After learning the rules for conjugating verbs, you may have noticed that certain Portuguese verbs are not spelled the way you would expect… If a verb is spelled and spoken completely differently, this is because it’s an irregular verb. But if it’s still spoken as expected, it probably just means it’s a regular verb with […]
Spelling Variations in Regular Verbs
Portuguese-English Cognates
Learning Portuguese-English cognates is a great way to build vocabulary fast! It’s basically using what you already know to get a jump-start. Cognates are simply words that are very similar in both languages, usually due to a common root. We talked about them in our guide to European Portuguese Shortcuts, as well as our video […]
False Cognates
False cognates, also known as , are words that look and/or sound similar in two different languages, but that don’t actually have the same meaning. In other words (no pun intended), they “trick” you into thinking they are true cognates. Let’s start with what’s most important: making sure you don’t run into any doors when […]
How to Practice Portuguese
Before you jump right in, we wanted to give you an overview of how to use our platform to learn 🇵🇹 ! 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 […]
The Most Common Portuguese Verbs
With so much to learn about the European Portuguese language, it helps to consider what you’ll actually use most frequently. Let’s start off with the top 10 most common Portuguese verbs!
Repetição Espaçada
Spaced Repetition
Learn about Spaced Repetition, a proven memory technique, which members can put into practice with our European Portuguese Flash Cards!
Em Português, Por Favor!
In Portuguese, Please!
Have you ever spoken to someone in Portuguese, only to have them immediately switch to English on you? The path of least resistance may be to just allow the conversation to stay in English, but in this video, Joel has had enough! He decides to keep the conversation in Portuguese, with the help of a […]
Os Amigos e os Falsos Amigos
Friends and Fake Friends
Two friends get together for a conversation and run into some “false friends” (false cognates), leading to a nice teaching moment!
How to Pronounce the Letter X in Portuguese
Compared to some other languages, Portuguese pronunciation is relatively consistent, once you learn the rules. A huge exception to this idea lies the letter X, which is one of the most challenging sounds – even for more intermediate learners.
That’s because this letter can be pronounced in several different ways. To get started, let’s see what Sherlock has to say on the topic:
Mystery of the Disappearing Sounds (in European Portuguese!)
Have you ever been confused by the way Portuguese natives pronounce their sentences? Even if you know the individual words, when used together they can sound completely unfamiliar. This is often because some written vowels mysteriously vanish when spoken. After watching this short introduction video, you can learn more about how to master these concepts […]
Tips & Tools For Learning European Portuguese
In this video, we cover some of our favourite apps, practical learning tips, and discuss some of the mindset challenges our members run into when trying to learn the language. We also answer a question we hear over and over again: “How can I confirm the words I’m learning are used in Portugal and not […]
Open & Closed Vowels in European Portuguese
Many learners find European Portuguese natives much more difficult to understand than Brazilians – mainly because when spoken, it sounds much more closed. In some cases, there are even vowel sounds that are barely audible! (Make sure you already saw the Mystery of the Disappearing Sounds as an entertaining 2-minute introduction!) In this 2nd of our 3 video lessons in this […]
5000 Portuguese Words You Already Know
Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can look a Portuguese word you’ve never seen before, but still understand what it means? Or if you have already had a Portuguese conversation, you may have even successfully guessed a word you had never previously studied, just by changing the ending of an English word. When words are similar in […]
Dicas Para Aprender uma Segunda Língua
Tips for Learning a Second Language
It’s not easy to learn a new language, much less Portuguese, but here are some tips that we think could be useful!
Encontra os Erros! (Entrevista com o Joel do Canadá)
Find the Mistakes! (Interview with Joel from Canada)
Joel’s back, “eh”! He reveals his level of Portuguese after six months of living in Portugal. Find the mistakes and leave a comment!