Want to learn European Portuguese for free? Even if you’re on a limited budget, there are plenty of ways to start learning the language. Here’s our guide to the best free European Portuguese resources! 🇵🇹
Free European Portuguese Audio & Video
The audio and video for all of our episodes are completely free! (Most transcripts are also available exclusively to Practice Portuguese members.)
This is an excellent way to hear the way Portuguese is spoken in Portugal. You can get quality listening practice, even when you’re far away, with our three episode types:
1. Shorties
Shorties are 1-3 minute dialogues and articles recorded by native European Portuguese speakers. There are episodes for all levels:
They cover a wide variety of topics for a wide variety of language-learners: whether you’re planning a trip to Portugal, living in Portugal, or just interested in Portuguese history and culture. Below are a few popular categories to explore:
- Buying a home or renting an apartment
- Food, dining, ordering at a restaurant
- History
- Shopping
- Daily life and small talk
- Transportation and getting around in Portugal
- See the full library here>>>
2. Free European Portuguese Podcast
Our free podcast is available at PracticePortuguese.com or via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Some Podcast episodes are longer versions of the Shorties. In others, Rui and Joel have unscripted conversations in a combination of European Portuguese and English, while giving tons of helpful tips and instruction. One series of episodes focuses on how to make your pronunciation sound more native, while others take deep-dives into grammar or vocabulary. Here are a few of our favourites:
- How Do Algarvians Speak?
- Secrets of Native Pronunciation
- Danger on the Road, Nightmare in the Shop!
- See the full library here>>>
3. Free European Portuguese Videos
The videos range from animated shorts, to instructional lectures about Portuguese language topics, to casual, lighthearted live footage of friends and family members. (Rui’s grandmother, Avó Odete, was shocked to discover she had fans all over the world!)
There’s even a full-length travel documentary featuring Rui & Joel walking the Caminho de Santiago.
Many of the videos are more geared toward intermediate to advanced users. That said, beginners enjoy them too when they don’t mind being fully immersed and filling in the gaps! It’s a challenge, but the visual component gives you context for what you’re hearing. Here are a few of our favourite free videos:
- Inconvenient Questions
- Jocka
- Washing Dishes with Avó Odete
- 5000 Portuguese Words You Already Know
- See the full video library here>>>
Free European Portuguese Grammar and Special Topic Guides
A.K.A. “Learning Notes“! These audio/written guides explain complicated topics in a thorough, yet simplified, way. They are integrated throughout the Practice Portuguese Units (available to members), but they are unlocked individually so that both members and non-members can start learning European Portuguese for free. Here are some of our most popular Learning Notes:
- Pronunciation Guide for European Portuguese Consonants
- Introduction to Portuguese Adjectives
- The Alphabet
- Asking Questions
- Polite Expressions
- European Portuguese Greetings
- European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese
- See the full library here>>>
Motivation and Learning Strategies
As you’re learning, it’s inevitable that you’ll run into challenges and feel your motivation start to slip. In those moments, sometimes it helps to step back and think about how you’re learning.
The Practice Portuguese blog includes a number of free guides to help you plan and strategize the most efficient, effective, and relevant study plans for learning European Portuguese. For example:
- Olá, tudo bem? …NOW what?
- Shortcuts to Learning European Portuguese
- Why Do I Freeze Up When I Try to Speak Portuguese?
- See the full list of blog posts here>>>
Looking for More?
Try our search page to explore the entire library of content! If we don’t have what you’re looking for, let us know! We’re always open to suggestions to help learners of European Portuguese improve their skills. 😊
For 15€ (less than the cost of ONE in-person class) per month, you can also get unlimited access to:
- 100+ units on topics ranging from expressions to adjectives to buying a home
- 700+ lessons with activities to practice your speaking, listening, reading, and writing
- 300+ European Portuguese dialogues and articles with synchronized Portuguese/English transcripts (try a sample episode)
- Spaced repetition flashcards for vocabulary/phrase review
- Interactive verb conjugation module
- Integrated, easy-to-follow grammar and special topic guides
- Downloadable audio and pdfs to practice on the go
- 1000+ video clips of real native speakers
- Pronunciation analysis tool
- Progress tracking and quizzes
- Full members forum access
- New content added multiple times per week
Of course, if you decide to become a member and realize it’s not a good fit, you can cancel any time! Sign up now or read more here:
Hi Rui and Joel,
I just want to let you know that your online initiative, Practice Portuguese, has been a great help to me to quickly attain a solid understanding of, and familiarity with, European Portuguese. The fact that you have added subtitles to your media library really sold me on becoming a subscribing member. As a passionate learner of languages, with some 35 years of experience under my belt, I’ve used all kinds of language acquisition materials, both on- and offline. By comparison, Practice Portuguese is up there at the top of the list of the ones I would recommend to others.
I’m curious about your educational background: Did either, or both, of you study linguistics, or language acquisition? I recall one of the first videos I watched was a review of the sound inventory of European Portuguese, with a short intro to phonetics and phonology. I remember thinking that only someone with a background in linguistics would probably approach introducing the sounds of the language this way.
Thanks, Scott Stephens
Thanks for the very kind words, Scott! We are both passionate about languages, and while we don’t have formal training, we research a ton and have a couple Portuguese experts on our team that help us make sure we don’t let any errors slip between the cracks 🙂 We plan to do more videos like the one you mentioned. Some people love the technical linguistic explanations while others prefer us to keep things in layman’s terms, so we try to do our best to find a balance. Thanks again and keep in touch 🙂
It is very effective channel to learn Portuguese Language online at home.
I want to learn Portuguese language
Hello 🙂
Thank you so much for this platform! I have tried to understand how i would learn here as a begginer. I pressed on beginner and was directed to a short audio, it sounded beautiful but seemed to advanced. not nowing the words, i find myself stopping every 5-10 seconds ti check the dictionary. It was hard and confusing. Is there a practice of words before the audio stories?
Your fee is manageable, i would love to join, learn from you and pay in full, just didn’t get how it works and if it fits me. Help..?
Thank you,
Inbal, from israel 🙂
Olá Inbal! The best place to start for beginners is with the Units section. These are in order from A1 up to B2 level content, so when in doubt, you can work through each lesson in order. The first few units cover some basic phrases such as please, thank you, greetings, and then go into basic grammar. As you move down the list it gradually gets more advanced.
I would also recommend using Smart Review (under the “Learn” tab) along the way to keep what you learn fresh in your memory.
Once you have some of the basics down you can start exploring other parts of the site too, such as Verbs (under the Learn tab), and Shorties, Podcasts, and Videos (under the Practice tab). In the beginning, you won’t understand everything in these episodes, but they are a great way to get realistic exposure to the language and to learn more naturally. You can sort them by level (i.e. A1, A2, etc). Now that you have a premium membership, you won’t have to stop to check the dictionary because you can toggle the English translation on to see it instantly. (Then, over time, you can practice listening to more and more of the episode without the transcript.)
If you have any other questions, let me know! Thanks for signing up!