European vs. Brazilian Portuguese – How Different Are They Really?

You are probably aware that there are two well-established standards of Portuguese – the European and the Brazilian standards. Most language learners, though, don’t know much about their differences and, most of all, how big they are.

So, how different are European and Brazilian Portuguese, really? Can native speakers on either side understand one another?

In general, European and Brazilian Portuguese are mutually intelligible. While there are subtle variations in grammar, lexical preferences, and spelling between the two standards, it is their pronunciations that differ the most. Nonetheless, those differences don’t hinder, in any substantial way, mutual intelligibility. 

In this article, I will walk you through a comparison between European and Brazilian standards of Portuguese according to differences in spelling, lexicon, pronunciation, and grammar. Let’s get started.

First impressions

Let’s start by getting an overall sense of how Brazilian and European Portuguese look and sound in their written and spoken forms respectively.

Below, you have a passage from Paulo Coelho’s book O Alquimista, originally written in Brazilian Portuguese. I wrote a slightly different version by making small adjustments (marked in bold) to make it conform to the European standard:

Note that the original text above (Brazilian version) is fully intelligible for European Portuguese native speakers. None of the adjustments were strictly necessary for comprehension. Only highly informal language containing slang words and expressions, or regional dialects, challenge the mutual intelligibility between European and Brazilian Portuguese. 

Differences in pronunciation

As said before, pronunciation is where Brazilian and European Portuguese differ the most. Generally speaking, Brazilian Portuguese has more open vowel sounds and is more melodic than its European counterpart. 

I often hear people saying that the Portuguese “swallow” syllables and that’s a fair observation – European Portuguese, like English, is stress-timed which means higher vowel reduction (more on that soon).

Many people even suggest that European Portuguese phonology is reminiscent of Russian * or other Slavic languages – that’s partially due to vowel reduction, and partially to an abundance of hushing-like fricative sounds (more on that soon, too).

Before we go deeper into phonological differences between the two standards, I want to once more remind you that Brazil is a big country with various regional dialects. Portugal, though not as big as Brazil, also has its regional differences – the differences in pronunciation pointed out below are based on “standard” versions of either variant of Portuguese. 

* Learn more about why European Portuguese sounds Slavic: Here’s why Portuguese sounds like Russian (or Polish).

Vowel Sounds

Brazilian Portuguese is more clearly pronounced than European Portuguese mainly due to differences in the vowel sounds between the two – there is significantly more vowel reduction going on in the European standard. 

Vowel reduction, if you haven’t yet come across this concept, is a speech mechanism by which unstressed syllables are shortened, thus rendering closed vowel sounds, sometimes even nearly muted. 

Vowel reduction is much more apparent in stress-timed languages like European Portuguese than in syllable-timed languages (as is the case of Brazilian Portuguese).

Vowel reduction results in a less explicit pronunciation and gives the impression that the person speaking is swallowing word syllables. Let’s listen to the following verses (from the song  ‘Água de Beber’ by António C. Jobim) in either variant. Pay special attention to the vowel sounds.

Eu quis amar mas tive medo
Eu quis salvar meu coração
Mas o amor sabe um segredo
O medo pode matar seu coração
I wanted to love but I was afraid
I wanted to keep my heart safe
But love knows a secret
Fear can suffocate your heart

Could you notice the vowel sounds nearly disappearing in the European version? 

You’ve probably heard the difference in words ending with the vowel e, for instance, tive or sabe. One can hardly hear that e-sound in the European version. In the Brazilian Portuguese, however, you clearly hear an i-sound, as in Lee. Go back and listen again.

I bet that you’ve noticed, too, differences in the consonant sounds. That’s where we are heading next.

Consonant Sounds 

S&Z

There’s definitely more of a hushing resonance in European Portuguese than in the other. Much of it is due to the pronunciation of the letter s. 

Accordingly, in European Portuguese, all words ending with an s render a sh-sound, as in shape. The same happens whenever the s occurs in front of a voiceless consonant (p, t, c, f).

Even words ending with a z produce that same sh-sound

In Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, the s letter will, under the same circumstances, produce more of an s-sound (as in sign).

Listen to the following sentence in either standard:

Nós estamos sem voz.
We are aphonic.

L

In European Portuguese, words ending with an l render the so-called dark l-sound, roughly as in normal.

But that’s not the case for Brazilian Portuguese, where the letter l will produce a rounded vowel sound, as in bow.  

Listen to the following sentence and compare:

O céu é azul.
The sky is blue.

R

In European Portuguese, words ending with an r produce the so-called alveolar tap, more or less as in settle (American pronunciation). In Brazilian Portuguese, however, these r-sounds are muted.

On the other hand, and back again to the European standard, words starting with an r render a throaty r-sound (produced at the back of the mouth). That’s also the case whenever a double r is stuck in between vowels.

In Brazilian Portuguese, depending on the region, that throaty r  can be voiceless, as in Juan (Spanish pronunciation). 

Listen to the following sentence and compare the r-sounds mentioned above:

O Ricardo gosta de correr na praia e nadar no mar.
Ricardo likes to run on the beach and swim in the sea.

D

In European Portuguese, the letter d is always pronounced the same way, roughly as in date (the Portuguese d is somewhat less percussive and sharp than the English). 

In Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, the letter d can render a /dʒi/-sound, as in aging or jail. This happens when d is followed by either i or an e that sounds like i (namely when e appears at the end of a word).

Listen and compare the d-sounds mentioned above:

Pode mudar de atitude?
Can you change your attitude?

T

The t behaves analogously to the d.

In the European standard, the letter t always produces the same sound, more or less as in tea (once more, the Portuguese t is pronounced less percussively than the English). 

However, in Brazilian Portuguese, the letter t will sometimes produce a /tʃi/-sound, as in chat. This is the case when t is followed by i or an e that sounds like i. 

Listen and compare the t sounds mentioned above:

O Tiago tinha bebido aguardente.
Tiago had drunk some brandy.

Nasal Sounds

The Portuguese language is renowned for its abundance of nasal sounds. 

These nasal sounds are even more resonant than in Brazilian Portuguese. Listen and compare:

O João come melão com uma grande satisfação.
João eats melon with great satisfaction.

Learn more about European phonology specifically: European Portuguese Pronunciation: A Helpful Guide to Its Elemental Sounds.

Lexical preferences and false friends: Portugal vs. Brazil

Lexical preferences

On either side of the Atlantic, you will find different colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions reflecting different cultures.  

To illustrate this, let’s peek into Mário’s (Portugal) and Laura’s (Brazil) daily routines: 

Here’s a summary with common expressions that differ between Portugal and Brazil:

! Brazilians use diminutives with higher frequency than people in Portugal. Diminutives are derivative words with ending in –inho suggesting either smaller size, endearment, or deprecation. Some examples would be Joãozinho (little John), carrinho (little car), or beijinho (sweet kiss).

False friends

There are several words that share the same origin but whose meanings eventually grew apart as time went by. Often, the same word has several meanings on one side but only one meaning on the other, which can lead to misunderstandings.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Differences in grammar

There are a few grammar nuances between Brazilian and European Portuguese. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Reading tips! If you are a beginner and you want to get your feet wet in Portuguese grammar, this is your article: Dabbling in Portuguese Grammar – First Impressions for Beginners.

Definite articles

The European variant always calls for definite articles in front of proper nouns and possessive pronouns. In Brazilian Portuguese, though, those articles are most commonly left out.

A few examples:

(pt) O Pedro viu a Teresa no café.
(br) Pedro viu a Teresa no café.
Pedro saw Teresa at the café.

(pt) O meu irmão vive na Argentina.
(br) Meu irmão vive na Argentina. 
My brother lives in Argentina.

Continuous tenses

Either standard of Portuguese deals with continuous tenses differently. 

Take the present continuous for instance. In European Portuguese, you use the auxiliary verb estar conjugated in the present tense and followed by the preposition a and the main verb in the infinitive form. 

In Brazilian Portuguese, you also use the auxiliary estar conjugated in the present tense, but there is no preposition in between the verbs and the main verb is in the present participle.

Here’s an example:

(pt) A Catarina está a viajar.
(br) Catarina está viajando.
Catarina is traveling.

Further reading! Learn more about progressive tenses in Portuguese: Portuguese Gerund: Progressive Tenses and Beyond.

Compound tenses

In Portuguese, both ter and haver * can be used as auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses. The auxiliary verb is then followed by the past participle of the main verb.

In the European standard, nonetheless,  the use of haver as an auxiliary is less frequent than in Brazilian Portuguese:

A Ana tinha estado com o Pedro. (frequent in both standards)
Ana havia estado com o Pedro. (more frequent in Brazilian Portuguese)
Ana had been with Pedro.

* The Portuguese verb haver is definitely a must-know one. Learn more about it:
The Portuguese Verb “Haver” and All the Things You Say with It.

Subject pronouns: você vs. tu 

One significant difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese is the way people address one another.

For instance, in Brazil, você (third person) is widely used, even among family and friends. Apart from a few regional dialects, you won’t hear people saying tu (second person).

In the European standard, on the other hand, tu is the norm for casual settings. You’d only use você in formal situations:

(pt) Pedro, (tu) queres gelado de baunilha ou chocolate?
(br) Pedro, (você) quer sorvete  de baunilha ou chocolate?
Pedro, do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream?

(pt) Olá mãe, como foi o teu dia?
(br) Oi mãe, como foi seu dia?
Hi, Mum, how’s your day?

Object Pronouns

There are also a few differences in word order between the standards, namely concerning reflexive and object pronouns.

Overall, European Portuguese has more rigid rules for word order than the other. Here are a few examples to illustrate these differences:

(pt) Olá, Chamo-me Miguel.
(br) Oi, me chamo Miguel.
My name is Miguel. The literal translation is, I call myself Miguel.

(pt) Conto-te essa história mais logo.
(br) Te conto essa histório mais logo.
I will tell you that story later.

Further reading! Here’re a couple of readings where you can dive into Portuguese object and reflexive pronouns:
1. Portuguese Object Pronouns: What Are They for and Where to Place Them
2. Portuguese Reflexive Verbs and Reflexive Pronoun Placement

Prepositions

Portuguese and Brazilian people do not seem to agree on the use of prepositions, especially when movement is concerned (as when you use the preposition to in English). 

Where people in Portugal say à or ao (contractions of the preposition a), Brazilians prefer the no or na (contractions of the preposition em): 

(pt) Vou ao quarto de banho.
(br) Vou no banheiro. 
I am going to the restroom.

(pt) Vou à África do Sul em janeiro.
(br) Vou na África do Sul em janeiro.
I am going to South Africa in January. 

Further reading! Learn the ABC of Portuguese prepositions: Basic Portuguese Prepositions and Contractions: An Inclusive Usage Rundown.

Differences in spelling

There are only minor differences in spelling between the Brazilian and the European variants. 

An orthographic agreement signed by several Portuguese-speaking countries, and coming into force under the 2010s, further contributed to a standardized spelling across the various regions where Portuguese is spoken. 

To be clear, this agreement doesn’t interfere with the lexical or pronunciation specificities of either country. It strictly concerns spelling. 

For instance,  in European Portuguese and before the agreement, several words were spelled with mute consonants, namely mute c‘s and p‘s. In Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, that was never the case as they wouldn’t write unpronounced letters.

Accordingly, in European Portuguese and before the agreement, the words acção (action), correcto (correct), baptismo (baptismo), and excepto (except) included mute consonants. Today, they are spelled ação, correto, batismo, and exceto, just the way they already had been according to the spelling of the Brazilian variant. 

This was only one example illustrating how the orthographic agreement brought closer the spellings on either side of the Atlantic. But there are still a few minor differences, most of them reflecting variations in pronunciation:

Further reading! Learn more about the Portuguese spelling reform: Portuguese Spelling Reform: A Before-and-After Summary.