The differences between Spanish and Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese are two of the world’s most spoken languages. They fall into the branch of Romance languages called West Iberian, or Hispano-Iberian, which has many variants and dialects that, to a certain degree, are understood by all speakers within the branch. Examples are Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, the many varieties of Spanish spoken in the Americas, and Andalusian Spanish.
Despite the close relationship between Spanish and Portuguese, there are important differences, too. If you already speak one and would like to learn the other, you could come up against a number of problems.
The table below shows some significant differences between Portuguese and Spanish:
| Portugees | POR => ENG | Spaans | SPA => ENG |
| Abono | deposit, allowance, compensation | Abono | subscription, fertilizer |
| Aceite | admitted, accepted | Aceite | olive oil |
| Acordar | wake up | Acordar | remember, agree |
| Acreditar | believe | Acreditar | show |
| Apelido | nickname | Apellido | surname |
| Balcão | counter | Balcón | balcony |
| Barata | cockroach | Barata | cheap |
| Borrar | stain, soil | Borrar | remove |
| Borracha | rubber | Borracha | drunk |
| Botequim | bar | Botiquín | First Aid box |
| Cena | scene | Cena | dinner |
| Cola | glue | Cola | start, queue, line, glue |
| Embaraçada | confused | Embarazada | pregnant |
| Engraçado | funny | Engrasado | greasy |
| Esquisito | strange, odd | Exquisito | excellent, delicious |
| Fechar | close | Fechar | date |
| Ganância | ambition | Ganancia | profit, gain |
| Oi | hello, hi | Hoy | today |
| Largo | wide | Largo | long |
| Latido | barking | Latido | heartbeat |
| Ligar | call (telephone), join, bind | Ligar | flirt |
| Logro | deception | Logro | success, climax |
| Mala | suitcase | Mala | bad |
| Ninho | nest | Niño | child, little boy |
| Oficina | workshop | Oficina | office |
| Osso | blunt | Oso | bear |
| Polvo | octopus | Polvo | powder |
| Prender | arrest | Prender | turn/switch on the light |
| Rato | mouse | Rato | at a given moment |
| Risco | risk | Risco | cliff |
| Salada | salad | Salada | salt |
| Solo | ground | Solo | alone |
| Taça | glass of wine, champagne, etc. | Tasa | tariff, fee |
| Tirar | take away, undress | Tirar | throw away, kick, aim, open (a door) |
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This article was written by Language Institute Regina Coeli, a leading language institute in the Netherlands—also known as ‘the Nuns of Vught’. Every year, we welcome more than 3000 students from every corner of the world—people who want to learn a foreign language thoroughly and quickly. Students choose us because they get results.
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