European Portuguese Guides

Everything here is written specifically for European Portuguese — the language actually spoken in Portugal. That matters more than most learners realise: nearly every big-name app teaches Brazilian Portuguese, and the pronunciation, grammar and everyday vocabulary differ enough that months of study can leave you unable to follow a conversation in Lisbon.

These guides are free, with no sign-up. If you're not sure where to begin, start with how to learn European Portuguese — it lays out the full roadmap and links onward to everything else.

Start here

Learn by CEFR level

The CEFR framework (A1 to C2) is the standard way to measure language ability in Europe — and it's what Portuguese citizenship is assessed against. A2 is the level you need for citizenship.

Core language skills

The building blocks. If listening is your weak point — and for European Portuguese it usually is — start with pronunciation and listening practice before grammar.

Moving to Portugal

The practical side: visas, residency, the language requirement for citizenship, and what daily life actually asks of your Portuguese.

Regions, towns and daily life

Where to actually live, and what each part of Portugal is really like. Start broad with the regions, then narrow down.

Schools and family

The practical side of moving with children: how the Portuguese school system works, what international schools cost, and the order to do everything in.

Learning Portuguese from your first language

What's hard about Portuguese depends enormously on the language you already speak. These guides cover the specific obstacles, the advantages you may not realise you have, and the cultural differences that matter as much as the grammar.

Visas, paperwork and moving from outside the EU

Non-EU nationals face a different process: a national visa before you travel, apostilled documents, and an AIMA appointment after you land. These guides cover the sequence, the paperwork and the country-specific detail.

Practise for free

Reading about a language only takes you so far. Our free Portuguese games give you 80 levels across four games — word matching, word building, sentence building and numbers — with no account needed and progress saved in your browser.