What is the best way to learn Portuguese vocabulary?

Portuguese is a Romance language originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the sole official language of Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Brazil, while having co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau. A Portuguese-speaking person or nation is referred to as “Lusophone” (lusófono). As the result of expansion during colonial times, a cultural presence of Portuguese and Portuguese creole speakers are also found around the world. Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and the County of Portugal and has kept some Celtic phonology and its lexicon. 

With approximately 215 to 220 million native speakers and 50 million L2 speakers, Portuguese has approximately 270 million total speakers. It is usually listed as the sixth-most spoken language and the third-most spoken European language in the world in terms of native speakers. 

We want to help you brush up on your vocab in the most efficient and productive manner. This is why we’re going to guide you through different strategies for increasing your word knowledge.

1. Prioritize those cognates.

Cognates, as you may well know, are words with common origins. Sometimes, you’ll come across false cognates, or “false friends” (i.e., those pesky terms that might deceive you)—but more often than not, they’re incredibly useful for vocabulary acquisition.

Especially when it comes to European Portuguese learning. Both English and Portuguese have a mixture of Greek and Latin roots—meaning there are a lot of similarities between them.

To give you an idea of what to expect, these are some examples you might come across in your studies:

• deliberate = deliberar
• fragile = frágil

2. Go digital with your flashcards.

Electronic flashcards are a great option for learning on the go, as they allow you to easily practice your skills whenever there’s time to kill—on the bus, sitting in a waiting room or whenever else you have a few minutes of quiet time.

Whether or not you use the old-fashioned paper ones, pick up a few apps and online cards. This way, you’ll learn a word’s spelling and pronunciation at the same time, and it will stick better in your mind.

3. Listen to podcasts.

Listening is such an important part of learning.

It’s the one component that helps you grasp your pronunciation, comprehension and vocabulary skills all at once. Everyone will have their own preference for audio resources and exercises, but as far as more straightforward audio options go, podcasts are definitely some of the best language study resources.

4. Read, read and read some more!

Vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension often go hand-in-hand. It’s no accident that some of the best writers and spellers are also the most avid readers.

At the end of the day, the more you read, the more words you’ll learn. Reading is also a fantastic way to expose yourself to different phrases and expressions—which is quite handy when you’re trying to memorize a lot of new terms.

Some materials you can try for regular reading practice in European Portuguese include:

• News sites: Among Portugal’s top news services you can check out TSF, RTP, SIC Notícias.  

• Books: The online realm has made Portuguese literature widely accessible for all who seek it. You can find a number of free books from Luso Livros

5. Use dictionaries that provide additional context and reading.

While you’re learning and exploring new words, it’s helpful to use dictionaries that provide additional context for words and/or encourage further reading. Each of these has its own interesting qualities to share:

• Linguee is the go-to if you want to see how each translated word is applied in a sentence—along with offering a definition, the site also sources different passages from the web that use the term or phrase you’re looking up.

• Lexico.pt is a more traditional choice, with a list of popular words on its home page, plus a comprehensive breakdown of each definition that includes synonyms, some antonyms (that’s word-dependent), syllabic breakdowns, as well as quotes and news passages with the term in it.

6. Keep a written record of vocabulary you’re learning.

As you listen to and read authentic material or material for learners, taking notes can be a powerful memory aid and can help you fine-tune your spelling skills.

For this study strategy, either paper or digital records are fair game. However, those who opt to keep things electronic will need to follow one simple rule: No copying and pasting! Trying to shortcut things will not help you learn, period.

7. Write down words in the context of full sentences/phrases.

Here’s a strategy that will help make your vocab “stick”: Make it your priority to learn full sentences rather than single-word clusters. Not only will it enable you to broaden your linguistic scope a lot more quickly, it will also help you get a bigger-picture glimpse of how each word is applied in the real world.

8. Group vocab in categories.

The first thing to keep in mind with your note-taking is that you shouldn’t be jotting down words randomly. That will just make it really confusing to follow—not ideal when you want to refer to your vocabulary list later.

Instead, try categorizing each new term, phrase or sentence according to a specific theme. For example, if you’ve learned something new from a podcast about a Portuguese family, you might add the relevant vocab with example sentences to a list under “family members,” “household” or “daily conversations.” 

9. Avoid learning synonyms and antonyms together.

One last tip about word grouping: Try to avoid listing synonyms and antonyms together. While it’s good to know your opposites, putting them side-by-side when you’re still trying to verse yourself with what they mean could actually work against you.

Now that you have plenty of strategies to boost your vocab knowledge, it’s up to you to put them into practice!

Have fun exploring these new resources as you master European Portuguese words, sentences and conversation.

The above-said methods are very much effective for learning German vocabulary. You can even try out more innovative methods for learning German vocabulary. For learning German language course you can trust Multibhashi‘s online language learning classes. You can book Portuguese courses with Multibhashi for better results.

All the best!