A Complete Guide to Which Countries Speak Portuguese

Which countries speak Portuguese (and where can you practice your language skills)?

Where could your language lessons take you? Travel to Europe, South America, and beyond to discover which countries speak Portuguese all over the world.
George Chilton

Have you ever wondered where Portuguese could take you? Besides Portugal, there are other countries and territories that speak Portuguese as an official language. You can hear it from the busy streets of São Paulo to the lowlands of Mozambique and the mountains of Timor-Leste.

Read on to find out which countries speak Portuguese and how they’ve put their unique stamp on the language.

Where is Portuguese spoken?

Portuguese is the ninth most widely spoken language in the world. There are over 250 million Portuguese speakers across different countries, both native and non-native.

If ninth place doesn’t seem impressive, remember that there are over 7,000 languages throughout the globe.

There are eight countries that speak Portuguese as an official language besides Portugal: Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and East Timor.

But you don’t have to be in these countries to hear Portuguese. There are thousands of Portuguese speakers in countries such as France, the U.S., and Canada.

The language is so popular that Portuguese-speaking countries have their own national day on May 6.

European Portuguese dialects

Where better to start than Europe, the birthplace of the language?

European Portuguese is known for its musical intonation. Here, people usually don’t pronounce their vowels, which makes them sound more rhythmic than other dialects. For example, they may not pronounce the final “o” in some words, so “gato” would sound closer to “gat.”

Some Portuguese speakers find the European dialect somewhat conservative. For example, this dialect tends to make a clear distinction between the informal “tu” and the formal “você” second-person pronouns, with the formal version being used more frequently than Portuguese dialects outside of Europe.

Read more about the differences between the two most popular dialects of Portuguese in our article, “Brazilian Portuguese vs. Portugal Portuguese: What are the differences?

Over time, a few dialects have developed within Europe:

Northern Portugal Portuguese

People in Northern Portugal are known for their strong, guttural accent. They pronounce the “r” at the beginning of words much more strongly than other dialects.

Want to pick up some Northern Portuguese slang? You can say “bacano” if you find something cool.

Central Portugal Portuguese

Pronunciation is softer and clearer elsewhere in Portugal. You’d say “fixe” instead of “bacano” to say that you like something. You can also try a casual “está-se bem” (everything’s fine) if someone asks how you are.

Barranquenho

There’s a town on the Spanish-Portuguese border called Barrancos that speaks a mix of the two languages. For example, instead of saying “nos” (we), they say “nusotrus,” similar to “nosotros” in Spain.

South American Portuguese

Next up we have South America, which is the continent with the largest number of Portuguese speakers in the world.

Brazilian dialects

Brazil is the only country with Portuguese as an official language in South America; nearly all of its neighbors are Spanish-speaking.

Brazilian Portuguese is known for its more lyrical sound and open vowels. The language is generally more phonetic (and easier to read) compared to European Portuguese. For instance, the word “deus” (God) is pronounced more like “day-us” in Brazil, compared to “deush” in Portugal.

Like Europe, several South American Portuguese dialects have developed over time. Here are some slang terms from the different regions you can try out:

Dialect

Region

Slang examples with translation

Carioca

Rio de Janeiro (city)

mermão (brother), beleza (all good)

Paulistano

São Paulo (city)

mano (dude), bicho (guy)

Nordestino

Northeast Brazil

oxente (expression of surprise), vixe (wow)

Gaúcho

State of Rio Grande do Sul

bah (expression of surprise), tchê (friend)

Mineiro

State of Minas Gerais

uai (expression of surprise), sô (mate)

Nortista

Northern Brazil

égua (expression of amazement), mano (brother)

Fluminense

State of Rio de Janeiro

moleque (boy), sinistro (cool)

Baiano

State of Bahia

rei (friend), colé (what’s up)

Portunhol

Many communities along the Brazilian and Uruguayan borders speak Portunhol (also known as Portuñol). It’s a blend of the Portuguese and Spanish languages. If you visit the towns in this region, you’ll notice they roll the “r” instead of making a guttural sound. Also, unlike many other Portuguese dialects, Portunhol speakers pronounce the “l” sound at the end of words.

African Portuguese dialects

Bantu is a group of languages from Africa that includes Zulu and Xhosa. As people often speak both Bantu and Portuguese, they’ve begun to use some vocabulary interchangeably.

For instance, speakers of either language may say “machamba,” meaning a small farm or garden, or “xibalo,” referring to a traditional dance. They also use some common Portuguese words differently. An example would be “bazar,” which in Mozambique can mean to leave or to go out. On the other hand, in Portugal, it refers to a market (or a bazaar, in English).

Arguably, the most famous example of a Bantu word is “kizomba.” You may have seen advertisements for these exercise classes. The music and dance originated in the 1980s in Angola from a combination of Sema, Zouk, and other influences. The word “kizomba” comes from Kimbundu, a Bantu language, and means “party” or “dance.”

Creole Portuguese

Many places across the world speak Creole Portuguese, which is a blend of several languages. People from Portugal and Brazil say they can usually get the gist of Creole but might miss a word or two.

One of the most popular forms of Creole is from Cape Verde. Looking at the following phrases, you can see how the structure is similar to Portuguese but uses distinct vocabulary:

Cape Verdean Creole

Portuguese

English

Cumo é ki ta txoma?

Como te chamas?

What’s your name?

N sta fixe.

Estou bem.

I’m fine.

Undi bu bai?

Onde vais?

Where are you going?

Bu krê come?

Queres comer?

Do you want to eat?

Kuántu bu teni?

Quantos anos tens?

How old are you?

Bu teni sêde?

Tens sede?

Are you thirsty?

Bu podi ajudam?

Podes me ajudar?

Can you help me?

Asian dialects

There are some Portuguese speakers on the Southeast Asian islands, notably Timor-Leste. People often borrow words from Tetum, a local language, which can make the dialect tricky to understand. For example, in the Timorese dialect, you might hear “obrigadu barak” – ”obigradu” from the Portuguese for “thank you” and “barak” from the Tetum for “a lot.”

Want to find out more ways to show your gratitude? Read our article on how to say “thank you” in Portuguese.

Portuguese is everywhere!

It’s not a stretch to say that Portuguese is a world language. No matter where you go, you’re likely to hear people speaking one of the different Portuguese dialects.

So, if you’re thinking about where to travel to practice your conversation skills, you have many choices. You could pass through Portugal on a European trip, relax on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro, or take a tour through Western Africa.

With Preply, no matter which Portuguese dialect you want to learn, you’ll find a tutor. We have experienced tutors from all over the world. Check out our language learning resources or book a Portuguese lesson on our website today.

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George Chilton first started teaching English in 2007, in Wonju, South Korea. Since then, he’s bounced between Barcelona and Medellín - where he moved into freelance writing, translation, and ELT materials design. He now spends his time playing with his son, writing about himself in the third person, and sometimes even trying to run a business.

George Chilton first started teaching English in 2007, in Wonju, South Korea. Since then, he’s bounced between Barcelona and Medellín - where he moved into freelance writing, translation, and ELT materials design. He now spends his time playing with his son, writing about himself in the third person, and sometimes even trying to run a business.

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