This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
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.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.
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).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?
Spanish and Portuguese are both Romance languages sharing the same Latin root. As a result, there are thousands of Spanish and Portuguese words that look and sound similar and mean pretty much the same thing.
There are cases, nonetheless, where semantics have grown apart as time went by, which led to what we call false friends
Accordingly, false friends (aka false cognates) are words that look and sound similar but mean different things.
Now, words in this category don’t necessarily mean totally different things in either language.
There are many cases where they merely represent different shades of the same original meaning. Although used in different contexts, they are still semantically relatable.
Also, a Portuguese word can have two meanings of which the one with the least currency matches the dominant meaning of the Spanish cognate (and vice versa). These word pairs are often labeled as false friends as well.
With that said, let’s look at a few common Spanish-Portuguese false friends.
Reading tips! Here’s an analogous read for English-Portuguese false friends: 50+ English-Portuguese False Friends to Keep an Eye Out For
| Spanish | Portuguese | |
| 1 | acordarse recall; remember | acordar wake up |
| 2 | barata cockroach; cheap | barata cheap |
| 3 | cadera hip | cadeira chair |
| 4 | cena dinner | cena scene |
| 5 | embarazada embarrassed; ashamed | embaraçada pregnant |
| 6 | escoba broom | escova brush |
| 7 | escritorio desk | escritório office |
| 8 | exquisito | esquisito |
| 9 | largo long | largo large |
| 10 | oficina office | oficina workshop |
| 11 | polvo dust | polvo octopus |
| 12 | propina tip | propina tuition fee (pt-pt); bribery (pt-br)* |
| 13 | rato a little while | rato mouse |
| 14 | rojo red | roxo purple |
| 15 | rubio blond | ruivo redhead, ginger |
| 16 | traer bring | trair betray |
* Read the following article to learn more about how European and Brazilian Portuguese compare: European vs. Brazilian Portuguese – How Different Are They, Really?
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.