Differences Between Portuguese Spoken in Portugal And Brazil

The origin of the Portuguese language occurred during the Late Middle Ages as a blend between Barbarian languages and Latin. It started being spoken in the County of Portucale in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the Galician-Portuguese region. This region was a target of wars against Muslims and was colonized by Celts before Roman influence. Therefore, in addition to Latin, Portuguese influences came from Celtic and Arab elements.

How did the Portuguese language arrive in Brazil?

Portuguese arrived in Brazil in the 16th century during its “discovery.” It is estimated that there were at least a thousand languages in the country, and subsequently, Africans from diverse cultures were brought as slaves. Due to this diversity and for political and commercial reasons, Portugal prohibited the use of other languages and imposed Portuguese as the official language. Brazilian Portuguese emerged from this mix of cultures (Portuguese, Indigenous, and African) and is, in fact, the most widely spoken variant in the world.

There are quite striking differences between the language spoken in Portugal and in Brazil. When speaking Brazilian Portuguese, there is less adherence to theoretical grammar, tending to be more informal.

Grammatical differences between Portuguese spoken in Brazil and in Portugal

Pronouns

In Portugal, “tu” (you) is used for the second person (tu fazes, tu és.../you do, you are), and “você” (you) in more formal situations, conjugating it in the third person. In Brazil, both pronouns exist, but “você” is more generalized and is conjugated in the third person (você faz, você é), whereas the pronoun “tu” is also conjugated in the third person (tu faz, tu és...). Therefore, there is no agreement between the pronoun and the conjugation. In Brazil, when you want to express yourself more formally, “senhor” (Mr.) or “senhora” (Mrs.) is used.

Example:

A senhora pode me passar o sal? (BR)
Can you pass me the salt?

(Você) Pode me passar o sal? (PT)
Would you please pass the salt?

In both variants, the pronoun “vocês” refers to the third person in the plural. However, the Portuguese use the oblique pronoun in the second person plural, “vos,” to refer to the third person, while Brazilians use the oblique pronoun in the third person plural, “lhe.”

Já vos disse para fazer os trabalhos de casa! (PT)
I already told you to do your homework!

Já lhes disse para fazerem o trabalho de casa! (BR)
I already told you to do your homework!

However, this sentence would sound very formal in Brazil. Therefore, it’s more common to say:

Já disse para vocês fazerem o trabalho de casa! (BR)
I already told you to do your homework!

The position of the oblique pronouns in Portuguese from Portugal is always after the verb, followed by “-” (vi-os, dei-lhes...), except in negative sentences (não os vi, não lhes dei...), interrogatives (quem os viu? quem lhes deu?), or after some adverbs (já os vi, ainda os vi...). In Brazil, the oblique pronoun is always before the verb, and often we replace it with personal pronouns like “ele” and “ela.”

Ontem vi-os e dei-lhes um presente. (PT)
Yesterday I saw them and gave them a gift.

Ontem eu os vi e lhes dei um presente. (BR)
Yesterday I saw them and gave them a gift.

Ontem eu vi eles e dei um presente para eles. (BR)
Yesterday I saw them and gave them a gift.

The third option is less formal but more commonly used in Brazil.

Prepositions

Another difference is in the use of prepositions:

In Portugal, it’s “Dar algo A alguém” (Give something TO someone).

In Brazil, it’s also “Dar algo A alguém” or “Dar algo PARA alguém” (Give something TO/FOR someone).

In Portugal, it’s “Ir A algum lugar” - Go TO someplace.

In Brazil, it's “Ir A/EM algum lugar” - Go TO/IN someplace.

Vocabulary

In Brazilian Portuguese, there are four ways to write why/because, while in Portugal, there are only three.

“Porquê” is used in two different situations: as a masculine noun when we want to refer to the reason for something, synonymous with “motivo” or “razão.”

Example:

Não entendi o porquê de tanta tristeza.
I didn’t understand the reason for so much sadness.

It is also used as a standalone word when we want to ask the cause of something.

Example:

Não quer falar comigo? Porquê?
Don’t want to talk to me? Why?

“Porque” without a circumflex accent is used in questions and answers when there is a verb following.

Example:

Porque fazes isso?
Why do you do that?

Porque faz bem para a saúde.
Because it’s good for health.

“Por que” is used in questions when a noun follows, synonymous with “por qual.”

Example:

Por que caminho ela foi?
By which route did she go?

In Brazil, “por quê” is used at the end of the sentence.

Example:

Por quê?
Why?

“Por que” without an accent and separated is used to form interrogative sentences at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.

“Porquê” with a circumflex accent is used as in Portugal, synonymous with “razão” or “causa.”

Example:

Eu não sei o porque ela não gostou do presente.
I don’t know the reason she didn't like the gift.

“Porque” is used to answer questions.

Example:

Ela não gostou do presente porque ficou grande.
She didn’t like the gift because it was big.

Gerund

The use of the gerund verb also differs in both variants. In Brazil, it is used consistently, whereas in Portugal, in situations where the gerund would be used, “a + verb in the infinitive” is used instead.

Example:

Estou escrevendo um livro. (BR)
I’m writing a book.

Estou a escrever um livro. (PT)
I’m writing a book.

In Portugal, the gerund is used to refer to actions in the future to give a sense of continuity.

Example:

Vamos nos falando.
We’ll keep talking.

Conclusion

As one can observe, there are numerous differences between the language in Brazil and in Portugal. Besides the listed examples, there are many others, such as word meanings, pronunciation, accent, etc. Therefore, before starting to study Portuguese, it’s very important to understand a bit about the subject and choose the variant that best suits your needs.