Before you jump right in, we wanted to give you an overview of how to use our platform to learn 🇵🇹 portuguêsPortuguese !
You can use the menu to navigate. The 2 most important sections are Learn and Practice:
Next, we’ll discuss each section in more detail. If you’re too excited for all this explanation, scroll to the bottom and click Mark as Complete to move forward… 😉
📝 UNITS
The Units are organized as a structured course, so when in doubt, this is the best place to start. Work through the list in order for a gradual progression of difficulty.
The course is divided into 4 CEFR Levels: A1, A2, B1, and B2. (i.e. Beginner, Upper Beginner, Intermediate, and Upper Intermediate.)
All levels are unlocked from the beginning, so you’re free to skip around if you need more of a desafiochallenge or if there are certain topics that are more relevant to you at the moment.
Each Unit contains:
- Learning Notes – Written articles with audio examples that explain grammar, vocabulary, and usage of European Portuguese
- Lessons – Interactive atividadesactivities for learning new words and phrases and practicing what you just read about
- a “Shorty” at the end – Listen to a dialogue related to the concepts you just learned
Remember to use the Units as your place to LEARN. You’re encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them, so don’t think of it as a test. CadaEach question is an opportunity to “figure out” Portuguese. If you get one erradowrong , it will repeat again later so you have a chance to correct it.
It’s the same idea when you get to the Shorty at the end. Use it as an opportunity to get exposure to realistic language. Just like out in the real mundoworld , you won’t understand everything at first. Over time, however, that exposure helps you put the pieces together and gives you a challenging and effective way to build off of your existing knowledge. ⭐️
🧠 SMART REVIEW
It’s tempting to keep powering through the Units, but don’t forget to review! Use Smart Review flash cards along the way to keep what you’re learning fresh in your memory. Otherwise it’s just in one orelhaear and out the other! 👂💨
Each time you complete a lesson, you’ll have the opportunity to select which words and phrases are most relevant/useful to you and add them to your Smart Review. (You can also add phrases from Learning Notes, Shorties, Videos, and more!)
This repetition ensures you’re picking up the main concepts and vocabulary, and also helps you develop a foundation of “go-to” phrases. That way, you can start participating in real conversasconversations as soon as possible!
Smart Review not only helps you review, but also facilitates the transition from “knowing” the language to “using” the language. The phrases appear out of context, so you have no help when trying to produce an answer. (It’s easy to remember how to say a particular number when you’re in the middle of the Numbers unit… but what about a month later when your Portuguese neighbour asks for the time?? 🤔 )
Once again, don’t expect to master these right away! It’s expected that you will get a lot wrong at first. Smart Review was designed using spaced repetition, which adjusts to your performance. If you’re interested, you can read more about how it works here.
You may have also noticed Listen & Speak in the menu. This is another (audio-only) way to review your Smart Review phrases, and get some speaking practice in!
🛠 VERBS & TRANSLATOR
Here are a few other helpful tools you can use as needed:
- Dip into the Verbs section to look up individual verb conjugations and quiz yourself
- Use our automatic European Portuguese translation tool (powered by DeepL) to look up phrases and see vocabulary in context
Now let’s move on to the PRACTICE section, where you’ll find all of our episodes…
🍿 SHORTIES, PODCASTS, & VIDEOS
Use the variety of episodes under the Practice section of the menu to really explorarexplore the language. This is your chance to experience how what you’re learning fits into real conversations.
Filter by level or topic to find what suits you best at the moment. You can be more flexible with the Videos: even when they’re above your nívellevel , you have the visual context to help a bit with the meaning.
Note: “Shorties” appear at the end of most Units as part of the course, but there are also hundreds more to explore under the PRACTICE tab, along with the library of Podcast episodes and Videos.
How to Use the Shorties
You can simply listen to the Shorty, answer the quiz questions, and move on, but you might get even more out of it if you get creative and consider your own personal goals.
- For example… Let’s say you just moved to Portugal and you’ve been having trouble communicating when you go shopping. You go to the Shorties page and select the “Shopping” topic tag. You’ve only been learning for a couple months, so you choose A1 for the Level. You click Apply and there’s a list of episodes to help you prepare for your next outing!
In the beginning, we expect you’ll use the Translate feature heavily. These diálogosdialogues are a big step up from learning isolated sentences in the Units. This is importanteimportant , though, because native speakers don’t speak at an A1 level. (If only! 🙃 ) We want to make sure you’re getting exposure to “real” Portuguese from the very beginning. You’ll aprenderlearn much more when you step out of your comfort zone! Over time, you can rely less on the translation and more on the foundation you’ve built.
Once you choose a Shorty to listen to, there are many different ways you can use it as a learning tool. Here are just a few ideas that you can adapt to your own goals:
🗣 DISCUSS
The DISCUSS tab directs you to our community forum where you can connect with other Practice Portuguese members, join a discussion, or ask a question about topics from gramáticagrammar to a culturaculture to tips for moving to Portugal.
🔎 Looking For Something Specific?
When you want to learn about a certain topic or just want to see what else we have to offer, browse the full Site Index, Learning Notes Index, or do a Search.
❓ HELP
If any questions come up, check our FAQs under the HELP tab for instant answers. Reach out if you need further assistance — we’re semprealways happy to help! ❤️
🇵🇹 Let’s Get Started!
Já está!That's it! You just finished your first Learning Note! If you’re already a Practice Portuguese member, you should see a Mark as Complete button below. Click that and then Continue to the next Learning Note where we’ll introduce you to European Portuguese before jumping into the Lessons.
Excellent
First impression is good 🙂🙂
Ooh eager and nervous. The journey begins from South Africa 🇿🇦 to Portugal 🇻🇺
My wife and I are also on the “journey” from SA to Portugal (Portimão). Very excited and find that this learning studio is excellent.
I am so excited to begin it sounds great !
I enjoyed reading through this it sounds so exciting I eager to begin
Ola, Excited to give this a bash…LOL
I’ve gone through all the lessons in all the units and now want to start the whole process over again. Everything is marked as complete though so it will be hard to keep track of where I am this second time through. It looks like I could potentially go through and manually mark each unit as not completed but this could get tedious. Is there a way I could do the equivalent of a “factory reset” for the whole site so it sees me as being a new user?
Yes, we can do a reset! I’ll send you an email 🙂
The reset information might be of interest to other learners as well. Do you have a tips section where you could post it? Obrigrada.
Sure! Here’s how to fully reset your progress: Reset My Progress
Bom
Hoping I can keep up and eventually it will all “click.”
I spent the last year learning Portuguese on Duolingo, not realizing it was Brazilian, when European was what I wanted. I’ll be starting over with your app. Will the small foundation in Brazilian Portuguese make it easier or harder to learn European?
Ops – that actually happens a lot! There are significant differences in pronunciation and in colloquial vocabulary between Brazilian and European Portuguese, but the grammar foundations are similar. I’m sure some of what you’ve learned will carry on 🙂
Thank you so much for the good (clear and slow) pronunciation of words!
can’t wait to begin!
excellent!
Great overview. Thank you.
Very good
Step one of many as we prepare to relocate to PT!
Excited to begin! Want to be able to communicate better with my partner’s family!
Your content looks like a fun way to learn Portuguese!! Thank you!
Did Not read all that stuff asci can’t wait top Dive in
I have been using Busuu and I like it very much but wanted to learn European Portuguese instead of Brazilian Portuguese. I read this happens a lot. My first impression so far is that the course you have is very well set up. I’m very excited to use this and learn European Portuguese. Hopefully what I learned so far will carry over since I am at the B1 level now.
The Getting Started section was beneficial in knowing how to use the different tools. Looking forward to using them.
Ola PP,
About 100 years ago I was a foreign exchange student in Portugal and learned Portuguese very well. I have been living in Norway since 1985 and now speak Norwegian. I have tried (sporadically) to read and practice Portuguese all these years but have forgotten 90% of all I once knew. Now I want to learn it all again and was thrilled to find you, since all the big guys (Babbel etc) only have Brazilian Portuguese. I am looking forward to this new adventure!
Beijinhos, Rebecca
Excited to begin, I lived in Portugal as a boy and have forgotten most of my Portuguese while living in England
Hi, we are a household family of 3 , is it possible to go through the program as a group?
I emailed you from the helpdesk with more info. 🙂
I passed my A1 + A2 and got my certificate, and at present am doing the B1 + B2 and I am really struggling, even to remember some of what I did in the A1+2.
So I am going to start over on this site (I have been paying for it and not using it for so long) I have been very lazy, and expecting to be able to read through things and miraculously be able to speak the language, and I will commit myself to at least 2 hours per day and practice exactly how it has been recommended in the introduction.
Thank you.
Congrats on passing the A2 test! That’s wonderful. I think when you really start to feel the struggle, it’s a great idea to take stock of where you’re at and strengthen your foundation. So don’t be discouraged, this is a normal part of the learning process and it’s great that you’re taking ownership over what YOU need next to start speaking more. Even if you weren’t as focused the first time around, you obviously picked up enough to get a good overview, so now you’re ready to go back in, fill in the details, and challenge yourself along the way.
If you want, email us and we can clear your progress for you to give you a “clean slate”. This is not reversible, and it will clear EVERYTHING across the site, so only request it if you’re sure. But some people find it motivating to have a fresh start. 🙂
I’ve been searching high and low for a course like this one because I am a Canadian-born Portuguese citizen with family in the Azores. I am intending on retiring in the Azores and I want to study Portuguese so that I can communicate clearly with everyone back home in the Azores. Most courses teach Brasilian Portuguese, which is OK, but I already speak quite a bit of European Portuguese and I want to strengthen my European Portuguese. I am so excited to get started! Thanks for creating this.
Olá Cecilia!
Thank you for your message. It’s wonderful to hear that!
Since you already know quite a bit, you’ll get the hang of it very quickly.
We’ll be here to help you whenever you need us.
Welcome and good luck!
Cheers,
Luís
I plan to travel to Madeira soon and intend to stay there for some time. The introduction to this learning suite is very good and I am going to use it as the main platform for my learning. Although I am used to old fashioned book and audio-based learning I can see tremendous advantages in all the different avenues for language acquisition as evident in the intro above.
Thank you for the detailed introduction to the website and program! This is my first step towards moving to Portugal in a few years!!!
It’s thrill to move ahead with everyone! See you in Macao! Looking forward to communicating with others in Portuguese!
It seems very well structured and I’m looking forward to start practicing Portuguese😃
Thank you! Let us know if you need any help. 🙂
I like your platform so much already! Such a brilliant work you’ve done on this!
Ah, just a start on our visit to my wife’s ancestors’ home village! Looking forward to a very well-structured course. As an educator, I appreciate this tight, but flexibly structured adventure.
Sounds good
Really looking forward to exploring this app!
I’ve been trying to pick up the language here in PT but most kindly speak English to me. I’m so glad I finally found a European Portuguese course! Muito bom!
Good so far
Excellent
Looks good. Very indepth.
I can’t find the “mark as complete” button. Im using the free version.
Sorry about that! The Mark as Complete button will only appear for members. That button is used to continue to the next item in the Units, which is usually a Lesson. Non-members don’t have access to the Lessons, so we thought it would be frustrating for you if we kept directing you to a page you can’t access.
To navigate to another Learning Note, you’ll want to return to the main Units page, or you can browse by topic in our Learning Notes index.
If you’re interested, here’s more information about what membership includes.
Thank you for this. I was also confused.
Very informative
I was ready to sign up for annual program but noticed that Practice Portugal would be at the BLiP event in Portimao in a few days so I would have an opportunity to talk with someone face to face. It was such a pleasure to meet Rui and Joel there in person after watching them on my previous 6 flights on TAP Air Portugal. My wife Tricia and I signed up on the spot. So happy to find European Portuguese so we can learn it properly as we begin our journey as Portuguese residents.
Excelente trabalho, pessoal
I want to achive A2 level. I have some exprience but not to much
Let’s go
I want to achive A2 level
The format is so practical and makes sense! Brilliant to already introduce Portuguese words in the introduction. You guys are the best!
Sounds good)
Interesting
This looks like the perfect Portuguese learning tool for me, and I am very excited to to try it out. Duolingo is great, but I really want to learn European Portuguese!
It sounds like the learning application will be helpful and practical
Excited to try
Muito bom
Bien!
Looks good
Looks good. Would like to try.
Nice
Looks very well set up and very complete. Very inviting indeed !
Sound pretty good
Thank you for your useful information
I wish to find what I need in this course
Excellent
Journey has begun
Wonderful!
That’s exactly what I’m looking for without any shortcuts or how to learn from the very beginning with grammar!
Vamos embora 🙂
I don’t understand where the “mark as complete” button is…
You need to be properly logged in in order to have that button available at the end of the Learning Notes and Shorties! Otherwise, it won’t be displayed on your screen.
I am very excited to learn European Portuguese. My mother was born in Portugal, but unfortunately, never spoke it to me and my siblings. I did hear her speak to her relatives and friends, so I’m hoping that I will have an easier time with that. What a great introduction! Helped me alot!
Brilliant, I can see this learning experience is going to be very interactive and fun!
I am moving to Porto from Seattle in 5 months and want to communicate and understand. This is perfect for me
Excited to find European Portuguese and that it’s decided by the CEFR levels which I think are what I need to learn in order to pass the language test for my permanent residency. Hoping, anyway.
This is the only app for European Portiguese. Really thank you!
Cool
Elaborative explanation this already makes me anxious to start the study
Hopefully, it’s a mix of anxiety with excitement? 🙃
Please let us know if you have any questions, we’ll be here to help!
I’m looking forward to beginning!
I am looking forward to trying this out. I have had a hard time finding programs with European Portuguese.
Looking forward to learning
I been searching for a good euro Portuguese app and learning portal. Like most comment there are so many Brazilian, but there is a difference. I am married for a long tome to my beautiful Portuguese wife and can speak a tiny bit but we want to retire here. Hence i am getting my citizenship and only recently learned of the (CEFR or CEFL) structure. I found you guys at the top of google search and after some research and comparisons signed up. Excited to get going. Até logo
Very useful!
Very well explained
Looks well structured
Looks very good
Very good
I think learning and practicing via this app is the best way.
looks very promising.
This app is good for learning Portuguese language
Awsome!
I love it
I’m excited!
I love this app it is very useful for learning European Portuguese
I’m excited
Sounds good, let’s check how it works.
Thanks
Thx
I am impressed. Looking forward to start
Thanks a lot
Thank you!
Ready to roll!
Great
I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the Europen Português app. As someone who is learning the language, I am finding the app to be an invaluable tool. The lessons are comprehensive and easy to follow. It is clear that a lot of effort has been put into making this app an effective way to learn the language.
I am very grateful for the hard work that has gone into creating this app, and I am sure it has made a positive difference in the lives of many language learners.
Great app and i hope it helps me with my learning journey
I AM EXCITED
Really needed to find a European Portuguese app so I am really excited to get started!
This looks promising. I plan to move to Portugal within the next few years. I wanted to learn the language and culture before hand. I also want to finish all my digital Marketing certifications. I hope the hostility towards Americans in expats in general dies down. Portugal has always been one of my favorite vacation spots.
This Portuguese learning program seems interesting and I am excited to have a good opportunity to follow it.
Looking forward to an effective outcome.
Detailed can’t wait to start
Excited to learn!
Good
Looking forward to learning and using this in Lisbon!
I am going to Portugal for the first time in June 2024. I have just started to do my travel planning and to learn about Portugal. After making the decision to go to Portugal my first step is to learn a little about the language. It is daunting to discover that it is sooooooooo different from English (my first language) and other languages with which I have some familiarity such as German, Italian, Spanish and French. I can’t look at a Portuguese word and immediately have a fair idea of how to pronounce the word. I can see that I have much learning to do. Is anyone familiar with the Rick Steves travel guides and with Trish Feaster who does his language classes for travelers? I listened to Trish Feaster’s Italian for Travelers class dozens of times and it really helped me in my travels in Italy. Does anyone know if there is a similar class aimed specifically at traveling? I am guessing that this site (Practice Portuguese) may be the best thing for travel because it focuses on pronunciation. When traveling, it’s extremely helpful and important to be able to exchange basic greetings and to be able to say such things as please, thank you, excuse me, good bye, how much, check please, I would like, and so on. It’s also essential to know the numbers, the days of the week, the months, and the time conventions.
Check out these sections in the Site Index:
– Getting Started
– Pronunciation
– “Dates & Time, Numbers, and Travel & Transportation”
– Cognates unit
Molly, You gave me links to exactly what I need. Thanks so much! Dwight
Muito bom!
Obrigada
Ok, here we go (again!). Not a natural linguist and been trying to improve my Portuguese for quite some time, So now using PP to add a bit of momentum, hoping it helps! 🙂
Let’s start it.
Thank you
Cool
Looking forward to learn
I think it Will be fun
I’ve been working on Castilian Spanish for about a year, but we’ve changed our mind about where to retire. I was not looking forward to starting over with Portuguese, but this site looks terrific and it’s gotten me all excited about it now! I’ll have to rewire all my intuitions about pronouncing the written language, but I can feel that happening a little already. I love the clickable words embedded in the text here, with full and slow speeds — that’s a great learning aid. Let’s do this!
Tudo bem
Ok
I will be fun
Looking forward to learning
Let’s get started!
Vamos!
Awesomeness
Let’s do this
Let’s go!
Sim obrigado
Belle Amazing i love this
Let’s start
👍
My wife and I are Malaysians living in Porto. Excited to learn and to connect with some local friends.
Been on Duolingo for a couple of years and although helpful in learning lots of words, I am worried that I am learning incorrectly by using Brazilian Portuguese. Also, the phrases don’t really relate to what is needed in every day life! I am looking forward to really getting stuck into this and hopefully, finally being able to have a conversation with my lovely neighbours once I have moved to Portugal!
Thanks for your comment. Both Portuguese variants are absolutely legit; you just need to choose which one to learn according to your personal needs. If European Portuguese serves you better, since you’re moving to Portugal, you’ve come to the right place 🙂 Have fun learning with us and feel free to reach out whenever you need help!
Looking forward!
Excited to start
Let’s try
I think its awesome
Great.
I’m excited to practice European Portuguese!
I’m excited to finally be able to write in Portuguese
Im excited thanks guys
Good
looks good
Yaay
This is fantastic! I’ve been watching the videos on YouTube and using some of the free practice resources, but I’m excited about having a more structured process to learn what I need to for my upcoming visit to Portugal. Thanks for your great work!
Sounds good
Great conception
Hi everyone.
I am actually leaving in February 17 2024 I’m nervous but I know I’ll get use to it because I’m still young .
I only discovered this app today I’m know it will be fun .
Thanks Keana
It sounds fun.
Sounds good
I normally avoid apps or most online language learning sites….mainly because you’re paying for content that you find in a book, and they’re usually not particularly entertaining or stimulating.
First impressions of PP are good which is why I’ve subscribed. Enormous amount of content, videos, podcasts, reading and listening…..and grammar…..I’m a grammar nerd so I’m happy 😁 Looking forward to getting started…. vamos! ▶️🇵🇹
Thank you very much for taking the plunge, Rob! We try to provide real added value for everyone, including grammar nerds 🙂 Tip: you might find extra opportunities to dissect Portuguese grammar on our online forum.
Hope you enjoy learning with us. We’ll be around whenever you need us!
Thank you 🙂
Very excited!
Ready to learn Portuguese! Let’s get started
🙂
Can’t wait
Hi, i love this APP it is amazing it teaches you alot.
Let’s do it!
Ready to learn!
Yay!!
Olá
Olá, here we go!
Bon día
Vamos!
tysm!
There are words in the text that give the word in English and Portuguese that open a “pop-up” window where one can hear the word in Portuguese.
I wish the “pop-up” window didn’t cover the word so I could see the word as it is being pronounced.
You can tap directly on the word itself to play the regular speed audio. This will allow you to hear the pronunciation without opening the menu. For the slow speed audio, you will need to open the menu, but after selecting “Slow audio”, you can just tap a blank space elsewhere on the page and the menu will close.