The wonderful Portuguese culture

"Passion, culture, food and history"

Portuguese Language

"Differences in the Portuguese language"

"As differenças na língua portuguesa"

Learn the differences in the Portuguese Language

The Portuguese language is a musical language full of passion and history. It is one of the top 10 most spoken languages in the world, and most of them are native speakers. Due to the Age of Discovery and colonizations, there are a lot of countries in the world where Portuguese is the official language. So, there are a lot of differences in the Portuguese language spoken all over the world. Let's learn them here to not make important mistakes.

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

In which countries is Portuguese the official language?

Portuguese is the official language in 12 countries around the world. In almost every continent there are countries where Portuguese is the official language. From Portugal and his islands in Europe, to Brazil in Latin America over for example Angola, Mozambique and Cabo Verde in Africa. Finally, also 2 nations in Asia. Almost 300 million people speak Portuguese. This post gives a list of all the countries.

"A language spoken all over the world"

First, let's take a look where in the world the Portuguese language is the official language. Did you know that in more than 10 countries they speak Portuguese? And yes, on almost every continent. All these countries are a member of CPLP. See the country list below.

Europe:

Portugal, and his islands Madeira and the Azores

Latin America:

Asia:

East Timor and Macau (Special Administrative Region in China)

Portuguese language map differences

keywords:

#portuguese, #language, #cplp, #creole, #differences, #brazilian

"Almost 300 million people speak Portuguese"

As you can see in the list and on the map, a lot of people in the world speak Portuguese. This means that a total of at least around 280 million people have Portuguese as their native language. But a lot of Portuguese speaking people are living elsewhere in the world. So, maybe it is a lot more. Portuguese is one of the 10 most spoken languages in the world.


Learn a new language?

Learn Portuguese now with Mondly.

portuguese language learn with mondly

What are the differences in the Portuguese language?

"A lot of variants with a lot of differences"

Because the language is so wide spread over almost all continents of the world, their are a lot of differences in the language in some countries and some have their own creole variant. But the basics are the same and these comes all from the European Portuguese, from Portugal. So, with the European Portuguese you have the most basic language skills to express yourself in every Portuguese speaking country. Just keep in mind not all words, pronunciations and usage of the words are the same in every country.

European vs Brazilian Portuguese words

"Be careful to not make important mistakes"

Below is a list of a few differences between the European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. And their are also some words that you can use in Portugal without a shame and are sweet, but you better never do in Brazil, like "rapariga".

ENGLISH

breakfast

cup

coffee

juice

sandwich

butchery

ice cream

refrigerator

identity card

driving license

shop window

comics

brown

suit

mobile phone

bathroom

train

bus

bus stop

convertible

pedestrian crossing

PT PORTUGAL

pequeno-almoço

chávena

bica (Lisboa) / café

sumo

sandes

talho

gelado

frigorifico

bilhete de identidade

carta de condução

montra

bandas de desenhada

castanho

fato

telemóvel / telelé

casa de banho

os comboios

autocarro

paragem

descapotável

passadeira

ENGLISH

breakfast

cup

coffee

juice

sandwich

butchery

ice cream

refrigerator

identity card

driving license

shop window

comics

brown

suit

mobile phone

bathroom

train

bus

bus stop

convertible

pedestrian crossing

ENGLISH

breakfast

cup

coffee

juice

sandwich

butchery

ice cream

refrigerator

identity card

driving license

shop window

comics

brown

suit

mobile phone

bathroom

train

bus

bus stop

convertible

pedestrian crossing

PT BRAZIL

café da manhã

xícara

cafezinho

suco

sanduíche

açougue

sorvete

geladeira

carteira de identidade

carteira de motorista / de habilitação

vitrine

história em quadrinhos

marrom

terno

celular

banheiro

trem

ônibus

ponto de ônibus

conversível

faixa de pedestres

Tu - second person singular

"Spoken usage differences"

In Brazil, they don't use anymore the second person singular, 'tu'. So, they use only the 'você'-form when they speak to an individual person. In Portugal, it is common to use the 'tu'-form when you know the other person very well. So, using only the você-form over there can become very strange for the other person when you are under family or good friends. Because for Portuguese people, the você-form is for formal use or when you don't know the other person very well.

Regional differences

"Uma bica ou um café?"

In Portugal itself there are also a few differences in the language. This is more between the capital region Lisboa and the rest of the country. A typical lisboeta, an alfacinha, will more order a "bica" in stead of a "café". It is both the same: an espresso coffee, but "bica" is the typical word from Lisboa. In the rest of the country they don't know very well what you mean if you use that word. Bica stands literally for: "Beba Isto Com Açucar" ("Drink This With Sugar").

"Order the right beer"

In the same way, in the north of Portugal for a beer under pressure. Around Porto, they speak of "Fino" and "Princípe" and in the south of the country they call it an "Imperial". This finds more his origin from the 2 large beer manufacturers in the country: Sagres and Super Bock.


Thank you

"Say thank you the right way"

Last but not least, when you will say "Thank you" to a person, a man says "Obrigado" and a woman "Obrigada". The difference is because it reflects to the the person who speaks and not to the person you are talking to.

So,

muito obrigadinho por ler essa notícia.


Online dictionary

"Online language help"
Priberam dictionary online Portuguese language

Dicionário Priberam is a very good online dictionary about the Portuguese language. You also discover the differences of the standard European Portuguese of Portugal and Brazilian Portuguese.


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