Blog - Speaking Brazilian (2024)

FAQs

What do 99% of Brazilians speak ___________? ›

About 99% of people in Brazil speak Portuguese. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas but it differs from European Portuguese as it's been influenced by German and Italian in the South and the country's indigenous languages.

Brazilian Portuguese (Portuguese: português brasileiro; [poʁtuˈɡe(j)z bɾaziˈle(j)ɾu]) is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide.

The Official Language of Brazil

With each boatful of new arrivals, the language's grip deepened, to the point that modern day Brazil is home to around 205 million Portuguese speakers. At a national level, Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.

Q. Why is Portuguese the official language of Brazil? Ans. It is because Brazil was a colony of the Portuguese.

Officially, Brazilians are not considered Hispanic or Latino because the federal government's definition – last revised in 1997 – applies only to those of “Spanish culture or origin.” In most cases, people who report their Hispanic or Latino ethnicity as Brazilian in Census Bureau surveys are later recategorized – or “ ...

If you are unsure of how many kisses to give, a single kiss with the right cheek touching the other person's is a good place to start. This is the greeting most common in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. In Rio, two kisses are customary. In Bahia, expect to receive three or more kisses!

Brasileira is a female Brazilian and a brasileiro is a male Brazilian. A group of female Brazilians would be "brasileiras"; if there are men in the group, grammar makes you use the male word ("brasileiros").

Brazilians are not only affectionate physically–they are also affectionate in the way that they speak to one another. For example, in Brazil, it's almost rude to end a conversation and not say “beijos” (“kisses”). If the relationship is more formal or professional, then you might hear “abraços” (“hugs”) instead.

Brazilian and European Portuguese have distinct differences. However, they are not dialects of each other because they are both “standard versions of Portuguese” that underwent different linguistic changes over time due to the geographic, cultural, and historical differences,” he adds.

Differences Between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. European and Brazilian Portuguese are mutually intelligible, and those who speak one language can understand the other. While there are many similarities, there are also striking differences in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Can you go to Brazil if you don't speak Portuguese? ›

Yes, it's possible to travel to Brazil without speaking Portuguese. Consider that only about 3% of the world's population speaks Portuguese, but Brazil is the second most visited country in South America. Thus, most tourists navigate trips to Brazil without being fluent in Portuguese.

Portuguese is the official and national language of Brazil being widely spoken by most of the population. Brazil is the most populous Portuguese-speaking country in the world, with its lands comprising the majority of Portugal's former colonial holdings in the Americas.

As of 2019, the population of Brazil speaks or signs approximately 228 languages, of which 217 are indigenous and 11 came with immigrants. In 2005, fewer than 40,000 people (about 0.02% of the population at the time) spoke any of the indigenous languages.

While it's not widely used in Brazil, languages spoken there do include English. Around 5% of Brazilians speak some degree of English, though that's not to say they are fluent.