means pineapple in Brazil but in Portugal we say Ananas. In Brazil Ananas is a type of pineapple). Mainly it's very small things to do with vocabulary. Grammar is the same other than the use of the gerund in Brazil (in Brazil they would say: ele está cantando (meaning he is singing) and in Portugal you would say: ele está a cantar.) There are other things but they're very small. Because Brazilian media exists in Portugal too (tv programmes etc.) most European Portuguese speakers/Brazilian Portuguese speakers are used to hearing the two dialects, and they understand perfectly (as an American understands a Brit).

I was brought up with European Portuguese and a rarely exposed to Brazilian Portuguese, but understand it just fine.

In terms of what you should learn, it really doesn't matter. If you're planning on staying in Europe then European Portuguese, and if you're planning on going to the US/South America then learn Brazilian Portuguese. From what I've heard (and believe) European Portuguese is probably 'harder' for foreigners, as it's more difficult to pronounce, and there are a lot of contractions which make it difficult to follow. Brazilian Portuguese sounds more like Spanish, and apparently European Portuguese sounds like Russian (search on Youtube and judge haha). Some of the harsh sounds in European Portuguese are softened in Brazil, so Brazilian Portuguese might be easier, but don't see it as a huge difference.

European Portuguese is probably 'better', in that Portugal is nearer to the UK than Brazil, and so Portugal (being in the EU) is probably more 'relevant' to the UK. European Portuguese is the standard Portuguese spoken in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa too, so it's not just Portugal. The Spanish taught in the UK is European Spanish rather than South American, though I doubt it makes much of a difference. Same with Portuguese. Learn one and you can easily adapt to the other.

Good luck!
Reply 5
Original post by TheTechN1304
Grammar is the same other than the use of the gerund in Brazil (in Brazil they would say: ele está cantando (meaning he is singing) and in Portugal you would say: ele está a cantar.) (...) apparently European Portuguese sounds like Russian (...)


Interestingly, here in the Algarve (which, for readers who may be unfamiliar with Portuguese geography, is the southernmost region in mainland Portugal), we also tend to use the gerund, although this is a regionalism and is not to be encouraged.

And, yes, as a graduate in Russian myself, I can definitely confirm that European Portuguese sounds like Russian.
Reply 6
Original post by TheTechN1304
Hi. I speak European Portuguese so might be able to help :smile:

I wouldn't go as far to say that they are 'very different', but I guess it's comparable to UK/US English. The difference is that Brazilian Portuguese has also been influenced by Brazilian tribal languages as well, so some vocabulary used in Brazil isn't used in Portugal (e.g Abacaxi means pineapple in Brazil but in Portugal we say Ananas. In Brazil Ananas is a type of pineapple). Mainly it's very small things to do with vocabulary. Grammar is the same other than the use of the gerund in Brazil (in Brazil they would say: ele está cantando (meaning he is singing) and in Portugal you would say: ele está a cantar.) There are other things but they're very small. Because Brazilian media exists in Portugal too (tv programmes etc.) most European Portuguese speakers/Brazilian Portuguese speakers are used to hearing the two dialects, and they understand perfectly (as an American understands a Brit).

I was brought up with European Portuguese and a rarely exposed to Brazilian Portuguese, but understand it just fine.

In terms of what you should learn, it really doesn't matter. If you're planning on staying in Europe then European Portuguese, and if you're planning on going to the US/South America then learn Brazilian Portuguese. From what I've heard (and believe) European Portuguese is probably 'harder' for foreigners, as it's more difficult to pronounce, and there are a lot of contractions which make it difficult to follow. Brazilian Portuguese sounds more like Spanish, and apparently European Portuguese sounds like Russian (search on Youtube and judge haha). Some of the harsh sounds in European Portuguese are softened in Brazil, so Brazilian Portuguese might be easier, but don't see it as a huge difference.

European Portuguese is probably 'better', in that Portugal is nearer to the UK than Brazil, and so Portugal (being in the EU) is probably more 'relevant' to the UK. European Portuguese is the standard Portuguese spoken in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa too, so it's not just Portugal. The Spanish taught in the UK is European Spanish rather than South American, though I doubt it makes much of a difference. Same with Portuguese. Learn one and you can easily adapt to the other.

Good luck!



Original post by FionaMG
Interestingly, here in the Algarve (which, for readers who may be unfamiliar with Portuguese geography, is the southernmost region in mainland Portugal), we also tend to use the gerund, although this is a regionalism and is not to be encouraged.

And, yes, as a graduate in Russian myself, I can definitely confirm that European Portuguese sounds like Russian.

ananas is the same in french (means pineapple) :smile:

Thanks you two :smile:
Original post by beyknowles
Does anyone know anything about the two? Which one would it be more fulfilling to learn? I definitely want to learn how to speak either Brazilian or European Portuguese because I like the way they sound, but I'm not sure which one would be better(/easier?) to learn.


I'm surprised you like the way they both sound. European Portuguese sounds so harsh to me, Brazilian Portuguese has a beautiful flow. But then, I am biased.

Original post by beyknowles
Obrigada/obrigado to the both of you !

What you've written is very helpful. I think I'm going to focus more-so on Brazilian Portugeuse. Now's the time to buy a textbook.


If you're a girl, you say "obrigada" to everyone. It doesn't change depending on who you are speaking to, it changes depending on if the SPEAKER is male or female. Women say obrigada, men say obrigado. To everyone.

Original post by TheTechN1304
Hi. I speak European Portuguese so might be able to help :smile:

I wouldn't go as far to say that they are 'very different', but I guess it's comparable to UK/US English. The difference is that Brazilian Portuguese has also been influenced by Brazilian tribal languages as well, so some vocabulary used in Brazil isn't used in Portugal (e.g Abacaxi means pineapple in Brazil but in Portugal we say Ananas. In Brazil Ananas is a type of pineapple). Mainly it's very small things to do with vocabulary. Grammar is the same other than the use of the gerund in Brazil (in Brazil they would say: ele está cantando (meaning he is singing) and in Portugal you would say: ele está a cantar.) There are other things but they're very small. Because Brazilian media exists in Portugal too (tv programmes etc.) most European Portuguese speakers/Brazilian Portuguese speakers are used to hearing the two dialects, and they understand perfectly (as an American understands a Brit).


I dunno, sometimes I hear Portuguese people talking and I can't understand half of it!

There are quite a few grammatical differences too, although nothing that would affect a learner of the language they can make quite a difference to speech/writing. For example the Brazilian Portuguese use of different pronoun structures for reflexive verbs (eu me sinto bem vs. eu sinto-me bem) and the fact that in most of Brazil "tu" is completely unused.
Reply 8
Original post by e aí rapaz
I dunno, sometimes I hear Portuguese people talking and I can't understand half of it!


I can believe that! When Brazilians speak they clearly pronounce every syllable, whereas the Portuguese tend to run their words together AND "swallow" the ends of them! Which for me, as a non-native speaker, is very useful when I'm not sure whether a word has a feminine or masculine ending! :biggrin:
Original post by FionaMG
I can believe that! When Brazilians speak they clearly pronounce every syllable, whereas the Portuguese tend to run their words together AND "swallow" the ends of them! Which for me, as a non-native speaker, is very useful when I'm not sure whether a word has a feminine or masculine ending! :biggrin:


Haha, well that depends where you are in Brazil. Check out this video at 5min12seconds and you'll see how that is absolutely not true for my state!



Or 4min2seconds of this one: :rofl:

Reply 10
Thanks for the reply :smile: I've decided not to start learning a new language now as my A-Levels are too close. I'd like to learn one more language when I start university. :smile:

Until then, my knowledge of Portuguese remains as:

Oi! Tudo bem?
O/Os/A/As
O menino, A menina
Bom día
Boa noite
Bom tarde
A mulher
Obrigado

That's it :--) And this is all from Duolingo
Original post by e aí rapaz
I'm surprised you like the way they both sound. European Portuguese sounds so harsh to me, Brazilian Portuguese has a beautiful flow. But then, I am biased.



If you're a girl, you say "obrigada" to everyone. It doesn't change depending on who you are speaking to, it changes depending on if the SPEAKER is male or female. Women say obrigada, men say obrigado. To everyone.



I dunno, sometimes I hear Portuguese people talking and I can't understand half of it!

There are quite a few grammatical differences too, although nothing that would affect a learner of the language they can make quite a difference to speech/writing. For example the Brazilian Portuguese use of different pronoun structures for reflexive verbs (eu me sinto bem vs. eu sinto-me bem) and the fact that in most of Brazil "tu" is completely unused.
Original post by beyknowles
Thanks for the reply :smile: I've decided not to start learning a new language now as my A-Levels are too close. I'd like to learn one more language when I start university. :smile:

Until then, my knowledge of Portuguese remains as:

Oi! Tudo bem?
O/Os/A/As
O menino, A menina
Bom día
Boa noite
Bom tarde
A mulher
Obrigado

That's it :--) And this is all from Duolingo


Dia has no accent on the i.
Boa* tarde

Good luck for after your A levels if you decide to study Portuguese then!
Reply 12
Original post by e aí rapaz
Dia has no accent on the i.
Boa* tarde

Good luck for after your A levels if you decide to study Portuguese then!

Well thanks for correcting me but it doesn't really matter haha ;$ (As I won't be learning Portuguese now)

Y obrigado! 'Y' may well be Spanish I don't know
Original post by e aí rapaz
I'm surprised you like the way they both sound. European Portuguese sounds so harsh to me, Brazilian Portuguese has a beautiful flow. But then, I am biased.

I dunno, sometimes I hear Portuguese people talking and I can't understand half of it!

There are quite a few grammatical differences too, although nothing that would affect a learner of the language they can make quite a difference to speech/writing. For example the Brazilian Portuguese use of different pronoun structures for reflexive verbs (eu me sinto bem vs. eu sinto-me bem) and the fact that in most of Brazil "tu" is completely unused.


Brazilian Portuguese has too many 'sh' sounds in my opinion haha.

If you're not used to hearing both then I agree that European Portuuese might be a bit more difficult to understand. When I did my Portuguese GCSE I did quite badly on some parts of the listening when they used Brazilian Portuguese because I'm just not used to hearing it and found it difficult to interpret them :P

Personally I think it would be better to learn European Portuguese as once you understand it it's easier to understand Brazilian Portuuese.

As a non-native speaker, if you learn Brazilian Portuguese, you might struggle to then understand European Portuguese, whereas if you do it the other way round it might be easier.
Original post by beyknowles

Until then, my knowledge of Portuguese remains as:

Oi! Tudo bem?
O/Os/A/As
O menino, A menina
Bom día
Boa noite
Bom tarde
A mulher
Obrigado

That's it :--) And this is all from Duolingo


Oi is a Brazilian term btw. In Portugal we'd usually just say olá
Reply 15
Original post by TheTechN1304
Oi is a Brazilian term btw. In Portugal we'd usually just say olá

Comme espagnol?

Wait, I mean, like Spanish? Spanish and Portuguese seem very similar
Original post by beyknowles
Comme espagnol?

Wait, I mean, like Spanish? Spanish and Portuguese seem very similar


Yep. Spanish and Portuguese are quite similar. I can understand some Spanish and read it even though i've never learnt it before
Original post by TheTechN1304
Brazilian Portuguese has too many 'sh' sounds in my opinion haha.

If you're not used to hearing both then I agree that European Portuuese might be a bit more difficult to understand. When I did my Portuguese GCSE I did quite badly on some parts of the listening when they used Brazilian Portuguese because I'm just not used to hearing it and found it difficult to interpret them :P

Personally I think it would be better to learn European Portuguese as once you understand it it's easier to understand Brazilian Portuuese.

As a non-native speaker, if you learn Brazilian Portuguese, you might struggle to then understand European Portuguese, whereas if you do it the other way round it might be easier.


Are you sure you're not mixed up? European Portuguese is very shh-y, because they pronounce their S's as sh. In Brazil the only place they do this is Rio. Everywhere else there is almost no sh sound in the language, apart from the occasional X.
Original post by e aí rapaz
Are you sure you're not mixed up? European Portuguese is very shh-y, because they pronounce their S's as sh. In Brazil the only place they do this is Rio. Everywhere else there is almost no sh sound in the language, apart from the occasional X.


Im pretty sure I'm not confused. I'm Portuguese lol. Brazilian Portuguese has a lot of ch sounds which make it sound quite funny. For example d's sound like ch, and it's not pronounced like it's read. European Portuguese on the other hand pronounces words like they're read
Original post by TheTechN1304
Im pretty sure I'm not confused. I'm Portuguese lol. Brazilian Portuguese has a lot of ch sounds which make it sound quite funny. For example d's sound like ch, and it's not pronounced like it's read. European Portuguese on the other hand pronounces words like they're read


Lol fair enough. Yeah in Brazilian Portuguese, for most of the country, a t is a ch sound a d is a j sound. But we don't have the sh sound much. I hate that about people from Rio :tongue:

Quick Reply

Latest