Before you can fully access all the wonders Brazil has to offer, you may need to touch up on your Brazilian Portuguese skills. Whether you want to review some key grammar rules, vocabulary words (including slang) or pronunciation, you don’t have to do it alone.
From apps and games to podcasts and video series, here are 19 of my favorite resources for learning and practicing Brazilian Portuguese.
Nemo Portuguese is designed to be used in those spare moments throughout the day that often go to waste, so even the busiest learners can make progress.
Since the app’s native speaker audio can be saved to your phone, you can even get in some practice when you don’t have internet access, like on your next flight.
Want to listen to how you sound? The Speech Studio lets you record yourself to compare your pronunciation to that of a native speaker.
And with the app’s flashcard decks, you can pick up new vocabulary with a strong focus on commonly used words.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized Portuguese lessons.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Portuguese language and culture over time. You’ll learn Portuguese as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
Learn Portuguese + by Vidalingua offers over 100 lessons and more than 4,000 exercises. This combination can teach you important skills and prepare you to use them.
This app focuses mostly onkey phrases you may need, with lessons on topics like greetings, questions, numbers and time. Audio pronunciations are available with multiple accent options, and you can even adjust the speed to your liking and/or level.
Once it’s time to reinforce what you’ve learned, there are plenty of exercises to choose from. You’ll find word jumbles, pronunciation exercises and multiple-choice questions that put your skills to the test.
Looking to expand your vocabulary? With thousands of words covering hundreds of topics like education, business and health, LinGo Play has plenty for you to chew on.
Beginner students can start out with lessons, while more advanced students can jump right in with educational games. And since there are 16 different exercises, you won’t be left doing the same thing every time you study.
LinGo Play is designed to fit easily into busy schedules and can be used for as little as five minutes a day to expand your vocabulary during your downtime.
Games, games, games! Not to bash traditional studying, but there’s nothing quite like a game for a much-needed break that keeps the learning on a roll.
Digital Dialects has plenty of Brazilian Portuguese learning games that fit the bill. These games cover topics like colors, numbers, animals, phrases and more.
You’ll also find spelling games, verb conjugation activities, general vocabulary builders and the like.
Toss the textbook because we’ve got games that’ll take your Portuguese to the next level! Plus, we discuss the gamified approach to learning and how it can help your…
Rocket Languages offers interactive lessons, comprehensive audio recordings and a user-friendly interface. It covers all aspects of language acquisition like vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and culture.
The app’s structured curriculum, progress tracking and exercises will ensure that you can effectively practice and reinforce your skills.
This is an excellent resource for improving your proficiency in the language, whatever your current level.
Thinking about using Rocket Languages? I used it to learn German and Portuguese for a week, and these are my thoughts. Click here to read my full Rocket Languages review…
If you’re looking for the best app to learn Brazilian Portuguese speech, it’s hard to go wrong with PortuguesePod101.
Through a range of engaging content, PortuguesePod101 offers a dynamic learning experience with a focus on practical language usage, cultural insights and vocabulary expansion.
You can access lessons on various topics, track your progress and even join a supportive community to practice and interact with fellow Portuguese learners.
Find out what to expect from Innovative Language’s Pod101 courses in general below.
Innovative Language’s Pod101 courses are very popular in the language learning community. Find out if they’re worth subscribing to with our detailed review and discover…
Through a series of engaging video lessons, Semantica combines real-life scenarios with contextualized language instruction, allowing learners to grasp the language in a natural and practical way.
This resource focuses on conversation skills, vocabulary expansion and comprehension, giving you a well-rounded learning experience. The videos feature native Brazilian actors, providing exposure to different accents and cultural nuances.
BrazilianPodClass has over 550 episodes, each providing 15-30 minute lessons and a written guide you can use to follow along.
With its engaging and informative audio lessons, you can develop your language skills and gain a deeper understanding of Brazilian culture. The podcast covers a wide range of topics including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and cultural lessons.
BrazilianPodClass provides comprehensive lessons that cater to different proficiency levels. The podcast’s interactive format encourages active learning and enables you to practice your listening and speaking skills.
Through one-on-one video lessons, italki allows you to practice conversation skills, receive feedback on pronunciation, improve grammar and vocabulary and gain cultural knowledge from native speakers.
italki also provides a community where you can engage in language exchanges, participate in discussion forums and connect with fellow Portuguese learners.
Read more about italki in this complete review below.
Read this italki review to find out if this language tutoring platform will serve you well on your language learning journey! I’ll explain how it works, the pros and cons,…
Learn101 teaches the alphabet and common adjectives, nouns and phrases. Not only that, but lessons onpluralization, gender, verbs and grammar give you all the information you need when starting out.
This site can help teach you some key phrases that you can use right away. The combination of vocabulary and grammar lessons can also help prepare you for additional studying down the road.
12. Most Flexible Language Exchange Option: Speaky
Using Speaky, you can find a partner and exchange texts with them in their native language.
You can also make audio and video calls to practice speaking with your language exchange partner.
Speaky is a great way to exercise your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills—not to mention enjoy a well-rounded language learning experience.
Writing practice can be almost as hard to get as speaking practice. And if you’re shy, interacting with native speakers via text may be a little more comfortable than speaking to them.
The Slowly app focuses exclusively on written communication.
Through this innovative app, you can send letters to people around the world. You can also enter your interests to help you find a penpal with whom you have more in common.
Tandem is a great option for practicing your skills in real-life conversation with native speakers from Brazil.
The process is as simple as downloading the app, making an account, choosing your desired language and finding people to connect with. It’s a convenient and low-pressure environment to improve your Portuguese conversation abilities.
The platform also has a built-in language correction tool that makes it easy for your new native speaker friends to help you perfect your skills in a friendly way. If you want to take your learning up a notch, Tandem can also connect you with certified language tutors.
Chatting with Brazilians is an immersive, authentic and incredibly effective way to build your language skills. And you never know, you might even make some lifelong friends from these virtual conversations!
Need more info on Tandem? Read this full review below.
Read our full Tandem review if you’re ready to dive into the world of online language exchange. Before you take the plunge, take a look at this Tandem review to find out…
Dicionário inFormal is a fantastic way to learn the most up-to-date vocabulary, including plenty you wouldn’t find in a textbook.
Its popularity among language learners has led the masterminds behind Dicionário inFormal to include an English interface option, too. That way, beginner learners can navigate the app and start getting exposure to real-world Portuguese vocabulary.
Bravolol is a Portuguese-English dictionary and translator app. Here, you’ll find hundreds of thousands of words and phrases, example sentences, audio pronunciations and spelling suggestions for virtually any Brazilian Portuguese word you can think of.
The best part? It’s mostly free, though you’ll have to pay a small fee to remove the somewhat intrusive ads.
Aside from conjugating the most common Portuguese verbs (including the irregular ones) in the past, present and future tenses, Reverso also shows you what they look like in their conjunctive, subjunctive, conditional and gerund forms.
Our full Rosetta Stone for 2024 is here. Read this review to find out whether Rosetta Stone is worth using and how it compares to its competitors! Rosetta Stone once…
19. Best for Immersion in Authentic Brazilian Football: Placar UOL
Brazil’s favorite sport and pastime (i.e., football or “soccer” as Americans would call it) is well-represented in this app.
With Placar UOL, you’ll get exposed to a wide range of Brazilian Portuguese language styles. There’s everything from soccer news articles and opinion pieces to expert commentary to input from social media users. There’s even an interactive element as you can pick your favorite teams, follow their rankings and receive information specific to them.
How to Study Brazilian Portuguese
Use multiple resources
It’s great to start with one resource at first, but using more resources can give you a broader perspective. Each resource has its own style and approach to the language. And if audio tools are available, the voice, accent and inflection of the speakers may also vary significantly.
Practice the four essential components of language
As you study Brazilian Portuguese, try to improve your reading, writing, speaking and listening at the same time to prevent any major weak points in your skillset.
Some resources will be better for practicing one or a combination of these skills. This is another good reason why you should utilize multiple resources.
Study often
If you only study Brazilian Portuguese for one hour on Saturday mornings, there’s a strong chance you’ll forget some of what you learned from week to week. It’s only natural!
Any skill you’re not using can fade. Studying more often can help keep what you’ve learned fresh in your mind and prevent some of the backsliding caused by long gaps between study sessions. Even if you just study for a few minutes each day, it can help keep you on the right track.
Set goals
Full fluency takes time, but setting smaller goals along the way can help you stay motivated and focused. After all, you might not feel like studying some days, but if you’ve made it your goal to learn five new words each day, that concrete goal may be the extra push you need to keep going.
Utilize your Brazilian Portuguese language skills
You’ve probably heard the phrase “use it or lose it,” which definitely applies to learning Brazilian Portuguese. Using the skills you’ve acquired helps to reinforce them, so try to use your newly acquired language skills as often as possible.
Whether you speak to yourself, find a conversation exchange partner, keep a journal in Brazilian Portuguese or enjoy Brazilian Portuguese books and movies, anything you can do to use your skills can serve as extra practice.
Why You Should Learn Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is widely spoken
Portuguese is a very widely spoken language, with around 263.6 million speakers to date. According to the CIA World Factbook, Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America with over 218.6 million people as of 2023.
While Portuguese is spoken in many other countries, Brazil has the largest population of Portuguese speakers. If you’re unsure of which variation of Portuguese to study, Brazilian Portuguese may give you an edge because it’s so widespread.
Learning Brazilian Portuguese connects you with Brazilian culture
Let’s face it: Brazil has a lot to offer. Between the music, dance, sports, food, history and natural wonders, there’s so much to enjoy. When you learn Brazilian Portuguese, you can connect with Brazilian culture on a much deeper level.
If you think you love the culture now, imagine how much greater your affection might be once you understand Brazilian Portuguese!
Learning Brazilian Portuguese helps you learn many other languages
Portuguese is a Romance language, which is the same family as Spanish, Italian, French and more. As such, they have similar grammatical rules and vocabulary. Even if you ultimately decide to learn a different Romance language, what you pick up from studying Portuguese will likely give you a leg up in your future language studies.
