HOW TO PICK UP PORTUGUESE USING YOUR SPANISH SKILLS

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Did you know that with 89% vocabulary similarity, Spanish and Portuguese are the closest two Romance languages?

The majority of language enthusiasts are aware of how similar Spanish and Portuguese are; some linguists even contend they are dialects of the same language. But how can you use this to your advantage?

The best language tips for using your knowledge of Spanish to quickly learn Portuguese are provided below.

Let’s first talk about the big issue in the discussion room.

Is Portuguese a Difficult Language to Learn?
Answer: It depends. We must take into consideration the following:

The majority of bilingual speakers report that they are better familiar with Spanish terminology yet find Portuguese to be simpler to pronounce.
Brazilian fala (“speak”) does not strictly follow grammatical rules, unlike Spanish, which makes speaking easy but makes writing a little more challenging.
When it comes to foreign language students, Brazilians are quite understanding. Even if you merely say Oi, tudo bem?, they’ll probably compliment you with remarks like “You sound just like a Brazilian!” or “You speak Portuguese better than me!” “Hey, how are you?” This cultural characteristic creates a setting that is excellent for learning.
How to Learn Portuguese Using Your Spanish Skills
In this section, we’ll go over some tips for translating your knowledge of Portuguese syntax, pronunciation, and conjugation from Spanish.

Can You Tell the Differences Between Portuguese and Spanish Vocabulary?

The vocabulary is the component that Spanish speakers find the simplest.

These are the key vocabulary tips to keep in mind:

1. -ión → -ão
   Portuguese words that finish in -ión in Spanish end in -o (for example, “administración” becomes administraço).
2. z ç: In Spanish, the cedilla (ç), or squiggly c, frequently takes the place of a soft c or a z. Examples are abraço (“abrazo”), taça (“taza”), and dança (“danza”).
3. -io/a → -o/a:
   In Portuguese, the frequent Spanish diphthong “io/a” is unusual and is swapped out for “o/a.” Espaço (“espacio”), justiça (“justicia”), and preço (“precio”) are a few examples.
4. -ano/an -o: Although there are words in Portuguese that finish in -ano/an, it is much more likely that Spanish words that end in -ano/an will adopt a -o suffix. Mo (“mano”) and po (“pan”) are frequent examples.
5. -ito/ita -inho/inha: In Portuguese, the diminutive only differs slightly (e.g., “cafecito” cafezinho, “gatita” gatinha).
7. por+ el/la pelo/pela: In Spanish, the terms “por + el” and “por + la” change into the words “pelo” and “pela,” which should not be mistaken with pelo (hair) or pela (to peel). For example, “Voy a pasar por la casa.” Vou passar pela casa
8. h f: The Latin “f” frequently becomes a “h” in Spanish (for example, farina “harina”), but the Portuguese (farinha), French (farine), and Italian (farina) maintain the original pronunciation. Formiga (“hormiga”) and forno (“horno”) are more examples.

-ales and -eles -ais & -éis:Portuguese has a variety of plural forms that you should be aware of. Like coral or hotel, a word’s singular form may be the same in both Spanish and Portuguese, but its plural form changes (i.e., “corales” becomes “corais,” and “hoteles” becomes “hotéis”).

9. plenty, a lot, a lot:Fortunately, there is no distinction between the Portuguese words “muy” and “mucho” for the Spanish words “muy” and “mucho.” Both words are translated as molto in Portuguese and have the same gender and plural agreements as in Spanish, as in “Muchas personas son muy bonitas.”

Can You Hear It? is how it is pronounced.

You only need to adjust your hearing to learn Portuguese.

Spanish speakers are at the mercy of Portuguese pronunciation (or phonetics).

Spanish people frequently miss out on a fantastic chance to comprehend a different language because the words are often identical in both languages, letter for letter.

Here are the finest pronunciation tips for understanding Portuguese using your knowledge of Spanish.

1. rr /h/: Portuguese’s double “r” does not roll but rather resembles an English “h” or a Spanish “j.” Despite the fact that both Spanish and Portuguese include the word “carro,” Spanish speakers are unaware that the double “r” actually sounds like a /h/.
2. -o nasal /ow/: In Portuguese, the -o sound is similar to an extremely nasal “ow” in English. Now, do you recall the suffixes -ión and -ano/an from the vocabulary section? Don’t let the nasal “ow” at the end of these words fool you. For instance, educaço has the pronunciation /eh-du-ca-sow/.
3. phrases ending in -al and -el have a harsh “l” sound in Spanish while having a long “u” sound in Portuguese, as in the phrases “house” and “out.” so that the pronunciation of the term global is /glow-baw/.

It’s simple! Es simple! É fácil!
See? Using your knowledge of Spanish, you can immediately begin to understand Portuguese.

Use these simple tips to start learning a new language right away and don’t allow your hard work and effort go to waste!