Portuguese is spoken as an official language in twelve countries, and, apart from Portugal itself, Brazil is perhaps the most well-known of these! Just as US English is a variant language of UK English, and Mexican Spanish is a variant of Spanish from Spain, so too is Brazilian Portuguese a variant of that spoken by Portuguese people.
The following facts are about Brazilian Portuguese specifically: how it came to be, how it works, and where and how it thrives. Language is one of the most fascinating tools of humanity – and here’s your chance to learn more!
1. Portuguese was brought to Brazil in the 18th century by Portuguese colonists
It was only in the early 18th century that it became the most commonly used language for trade and commerce. By the end of the 18th century, thanks to expanded colonization and an influx of Portuguese settlers, it had become the official language of Brazil.
2. Brazilian Portuguese is the most spoken form of Portuguese in the world
Between Brazil itself and Brazilian Portuguese speakers in the Brazilian diaspora, it’s spoken by two hundred and eleven million people. The entire Portuguese language with all of its variants is spoken by two hundred and seventy-four million people worldwide. This means that close to 77% speak the Brazilian variant!
3. European Portuguese, African Portuguese, and Brazilian Portuguese, sound different when they are spoken and in their phrasing.
However, when written, the languages are essentially indistinguishable.
4. Because of colonization, slavery, and other invasion attempts, other languages have had a lot of influence on Brazilian Portuguese and offer many loan words.
The three main sources of these are:
| English | |
| Type of word | Examples |
| Technology | Layout, app, mouse, breque (car break), pick-up truck or picap, workshop, bita (beater) |
| Commerce/Finance | Check-in, fast food, self-service, franchise, motel, merchandising, fundo hedge (from hedge fund) |
| Sports | Futebol (European football), surf, skating, time (team), polo, rugby, nocaute (knockout), match point |
| Culture | Gay, ok, boicote (boycott), geek, noob, drag queen, queer lit, goth (or gótita), bullying, coquetel (cocktail) |
| African languages (several) | |
| Type of word | Examples |
| Food | Acarajé (from West African akara); quindim (from Kikongo dikende) |
| Religion | Macumba (from Bantu religion); orixá (from orisha in Yoruba religion) |
| Dance | Samba (from several African languages including Chokwe) |
| Body and illness | Caxumba (mumps), bunda (buttocks) |
| Places | Cacimba (well) |
| Clothes | Tanga (thong, loincloth) |
| Household | Caçula (youngest child) |
| African languages (several) | |
| Type of word | Examples |
| Food | Acarajé (from West African akara); quindim (from Kikongo dikende) |
| Religion | Macumba (from Bantu religion); orixá (from orisha in Yoruba religion) |
| Dance | Samba (from several African languages including Chokwe) |
| Body and illness | Caxumba (mumps), bunda (buttocks) |
| Places | Cacimba (well) |
| Clothes | Tanga (thong, loincloth) |
| Household | Caçula (youngest child) |
They also take many words and concepts from French regarding food, furniture, and fashion, and German and Italian for architecture, food, and the arts.
Finally, there are several small Asian communities in Brazil. From Japanese, they take words like quimono (kimono) and other cultural or food related items. Chinese is similar.
There are also many calques (direct translations of combination words) such as cachorro-quente, hot-dog.
5. Brazilian Portuguese has several common informalities in day-to-day speech
These include dropping the first syllable of the verb estar (to be), dropping several prepositions, lacking second person verb forms, lacking indirect object pronouns, and replacing cujo or cuja (meaning “whose”) with que (“that/which”), amongst many others.
6. The topic of the sentence tends to go first
Rather than “I don’t know where I’m going with Juliana”, it would be more accurately be translated as “Juliana, I don’t know where I’m going with her.” Word order in Brazilian Portuguese can be flexible.
7. Pronouns in Brazilian Portuguese change depending on gender and use
Here are the pronouns with English equivalents. They come in masculine and feminine, where subjects that are neutral tend to default into masculine (including mixed groups of males and females).
| Subject Pronouns | ||
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person |
| Eu | I | Self |
| Tu / você | You | Second person singular (informal) |
| O senhor | You | Second person singular formal (male) |
| A senhora | You | Second person singular formal (female) |
| Ele/Ela | He/she/it | Third person singular, gender-dependent |
| Nós / A gente | We | First person plural |
| Vocês | You (plural) | Second person plural |
| Eles / Elas | They | Third person plural, gender-dependent |
| Reflexive Pronouns | ||
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person |
| Me | Myself | Self |
| Se | Yourself Himself Herself Itself | Second or third person, singular |
| Nos | Ourselves Each other | First person plural |
| Se | Yourselves Themselves Each other | Second or third person, plural |
| Prepositional Pronouns | ||
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person |
| Mim | Me | Self |
| Ti / você | You | Second person informal |
| O senhor | You | Second person formal (male) |
| A senhora | You | Second person formal (female) |
| Ele / ela | Him / her | Third person |
| Si | Him HeItYou (no gender) | Third or second person |
| Nós | We | First person plural |
| Vós / vocês | You (plural) | Second person plural, informal |
| Os senhores | You (plural) | Second person plural, formal, male, neutral, or mixed |
| As senhoras | You (plural) | Second person plural, formal, female group |
| Eles | Them | Third person plural, male, mixed, or neutral |
| Elas | Them | Third person plural, female |
| Si | Them / You (plural, non-gendered) | Third- or second-person plural |
Adding “com” to prepositional pronouns (ex. comigo “with me”, com eles “with them”) shows the position.
There are also the following direct object pronouns:
| Direct object Pronouns | ||
| Pronoun | English Equivalent | Person |
| Me | Me | Self |
| O / a / lo/ la / te | You | Second person singular, gender-dependent |
| O / a / lo / la/ te | Him / her / It | Third person singular, gender-dependent |
| Nos / A gente | Us | First person plural |
| Os / as / los / las | You | Second person plural, gender-dependent |
| Os / as / los / las | Them | Third person plural, gender-dependent |
Final Thoughts
Brazilian Portuguese is not just a “bit different” from Portuguese from Portugal; rather it is a variant language in its own right. As our global understanding continues to grow and cultures begin to combine and work together, it’s more important than ever to retain and celebrate these variants.