Brazilian Portuguese seems simple at first but surprises many people when they realize it doesn’t “sound like Spanish”. Seriously, I have heard this comment so many times….
If you’re at the point of researching this topic, chances are you’re past that point. Phew. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Portuguese can be just as irregular and complicated as English.
I hope to clear the air on some common mistakes and misconceptions here.
Please note that European Portuguese is pronounced very differently and even has some different grammar.
This post just goes over Brazilian Portuguese mistakes and may or may not apply to its European equivalent.
Feel free to skip ahead to the topic you’re most interested in by clicking below.
Pronunciation Mistakes
Pronouncing a new language will always be tricky and the best way to overcome these challenges is to listen to as much of the language as possible.
Even better, audio books are your best resource. Read along with the audio and repeat out loud what is being read. This is called shadowing.
In the meantime, some common mistakes I hear native English speakers make when speaking Brazilian Portuguese are the following:
Letter R
English speakers always try to either pronounce this like an English R or a Spanish R. It’s neither!
R will either sound like an H (in English) or be a rolled R (like Spanish). To roll your R, place your tongue just behind your teeth and flick it. With practice you’ll get this sound down.
I have overgeneralized a bit when it comes to the sounds here, it’s actually a bit more complicated than this. If you’re a beginner I would just stick to what I just said.
Beginner speakers focus way too much on pronunciation early on (in my opinion).
This is a waste of time because if your vocabulary size is closer to zero than say, 500-1000 you haven’t had enough listening practice to really get an idea of the ranges of sounds available.
If you aren’t a beginner and want to learn more, I found this great in-depth post (with video) from Hacking Portuguese here.
Nasal Sounds
Worse yet, sometimes the meaning will change depending on if it has a nasal tone or not. Depending on what you’re saying you might not want to mix up pão and pau.
When saying M or N next to a vowel, it also produces a nasal sound. It will almost feel like you aren’t “saying” the M or N, as the vowel “carries” the sound with it.
It’s hard to know what I’m talking about without hearing it, so check out this video on the topic here. (It’s not my video, just a great free resource on Youtube).
Letter C
The letter C can sometimes be pronounced as a “K” or an “S”.
If E or I comes after C, pronounce the C as S.
Otherwise, pronounce it as K.
If you want a few more tips on how to pronounce Portuguese, like what Digraphs (LH, CH, etc) sound like, regional accents, and how to read other “symbols” on vowels, check out my short but sweet pronunciation guide right here.
Words that look the same but aren’t
Let’s look at some:
Pretender
You might think this means “To Pretend” but it actually means “To intend”.
Eu pretendo ir mais tarde. = I plan (intend) to go later.
Fingir means to pretend.
Eu finjo* que vou mais tarde. = I’ll pretend to go later.
*(The first person present conjugation is irregular, it is in fact written with j and not g).
Puxar
This is pronounced like (push-ar) so sounds like push. It’s actually the opposite, it means to pull.
Ele puxou seu cabelo em frustração. = He pulled his hair in frustration.
If you find yourself in Brazil, make sure you know the meaning of this to avoid some embarrassment.
Empurrar means to push.
Ele empurrou a porta aberta. = He pushed the door open.
You’ll frequently see both words on door signs.
Suportar
You might think you’re supporting someone if you use the verb suportar, and then immediately receive some stink eyes.
It means to merely tolerate.
Eu não suporto ela! = I can’t stand her!
If you want to give your friend your undying support, use Apoiar instead.
Eu sempre apoio meus amigos. = I always support my friends.
Taxa
If you’re out and about shopping you might see the word taxa everywhere. You could also see juros, which means the same thing. Fees!
Taxa does not mean tax, though in Brazil the tax will always be included in the listed price.
The word for tax is imposto and you will see and hear it less frequently.
Costume
Resist the urge to pronounce this like in English. Costume is pronounced Koh-stoo-mee. This is my best approximation, but definitely use an online dictionary to hear someone say it.
Costume means habit and can be used as noun and verb. (Costumar)
Meu costume é comer às três. = My habit is to eat at three. (Localized translation: I usually eat at three.)
Eu costume malhar cada día. = I usually workout everyday.
If you want to talk about your new Halloween costume (even though we don’t do that as much as in the US) you want to say fantasia.
Este ano minha fantasia será Barbie. = This year my costume will be Barbie.
Lanche
If you’re walking around in Brazil you might see “lanchonete” around many corners. They’ll even advertise “lanches” and you might think, I could go for lunch!
This actually means snack. Depending on the place, a snack could be someone’s lunch though.
They typically will serve “salgados” and maybe some sweets too. If you don’t know what a salgado is, I encourage you to google image search that.
I’m not responsible if you end up hungry.
If you want to grab lunch with someone though, the word you’re looking for is almoço.
Here’s a quick list of common false cognates in Portuguese:
Pretender = to intender Fingir = to pretend
Puxar = To pull Empurrar = to push
Suportar = To withstand, tolerate Apoiar = To support
Taxa = rate, fee Imposto = Tax
Costume = habit Fantasia = costume
Lanche = snack Almoço = lunch
There, Here, This, That
This = Este, Esta, Isto
That = Esse, Essa, Isso, Aquele, Aquela, Aquilo
Here = Aqui or Cá
There = Aí, Lá, Ali
Mas or Mais
Mas means “but” and Mais means “more”. Ok, so why do people get confused? In spoken Portuguese, mas can sound just like mais. In fact when I was very very little I thought they were the same word. That was quickly corrected in my case, but for you it is important to note they are not the same. Mas should sound closer to “mahss” and Mais should sound closer to “mice”. Again, you won’t always hear that being the case depending on the person’s regional accent. Let’s see these words in action:Mas o que você faz em casa todo dia? = But what [exactly] do you do everyday?Eu faço mais do que você! = I do more than you!
Bem, Bom, Boa
All three of these words means “good”. But when should you use each one?
Bem is a masculine noun.
Boa is a feminine adjective and Bom is a masculine adjective.
The difference lies in whether you’re describing something or you are something.
Estou bem. = I’m good.
Ele é uma boa pessoa. = He is a good person.*
Boa is an exception to the normal adjective placement rule. Adjectives normally go after the word they are describing, but not in this case.
O jogo foi bom demais. = The game was very good. (This is kind of slang).
Tudo bem? = How are you? (Literally: Everything good?)
Tudo bom? = How are you?
These are both correct though it might not seem so.
Both the noun and adjective make sense, as the verb “to be” is implied.
These could also be said as “está tudo bom?” or “está tudo bem”?
You cannot use boa with tudo. Tudo boa is wrong because Tudo is masculine and boa is feminine.
Side note, you can respond to tudo bem/bom with tudo bem/bom. Yep, the same phrase. Which one to use is up to you.
Where to go from here
This is just the tip of the iceberg! There are many verbs that people confuse with each other (Poder/Conseguir; Saber/Conhecer) and don’t get me started on prepositions.
If this sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you – fear not! I have written an entire book that teaches you basic Portuguese with just enough, but not too much jargon.
Head over to the Resources page to learn more.