Portuguese vs. Spanish: Are They Mutually Intelligible?

A common question we get is: "I took Spanish in high school, so Portuguese should be easy, right?"

The answer is: Yes, for reading. No, for listening.

The Lexical Similarity: 89%

Written down, Portuguese and Spanish share about 89% of their vocabulary.

• Spanish: Buenos días, ¿cómo estás?
• Portuguese: Bom dia, como estás?
  It looks almost identical. If you can read Spanish, you can read a Portuguese newspaper and understand the gist.

The Pronunciation Barrier

This is where students get shocked. Spanish is a syllable-timed language with 5 clear vowels. European Portuguese is a stress-timed language with upwards of 14 vowel sounds.

• Vowel Reduction: Portuguese speakers "swallow" unstressed vowels. The word Excelente is pronounced clearly in Spanish ("Ex-ce-len-te"). In Portuguese, it sounds like "Sh-lent".
• The "J" and "Z": In Spanish, these are harsh, throaty sounds. In Portuguese, the "J" is soft (like the 's' in "measure").

False Friends

Be careful! Some words look the same but mean different things.

• Embarazada (Spanish): Pregnant.
• Embaraçada (Portuguese): Embarrassed.
  (Do not mix these up on a first date!)

The Verdict

Spanish speakers have a huge head start on grammar and vocabulary, but they often struggle the most with pronunciation because they try to apply Spanish rules to Portuguese sounds.