Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
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Beginners A2
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1level.
If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).
There are plenty of interesting options for our accommodation. It will most likely be a countryside house near Tavira.
I haven't booked it yet because I want to get a better idea of the group's composition (how many couples/singles) and your preferences before I do so. That will for instance help me understand how big a house we might need.
I look forward to soon talking to you about this and much more. Até breve, p
Surprise surprise!
Do you know what constipado means in Portuguese? It mightn't be what you are thinking...
Get a list of 50+ English-PortugueseFalse Friends and be surprised.
Being familiar with Spanish gives those starting to learn Portuguese a huge head start – these languages are closely related and there are thousands of cognates between them.
Wondering about what a cognate is?
Cognates are words that share a common origin, look alike, and often mean pretty much the same. Because both Portuguese and Spanish originate from Vulgar Latin, cognates between the two are abundant.
You can think of cognates as true friends, as opposed to false friends.
What does this mean for you? Well, concerning vocabulary specifically, there’s a lot to benefit from if you know Spanish already.
In fact, Portuguese and Spanish share approximately 90% of their lexicon!
Now, because not all cognates are used with the same frequency in either language, the 90% figure is a bit overrated when it comes to everyday speech.
Still, your pre-existent knowledge of Spanish is a vocab goldmine and you should take advantage of it when learning Portuguese*.
This article goes well beyond a random list with commonly used Portuguese-Spanish cognates. Instead, based on your previous knowledge of Spanish, it’ll help you recall thousands of Portuguese words at will without you having previously memorized them.
To be able to do that, you’ll need to become familiarized with a few groups of Spanish-Portuguese cognates.
After that, you’ll be able to easily convert Spanish words to their Portuguese counterparts – all it takes is a few minor tweaks in pronunciation and spelling.
Let’s get started.
* Knowing Spanish from before also makes your life easier in other regards, namely concerning Portuguese grammar. Learn more about the different ways these languages are similar: Portuguese vs. Spanish: How Similar Are They Actually?
Nearly all cognates in this group are feminine words.
Note how the word endings on the Portuguese side render a nasal diphthong (indicated by the tilde accent). A few examples:
resolução
resolución
ação
acción
condição
condición
relação
relación
atenção
atención
. . .
-são/-ssão → -sión
The endings of these cognates are very similar to the previous, the difference being that they take an s instead of a ç. Like before, the majority of the words in this group are feminine.
Note that the Portuguese endings sound different depending on if they take a single or double s. Accordingly, a single s produces a voiced sibilant sound nonexistent in Spanish (as in zebra), whereas a double s renders an unvoiced one (as in simple).
The cognates of this group have a masculine gender. Let’s look at a few examples:
telegrama
telegrama
pictograma
pictograma
diagrama
diagrama
programa
programa
sismograma
sismograma
. . .
-dade → -dad
Most of the cognates in this group are feminine. Also, note how that –e at the end of the Portuguese cognatesis hardly pronounced:
caridade
caridad
espiritualidade
espiritualidad
curiosidade
curiosidad
flexibilidade
flexibilidad
cidade
ciudad
. . .
-gem → -gen/-aje
Most of the words in this group are feminine. Note the nasal sound produced by that final m:
aprendizagem
aprendizaje
imagem
imagen
virgem
virgen
paisagem
paisaje
mensagem
mensaje
. . .
-ismo → -ismo
The words in this group are also masculine. Note the voiced fricative sound (as in measure) rendered by the s that precedes the m (Portuguese cognates):
ativismo
activismo
sadismo
sadismo
moralismo
moralismo
elitismo
elitismo
pessimismo
pesimismo
. . .
2. Adjectives
-ista → -ista
Most of the adjectives in this group refer to people and, as such, they can often be treated as nouns as well.
Also, these adjectives are unisex, that is, they keep the same form regardless of the gender they refer to (that’s normally the case for adjectives whose masculine form ends with an a-vowel).
Finally, note that the s in -ista (Portuguese cognates) renders an unvoiced fricative sound, much like sh does in sheep:
pessimista
pesimista
violinista
violinista
modernista
modernista
dentista
dentista
altruísta
altruista
. . .
-ente → -ente
Like the group above, these adjectives are also unisex (that’s normally the case for adjectives whose masculine form ends with an e-vowel).
Again, note that you hardly hear that e-sound at the end (Portuguese cognates):
pertinente
pertinente
impaciente
impaciente
suficiente
suficiente
convincente
convincente
prudente
prudente
. . .
-vel → -ble
Once more, these adjectives look the same whether they refer to masculine or feminine nouns (many adjectives whose masculine form ends with a consonant follow this pattern).
Note that dark l-sound at the end (Portuguese cognates):
miserável
miserable
sensível
sensible
flexível
flexible
provável
probable
favorável
favorable
. . .
-ar → -ar
Also ending with a consonant, these adjectives remain unchanged regardless of the gender of the word they refer to:
popular
popular
familiar
familiar
similar
similar
circular
circular
nuclear
nuclear
. . .
-ico/a→ -ico/a
Depending on the gender of the word they refer to, these adjectives end either in –o (masculine) or -a (feminine).
Note that the stress falls on the third-from-last syllable. In this case, all words have a diacritical accent indicating the stress: