What is the difference between Brazilian and European Portuguese?

Question

A lot of students ask this question so let me clarify. The major difference is in the accent and the pronunciation of words. Brazilians pronounce all the letters of the written word and sometimes even extends sounds and the European Portuguese " eats" some letters. For instance the word " desculpe" ( sorry) in Brazilian Portuguese would sound like this: ( daish- cool - pee), In European Portughese like this: ( daish- coolp)

In regards to verbs, in Portugal people don't use the gerund for instance: it's raining becomes " está a chover". In Brazil people say " está chovendo".

The vocabulary also offers a few differences, for instance in Brazil, the word for waiter is Garçom, which was adopted from the French garçon ( which means boy). In European Portuguese the word for waiter is "empregado de mesa" ( table employee).

I am able to teach both Brazilian and European Portuguese because I can pick up accents easily. Even around Brazil there are slight accents, people from Bahia speak with a different musicality from the gauchos in Rio Grande do Sul. When I go to Bahia, I enjoy blending in so I speak like a baiana, and when I go to the south I speak like a gaucha. With my classes you will have guaranteed fun!

Answer 1

There is a big diference in the accent. European Portuguese is closer to the Rio de Janeiro pronunciation. The vocabulary can be very different, too. Some differences include the word "fato" which means "suit" (a male outfit) while in Brazil it would be called "terno"; "bicha" (which in Portugal is a "line, queue" and in Brazil is a slang for either a worm or a homosexual); and many others, of which the most curious is "autoclismo" (which sounds very much like the name of a geographic feature but in fact means "toilet flush", which in Brazilian Portuguese is "descarga"!!!).

In terms of grammar, the -ing form (usando) is virtually not used in European Portuguese, in which the infinitive form (a usar) with the preposition "a" in front of the infinitive form of the verb is used in the same sense as "usando" (using) in Portuguese (estou a usar o telefone - I am using the phone). Objective pronouns are usually placed after the verb in European Portuguese (ênclise - use-os [use it or use them]) while in Brazil they are usually before the verb (o use [use it, or use him]) or are completely replaced with the personal pronoun (use ele). But Brazilian people can easily understand European Portuguese people, in spite of all these differences.

I hope I could help you understand the differences a little.