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The Portuguese language is about 800 to 900 years old — but like any living language, its roots stretch much deeper into history.

It began taking shape in the 12th century, during a time when the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Portugal and Spain) was a melting pot of Latin, local dialects, and influences from Arabic and other languages brought by invaders and settlers. Portuguese evolved from Vulgar Latin, the everyday Latin spoken by Roman soldiers and settlers after Rome conquered the region around 2000 years ago.

Portuguese evolved from Latin, brought to the Iberian Peninsula by Roman soldiers around 200 BCE. It developed in the region of Galicia and northern Portugal, blending Latin with local Celtic, Lusitanian, and later Germanic and Arabic influences. By the 12th century, it became distinct as Galician-Portuguese, and by the 14th century, it was recognized as Portuguese

Spanish and Portuguese are both Romance languages that evolved from Latin, and they share many similarities due to their common origin. However, they are distinct languages with clear differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and usage. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:

1. Pronunciation

• Portuguese has more nasal sounds and a greater variety of vowel sounds than Spanish. For example:

  • The Portuguese word mão (hand) has a nasal “ão” sound that doesn’t exist in Spanish.

• Spanish is generally more phonetically consistent. What you see is often what you pronounce.

• Portuguese pronunciation varies more between regions, especially between Brazilian and European Portuguese.

• 2. Vocabulary

  While many words are similar due to their Latin roots, others are quite different. For example:

  English	Spanish	Portuguese
  Window	Ventana	Janela
  Thank you	Gracias	Obrigado/Obrigada
  To drink	Beber	Beber (same)

   

  False friends can also cause confusion. For example:

  • Ropa (Spanish: clothes) vs. roupa (Portuguese: same meaning)

  • Embarazada (Spanish: pregnant) vs. embarazada in Portuguese doesn’t exist, but embaraçada means “embarrassed”.

    Grammar

    • Subject Pronouns: Spanish often drops subject pronouns because the verb endings make the subject clear. Portuguese does this too, but to a lesser extent.

    • Verb Forms: Portuguese uses the personal infinitive, which Spanish lacks.

    • Future Subjunctive: Still common in Portuguese (e.g., se eu for), but archaic in modern Spanish.

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    4. Spelling and Orthography

    • Many Portuguese words use “ç” (cedilla) and combinations like “lh” and “nh,” which don’t exist in Spanish.

      • Filho (Portuguese: son) vs. Hijo (Spanish: son)

      • Mulher (Portuguese: woman) vs. Mujer (Spanish: woman)

        Usage and Culture

        • Spanish is spoken in Spain, almost all of Latin America (except Brazil), and parts of the U.S.

        • Portuguese is spoken in Brazil, Portugal, and former Portuguese colonies like Angola, Mozambique, and parts of Asia.

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        6. Mutual Intelligibility

        • Spanish speakers usually find it harder to understand Portuguese (especially spoken) than Portuguese speakers find it to understand Spanish. This is because Portuguese phonetics are more complex and less transparent.

        • Reading each other’s language is easier than listening due to the similarities in vocabulary and grammar.