Medium: familiar vocabulary, but nasal vowels & verb moods take practice
Transparent spellingIrregular common verbs
Quick Overview
Portuguese grew from medieval Galician–Portuguese and spread across the Atlantic and Africa.
Expect two big standards: Brazilian (PT-BR) with widespread você/vocês and progressive gerund (estou falando),
and European (PT-PT) with more clitic movement and the “estar a + infinitive” progressive (estou a falar).
Nasal vowels and smart preposition+article contractions are signature features.
Open/close vowels: é/ê and ó/ô contrast meaning (avó “grandma” vs avô “grandpa”).
Cedilla:ç makes /s/ before a/o/u: coração, moço.
Grammar Snapshot
Articles: o/a, os/as; agreement on adjectives and participles.
Contractions:de + o → do, em + a → na, a + a → à, por + o → pelo, etc.
Verbs: regular -ar/-er/-ir plus high-frequency irregulars (ser, estar, ter, ir…).
Special forms: personal infinitive (para fazermos), future subjunctive (quando eu chegar).
Brazilian vs European
PT-BR: prefers você/vocês, progressive gerund (estou falando), SVO order, clitics often after verbs with pronoun forms like me, te, se before the verb in speech. PT-PT: frequent tu (informal), progressive “estar a + infinitive” (estou a falar), clitics commonly post-verbal (diz-me).
Common Contractions (Tiny Sampler)
a + o → ao • a + a → à • de + a → da • em + os → nos • por + a → pela • em + um → num • de + este → deste • em + aquele → naquele.
Sample & Breakdown
Hoje eu vou ao mercado. Hoje eu vou ao mercado — a + o → ao
Estou falando / Estou a falar. PT-BR gerund vs PT-PT “estar a + infinitive”. Both mean “I’m speaking.”
Common Phrases
Olá (Hello)Bom dia (Good morning)Tudo bem? (How are you?)Obrigado/Obrigada (Thank you)Por favor (Please)Até logo (See you)
Olá! • Tudo bem? • Muito obrigado/obrigada
Interesting Notes
Nasal magic: ão/ões carries a rounded nasal you’ll feel in the soft palate.
Personal infinitive: uniquely lets infinitives agree: para fazermos, antes de irem.
Orthography: the 2009 reform unified many spellings across the Lusophone world.
Learning Tips
Anchor the contraction set early (do/da, no/na, ao/à, pelo/pela).
Drill present tense endings for -ar/-er/-ir, then layer the big irregulars.
Shadow news or podcasts to catch open/close vowel contrasts and rhythm.