Learning Portuguese—Before You Move

If you search for “learn Portuguese” on any app store, most of what you find teaches Brazilian Portuguese. For someone moving to Portugal, that is a problem. This guide explains why European Portuguese is genuinely harder to learn, which tools are actually built for it, and how to build a useful foundation before you arrive.

Already living in Portugal?

This guide covers preparation before you arrive. If you are already in Portugal and looking for classes or information about the A2 language requirement for residency, the companion guide is more relevant.

Read the in-Portugal language guide →

Context European vs Brazilian Portuguese: why it matters

Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese are the same language in the way that British English and American English are the same language—and then some. A person from Lisbon and a person from São Paulo can hold a conversation. But the pronunciation, rhythm, vocabulary, and everyday expressions diverge enough that learning one does not fully prepare you for the other.

For someone moving to Portugal, the distinction matters more than it might seem. The main differences you will encounter:

European Portuguese (EP)

Vowels are reduced and often swallowed—unstressed vowels nearly disappear
Speech sounds fast and clipped to untrained ears
Uses “tu” and “você” differently; “vós” exists in formal and rural contexts
Uses the infinitive where BP uses the gerund (-ando/-endo)
Different everyday vocabulary: “autocarro” (bus), “elevador” (lift), “telemóvel” (mobile)
What you will hear on the street in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve

Brazilian Portuguese (BP)

Vowels are pronounced more fully and clearly
Speech sounds more open and melodic to English speakers
Uses the gerund form (“estou fazendo”) where EP uses the infinitive (“estou a fazer”)
Widely taught on mainstream apps—Duolingo, Babbel, and most Pimsleur courses default to BP
More content available online, including beginner resources
Not what you will hear in Portugal

The practical problem: If you spend six months on Duolingo before moving to Portugal, you will arrive with a foundation in Brazilian Portuguese. The vocabulary is mostly transferable. The pronunciation model is not. Many expats find they understand written Portuguese well but struggle to follow spoken European Portuguese—because they have been training their ear on the wrong accent.

Difficulty Why European Portuguese is hard for English speakers

European Portuguese consistently ranks among the more difficult languages for native English speakers to learn, not because the grammar is especially complex, but because of how it sounds. Several features combine to make listening comprehension genuinely difficult, even at intermediate levels.

Vowel reduction

In European Portuguese, unstressed vowels are dramatically reduced—often to near silence. The word obrigado (thank you) sounds closer to brigadu in practice. The word de (of/from) often disappears into the surrounding words entirely. This is very different from Spanish, French, or Italian, where vowels are generally pronounced fully. English speakers who have learned Romance languages before often find this reduction the hardest habit to hear and imitate.

Consonant clusters

When vowels reduce, consonants cluster together in ways that are unusual for English ears. Sequences like str, ptr, and vrd appear mid-word. Combined with fast native speech, this can make even short sentences difficult to parse at first.

Connected speech

European Portuguese speakers link words together fluidly in conversation. Word boundaries that exist in writing often disappear in speech. A phrase like está a fazer (is doing) can sound like a single indistinct word to a beginner. The gap between the written language and the spoken language is wide.

Nasal vowels

Portuguese has nasal vowels—sounds that pass through the nose as well as the mouth—that do not exist in English. The endings -ão, -em, and -ã are the most common. These take practice to produce and to distinguish, and most English speakers find them unfamiliar well into intermediate study.

The ser/estar distinction

Like Spanish, Portuguese has two verbs for “to be”—ser and estar. The distinction is not always straightforward for English speakers, and the rules for when to use each one differ slightly from Spanish. This is grammar, not phonetics, but it is consistently the first structural hurdle for English-speaking beginners.

None of this is a reason not to try. Many expats achieve conversational Portuguese within one to two years of regular practice. The point is to calibrate expectations: do not assume that six weeks on an app will leave you conversational before you arrive. What six weeks can do is give you a solid phonetic foundation, basic vocabulary, and enough structure to keep learning faster once you are in Portugal.

Tools Online tools and apps worth using

Most language-learning apps teach Brazilian Portuguese by default. The tools below are either built specifically for European Portuguese or are the best available options for EP learners. They fall into two categories: structured online learning platforms, and vocabulary/habit apps.

Online tools

1. Practice Portuguese

PracticePortuguese.com is built exclusively for European Portuguese, by a Canadian-Portuguese team who understand what it is like to learn from scratch. It is the closest thing to a structured curriculum for EP available online, and it does several things no mainstream app does:

All audio is European Portuguese—no Brazilian accent, no mixed content
Shorties—short audio dialogues of real conversational Portuguese, with playback speed control and transcripts. This is the best available tool for training your ear to connected European Portuguese speech
Grammar explanations built for EP—covering the specific differences from Brazilian Portuguese where they matter
Vocabulary in context—the words you actually need in Portugal, not Brazilian vocabulary

The free tier gives access to a meaningful amount of content. A paid subscription unlocks the full library of Shorties and exercises. For anyone preparing seriously for a move to Portugal, Practice Portuguese is the one tool we would keep if we could only keep one.

2. Portuguese Lab

PortugueseLab.com offers structured video lessons in European Portuguese, with a clear progression from beginner to advanced. The teaching style is clean and methodical—good for learners who want a more traditional lesson format alongside the listening-heavy approach of Practice Portuguese. Primarily online, which makes it well-suited for pre-move study.

3. Portuguese with Leo

PortugueseWithLeo.com is a YouTube-based resource from a native European Portuguese teacher, with free lessons covering pronunciation, grammar, and everyday vocabulary. Particularly useful for pronunciation—Leo’s explanations of the sounds that trip up English speakers are some of the clearest available. A strong free complement to a paid platform.

4. Talk the Streets

TalktheStreets.com focuses on real, colloquial European Portuguese—the kind of language you actually hear on the street rather than textbook phrases. Useful once you have basic vocabulary and want to move toward natural spoken comprehension. Best used as a supplement at intermediate level rather than a starting point.

Apps

Memrise—better than Duolingo for European Portuguese

Memrise offers a European Portuguese course that uses video clips of real native speakers in Portugal. The spaced repetition system works well for building vocabulary quickly, and the EP content is meaningfully better than what Duolingo offers. It is better used as a vocabulary supplement alongside a grammar resource than as a standalone programme—but for drilling new words before your move, it is effective.

Duolingo—fine, with caveats

Duolingo has a Portuguese course but it teaches Brazilian Portuguese. It is gamified, easy to maintain as a daily habit, and not useless for building basic vocabulary and sentence patterns that transfer to EP. The problem is the pronunciation model: the app’s audio will train your ear toward Brazilian speech. If you use Duolingo, do so with that limitation in mind, and use it alongside Practice Portuguese—not instead of it.

Babbel—similar limitations

Babbel’s Portuguese course is Brazilian Portuguese. The explanations are clearer than Duolingo’s and the course structure is more systematic, but it has the same core limitation for someone preparing for Portugal. Use it if you find the course structure helpful; just do not rely on its pronunciation audio as a model for EP.

Pimsleur

Pimsleur offers a European Portuguese course (search specifically for “Pimsleur European Portuguese”). The audio-first, spaced repetition format is particularly useful for pronunciation—you listen and repeat, which builds muscle memory for the sounds of EP. It is expensive, and the vocabulary coverage is limited, but for pronunciation foundations before you arrive it is one of the better tools available.

Anki

Anki is a free flashcard app with spaced repetition. The value is in the decks others have built: search for European Portuguese decks on AnkiWeb. Useful for vocabulary drilling, but needs to be used alongside a grammar resource to be effective.

Recommended stack before you move

Primary	Practice Portuguese—grammar, listening, context
Online supplement	Portuguese Lab for structured lessons, Portuguese with Leo for pronunciation
Colloquial EP	Talk the Streets, once you have basic vocabulary
Vocabulary drilling	Memrise (EP course) or Anki
Daily habit	Duolingo if the streak helps—but supplement with EP audio

Tutors Online tutors

Apps build vocabulary and grammar structure. A tutor builds spoken confidence and gives you feedback that no app can provide. Even one or two sessions per week before you move will accelerate your progress significantly.

italki

italki is the largest marketplace for online language tutors. Search specifically for European Portuguese teachers—filter by “European Portuguese” or look for tutors based in Portugal. The difference between a tutor teaching EP and one teaching BP is significant. Rates vary from around €10/hour for community tutors to €30–50/hour for professional teachers. Book a trial lesson with two or three tutors before committing to one.

Preply

Preply is a similar marketplace with a similar range of tutors. Some users find its search and matching tools easier to use than italki. The same principle applies: filter for European Portuguese speakers and prioritise tutors based in Portugal or with native EP backgrounds.

What to ask a tutor for before you move

Tutors are most useful at this stage for pronunciation correction, listening practice in real connected speech, and getting answers to grammar questions that apps handle poorly. Be specific: tell your tutor you are preparing for a move to Portugal and want to focus on spoken EP, not written exercises.

Community Communities and conversation practice

Language exchange partners and online communities extend your practice time at no cost and give you access to native speakers outside of scheduled lessons.

Tandem and HelloTalk

Both apps connect you with native speakers for language exchange—you help them with English, they help you with Portuguese. Filter for Portugal-based speakers explicitly. The conversations are informal, which is useful for natural spoken language, but you need to be proactive about requesting European Portuguese speakers rather than Brazilian ones.

The r/Portuguese and r/LearnPortuguese communities are active and generally helpful. Both include members learning EP specifically, and questions about the European variant are common and well-answered. Useful for getting specific grammar or vocabulary questions answered and for finding resource recommendations from other learners.

Facebook groups

Several Facebook groups for expats in Portugal include language learners. Search for groups specific to the region you are moving to—Lisbon, Algarve, Porto, Silver Coast. These tend to include people at various stages of the language journey and can be a good source of local tutor recommendations once you arrive.

Meetup groups

Meetup.com hosts language exchange events in major Portuguese cities. Searching for “Portuguese language exchange Lisbon” or the equivalent for your destination city will show both in-person and online options. These events often attract a mix of expats learning Portuguese and Portuguese speakers looking to practice English—a straightforward basis for exchange. The quality varies by group, so try a few before settling on one.

Planning your move to Portugal?

The language side is one part of the preparation. For the administrative steps—NIF, bank account, SNS registration—the RealLX setup guides cover each in detail.

Browse all guides →

Frequently asked questions

Is Brazilian Portuguese useful at all if I am moving to Portugal?

Yes, partially. The written language is largely the same, and the core grammar and vocabulary overlap significantly. If you already have a foundation in Brazilian Portuguese, you are not starting from zero. The main gap is listening comprehension—the spoken accent and vowel reduction in European Portuguese will feel unfamiliar, and you will need to retrain your ear. Budget time specifically for EP listening practice before you arrive.

How much Portuguese do I realistically need before I arrive?

More than zero, less than fluent. The expat community in major Portuguese cities is large, and English is widely spoken in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve. You can manage daily life in English more easily than in most non-Anglophone countries. That said, any Portuguese you have will be appreciated, will make administrative tasks significantly easier, and will become much more important if you move outside major urban areas. Targeting basic conversational ability—greetings, directions, ordering, simple transactions—is a realistic goal before arrival.

Is there a formal language requirement for living in Portugal?

Yes, eventually. An A2-level Portuguese test is required as part of the permanent residency application process, typically after five years of residence. It is not required to arrive or to obtain your initial residence permit—but it is something to plan for. The companion guide covers the A2 requirement and how to prepare for it.

Can I learn European Portuguese with Duolingo?

Duolingo’s Portuguese course teaches Brazilian Portuguese. It can help you build vocabulary and sentence patterns that partially transfer to European Portuguese, but its audio will train your ear toward the Brazilian accent. For someone moving to Portugal, Duolingo is best used as a supplement—useful for daily habit and vocabulary—alongside a resource built specifically for European Portuguese such as Practice Portuguese.

How long does it take to become conversational in European Portuguese?

With consistent daily practice—30 to 60 minutes per day—most English speakers reach basic conversational ability in six to twelve months. Progress accelerates significantly once you are in Portugal and immersed in the language. The A2 level required for permanent residency is achievable in one to two years of regular study for most adult learners.