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Portuguese Life – Differences Between Brazilian and Continental Portuguese

posted on April 8, 2013

After leaving Brazil at the end of the year, I didn't end up staying in California for long. In fact, a few months in, I left for Lisbon. Living abroad is something I'll probably always continue to do because, once you do it, it's hard to stop. I find that people generally have the wrong idea about it, but then again, maybe my circumstances are merely different. I don't work in an office, I don't care about being rich, and I don't have a family (wife and kids). But enough about me, I'm here to shed some light on living in another Portuguese-speaking country.

It's a nice feeling to touch down in a foreign place and know the language won't be an issue. On the flip side, the accent is quite different (it still catches me off-guard sometimes), as is the syntax/grammar and preferred word choices. People speak with a mouth that's more closed than open and there's a lot of "chiado" (basically, a hissing sound) when they talk. Cariocas are also known for their use of chiado but where a Carioca would say "maish" for "mais", a Portuguese would say "mâsh". A Brazilian might say "key" for "que" while a Portuguese would say "kuh" in most cases. Yet another example would be "pela", where Portuguese people will "eat" the "e", making it sound like "pla".

Syntax and grammar-wise, where a Brazilian would say "está chovendo" for "it's raining", a Portuguese would say "está a chover". Another major difference is the use of the enclisis (ie, "Eu quero-te bem" vs. the Brazilian use of the proclisis, "Eu te quero bem"). Many times when "lá" (there) is used, it's put at or towards the beginning of the sentence, rather than at the end (the Brazilian way).

As for word choices, there are quite a lot of differences, though Portuguese people will understand pretty much everything you say if you speak like a Brazilian. Here's a breakdown of several words starting with the word in English, then Brazilian Portuguese, then Continental Portuguese:

Trolley – Bonde – Eléctrico

Mall – Shopping – Centro comercial

Funny – Engraçado – Piada
(Ex., "Não tem piada" / "Não acho piada.")

Bus – Ônibus – Autocarro

Cell phone – Celular – Telemóvel

Bathroom – Banheiro – Casa de banhos

In Part Two, I'll be writing about non-language related differences between Brazil and Portugal. Stay tuned!

 

Related Articles

Portuguese Life – Part 2

Pray for My Portuguese

Life in the Favela – Part 1

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About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

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