European vs Brazilian Portuguese

What’s the difference between European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese? For starters, European Portuguese is the variant spoken in Portugal and is more similar to the dialects spoken in Africa and Asia. (It is sometimes called Continental Portuguese, or even Portuguese Portuguese! 😄  ) Given the size and population of Brazil, however, the Brazilian Portuguese set of dialects are the most famous across the world, including online and in the entertainment industry.
Some compare the distinction between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese to that between American and British English, or between Latin American and European/Castilian Spanish. Practice Portuguese only teaches European Portuguese, so if you are arriving here with a background in Brazilian Portuguese, it can be helpful to understand the differences.
For native Portuguese speakers, the various dialects are mutually intelligible. As a non-native, hearing multiple versions can sometimes add extra confusion and complexity to the learning process, particularly when it comes to the pronunciation differences. If you’re planning to spend time in Portugal, or you just want to learn more about the Portuguese language as a whole, it’s important to understand the many unique characteristics of European Portuguese. We’ll take a look at some of the primary differences in spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Bear in mind that EP and BP each include their own variety of dialects as well, so there will be some generalizations for simplicity’s sake. For that same reason, we tend to lean toward the “Lisbon accent” and dialect in Learning Notes and Units.
In the examples below, we labeled the Brazilian pronunciations with BP (Brazilian Portuguese). Any examples without this indication are in EP (European Portuguese).

Spelling

With the Acordo Ortográfico de 1990 (Orthographic Agreement of 1990), also known as the Novo Acordo OrtográficoNew Orthographic AgreementCommunity , which went into effect in 2008, the written forms of both dialects became practically the same. Many people and publications in Portugal refuse to write under this new agreement, so it’s very likely that you’ll still come across the “old” versions of some words.
One major change was the removal of mute consonants in European Portuguese, mostly p‘s and c‘s, making it more similar to the Brazilian version. For example, ótimogreatCommunity Slow audio Play audio used to be written as “óptimo” and açãoactionCommunity used to be “acção”. Words such as factofactCommunity and contactocontactCommunity retained the c in European Portuguese because c is not a mute consonant in such cases.

Grammar

The Pronouns Tu/Teu vs Você/Seu

A major difference between European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese involves the use of second-person pronouns. In European Portuguese, we use the personal pronoun tuyouCommunity Slow audio Play audio Pronoun in informal contexts and with people close to us. We use the “treatment pronoun” vocêyouCommunity Slow audio Play audio Pronoun, Singular when speaking to our elderly relatives or people we’re not close with. (These are often referred to as “you, informal” and “you, formal” for simplicity.)
In Brazilian Portuguese, however, você has replaced tu for the most part, and has become an informal way of talking to someone in the second person. Alternatively, and because some people are offended by você, both dialects sometimes make use of o senhor/a senhora to refer to “you”. When using você in either dialect, you conjugate the corresponding verb in the 3rd person.
Tu fizeste o almoçoYou made lunchCommunity
Você fez o almoço BPYou made lunchCommunity
Similarly, the possessive pronoun/determiner teu, used in Portugal, is replaced with seu in BP:
O teu pai ligou?Did your father call?Community
(O) * Seu pai ligou? BPDid your father call?Community Slow audio Play audio
* In BP, the definite articles o/os/a/as that should come before the pronoun are usually not spoken.

Demonstrative Pronouns

In European Portuguese, we use the demonstrative pronouns este, esta, and isto to refer to objects close to us (“this“), and esse, essa, and isso to refer to objects that are a bit further away (“that“). In BP, este and isto are rarely used. Instead, you hear the expressions “esse aqui” or “isso aqui” to refer to objects that are close by, as if saying “that here”. Similarly, for objects not in reach of the speaker, BP combines aíthereCommunity Slow audio Play audio Adverb with esse and isso, becoming “esse aí” or “isso aí”, as if saying “that there”.
O que é isto?What is this?Community Slow audio Play audio
O que é isso aqui? BPWhat is this?Community Slow audio Play audio

Gerund

One of the more obvious differences between European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese is the use of the gerúndiogerundCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine . Brazilian Portuguese makes extensive use of this kind of non-finite verb, while European Portuguese prefers to use the “a + infinitive” structure instead. You can read more in this Learning Note on the Present Continuous.
Ele está a dançarHe is dancingCommunity
Ele está dançando BPHe is dancingCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Eu continuo a achar que é mentiraI still think it's a lieCommunity
Eu continuo achando que é mentira BPI still think it's a lieCommunity Slow audio Play audio

Clitic Object Pronouns Before the Verb

In the Clitic Object Pronouns unit, we mention that these types of pronouns can appear in three different positions: before, in the middle, or after the verb. In Brazilian Portuguese, the proclitic (before) position is the standard way, while the enclitic (after) position is the standard in European Portuguese.
Amo-teI love youCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Te amo BPI love youCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Ele disse-meHe told meCommunity
Ele me disse BPHe told meCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Eu dou-te os parabénsI congratulate youCommunity
Eu te dou os parabéns BPI congratulate youCommunity Slow audio Play audio
The pronouns o, os, a, and as are still present in BP, but they are usually replaced with the pronouns ele, eles, ela, and elas. For example:
Eu vi-o ontemI saw him yesterdayCommunity
Eu vi ele ontem BPI saw him yesterdayCommunity Slow audio Play audio
When it comes to indirect object pronouns, lhe is rarely found in Brazilian Portuguese. Instead, speakers use the structure “para + personal pronoun”. For example:
Eu contei-lhe o que aconteceuI told him what happenedCommunity
Eu contei para ele o que aconteceu BPI told him what happenedCommunity Slow audio Play audio

The Verb Ter as Haver

In certain situations, Brazilian Portuguese makes use of the verb ter in place of the verb haver.
Há muito pó neste quartoThere's a lot of dust in this roomCommunity
Tem muito pó neste quarto BPThere's a lot of dust in this roomCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Há muitos estrangeiros em PortugalThere are a lot of foreigners in PortugalCommunity
Tem muito estrangeiro* em Portugal BPThere are a lot of foreigners in PortugalCommunity Slow audio Play audio
* The use of singular instead of plural forms is also very common.

Using the Preposition em Instead of a

In this Learning Note, you learn how the preposition emin, atCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition combines with the definite articles othe(masc.)Community Slow audio Play audio Article, Singular, Masculine and athe (fem.)Community Slow audio Play audio Determiner, Singular, Feminine  to form the contractions noin theCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition, Contractions, Singular, Masculine and nain theCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition, Contractions, Singular, Feminine . Brazilian Portuguese makes use of these contractions in a way that EP doesn’t. For example:
Vou a casa dos meus paisI'm going to my parents' houseCommunity
Vou na casa de meus pais BPI'm going to my parents' houseCommunity Slow audio Play audio
Fui ao cinemaI went to the movie theatreCommunity
Fui no cinema BPI went to the movie theatreCommunity Slow audio Play audio

Vocabulary

There are many differences between the lexicons of European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese, particularly with neologisms. Over the years, BP has incorporated and adapted English words into its own vocabulary. You’ll notice some of them in the list below. Words such as time (BP), trem (BP), and esporte (BP), while spelled differently, sound almost the same as their English equivalents and have no relation to the European Portuguese words.

• Grass: relvagrassCommunity gramaBPgrassCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
• (Hitch a) ride: boleiarideCommunity caronaBPrideCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
• Santa Claus: Pai NatalSanta ClausCommunity Slow audio Play audio Papai NoelBPSanta ClausCommunity Slow audio Play audio Proper Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Juice: sumojuiceCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine sucoBPjuiceCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Sport: desportosportCommunity esporteBPsportCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Cancer: cancrocancerCommunity câncerBPcancerCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Bus: autocarrobusCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine ônibusBPbusCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Cell phone: o telemóvelcell phoneCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine celularBPcell phoneCommunity Slow audio Play audio
• Train: comboiotrainCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine tremBPtrainCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
• Team: equipateamCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine timeBPteamCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine

Pronunciation

Finally we’ve made it to perhaps the most noticeable difference between European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese: the way they sound. We’ll highlight a few of the characteristic differences in the phonetics of each dialect. (You can also read a little more about what distinguishes European Portuguese in this Learning Note about vowel pronunciation.)

• In European Portuguese, reduced vowels are barely noticeable – it’s as if we swallow them! In Brazilian Portuguese, the vowels sound much more open, making it seem like every syllable is stressed compared to the European variant.
  • cadeirachairCommunity cadeiraBPchairCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
  • governogovernmentCommunity governoBPgovernmentCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
  • paredewallCommunity paredeBPwallCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
• In BP, the l at the end of a word is often vocalized like a u.
  • papelpaperCommunity papelBPpaperCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
  • pincelpaintbrushCommunity pincelBPpaintbrushCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
  • DanielDanielCommunity DanielBPCommunity
• In BP, the r at the end of a word is usually suppressed.
  • apanharcatchCommunity Slow audio Play audio Verb apanharBPcatchCommunity
  • gastarspendCommunity Slow audio Play audio Verb gastarBPspendCommunity
  • fazerdo, makeCommunity Slow audio Play audio Verb fazerBPdo, makeCommunity
• In European Portuguese, you will hear the phonemes that correspond to the letters d and t pronounced like: deCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition diCommunity Slow audio Play audio Sounds and teCommunity tiCommunity Slow audio Play audio Pronoun, Singular . In BP, however, they are pronounced like djiBPCommunity and tjiBPCommunity .
  • diáriodiaryCommunity diárioBPdiaryCommunity
  • dentetoothCommunity denteBPtoothCommunity
  • apetiteappetiteCommunity apetiteBPappetiteCommunity
• There are a variety of pronunciations for the letter s in European Portuguese, including the “sh” pronunciation when s appears at the end of a word or in the middle before a consonant. In BP, however, the s is pronounced like a z in these contexts.
  • atrásbehindCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition atrásBPbehindCommunity
  • pazpeaceCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine pazBPpeaceCommunity
  • desdefrom, sinceCommunity Slow audio Play audio Preposition desdeBPfrom, sinceCommunity

Accents

Regarding stressed syllables, there’s one major difference when it comes to some “palavras esdrúxulas” – words in which the stressed syllable is the antepenultimate (third from the last) one. In both EP and BP, an accent is present, but the particular accent can vary. Let’s start with a few words that have the same spelling in EP and BP:

• máquinamachineCommunity
• músicamusicCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
• ânguloangleCommunity
• ênfaseemphasisCommunity

The difference appears in certain words that use the acute accent (´) in European Portuguese, but the circumflex accent (ˆ) in Brazilian Portuguese. Consequently, the pronunciation of the word is different too, as the stressed syllables are open in EP and nasalized in BP. For example:

• tónicatonicCommunity tônicaBPtonicCommunity
• académicoacademicCommunity acadêmicoBPacademicCommunity
• demóniodemonCommunity demônioBPdemonCommunity
• AntónioCommunity Slow audio Play audio Proper Noun, Singular, Masculine AntônioBPCommunity Slow audio Play audio Proper Noun, Singular, Masculine

Compare European Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese in Conversation

The rest of our content sticks to EP, but we released these 4 special episodes featuring both European and Brazilian Portuguese speakers. Can you hear the differences? Enjoy!

Podcasts:

Supermix Interview (with Tatiana, Rui & Joel)

Um Café em Lisboa

Videos:

Pizza na Hora, Márcio o Brasileiro (Animated!!)

Animated: Pizza Na Hora Está a Contratar!