29 Differences Between Spanish and Portuguese (With Audio)

Spanish and Portuguese look very similar on the surface, but those similarities are exactly what cause the most confusion. In this guide about the differences between Portuguese and Spanish, you’ll see where the languages really overlap, where they clearly diverge, and why Spanish speakers often make the same mistakes when learning Brazilian Portuguese.

Instead of literal translations, this lesson focuses on real usage: word order, everyday expressions, and structures that change meaning from one language to the other. You’ll also see common examples that explain why Portuguese vs Spanish isn’t just a matter of swapping words.

To make things easier, the phrases are read out loud, so you can listen to the pronunciation and train your ear while you learn. If you’ve ever wondered whether Portuguese is similar to Spanish, how close they actually are, or how to avoid Portuñol, this lesson will help you understand the differences clearly and naturally.

Explanation – 29 Differences Between Portuguese and Spanish

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[PDF] 29 Differences Between Portuguese and Spanish

Word Order in a Sentence Changes

A lot of times you’ll understand the meaning of each word perfectly, but something still doesn’t feel right. Why? Because the word order changes.

Even though Portuguese and Spanish are very similar, syntax doesn’t always work the same way. That small detail is what creates a lot of doubts and confusion when speaking — and that’s exactly why I recorded this lesson.

Just to be clear: in this video I show only some of the most common differences. The full list is much longer and keeps showing up in real-life communication.

If you want to learn how to avoid these mix-ups when speaking Portuguese, start the free 7-day mini course, where I explain these mistakes step by step and how to fix them.

Phrase Reading (Audio)

Here are a few phrases to practice what you learned in the lesson.

In this Spanish vs Portuguese comparison, you’ll see that a lot of details are very similar — but if you say them the wrong way, it can sound like “Portuñol”.

1. ONE OF TWO – DE DUAS UMA

“De duas, uma” is a very common expression in Portuguese, and it’s basically the same idea as “one of two” in English. You use it when there are only two possibilities and you have to accept one of them — usually in situations of doubt, suspicion, or a logical conclusion.

• De duas uma, ou ele começou a sair com outra pessoa ou não sente mais nada por mim.

2. SOONER OR LATER – CEDO OU TARDE

“Cedo ou tarde” in Portuguese means “sooner or later”. It’s used to say something will happen eventually — even if you don’t know exactly when.

• Cedo ou tarde isso vai acontecer, é algo inevitável.

3. ONE MORE – MAIS UM / MAIS UMA

“Mais um / mais uma” in Portuguese means “one more”. You use it to add one more person, object, or situation to something that already existed.

• Vou querer mais um refrigerante / mais uma pizza.

4. THAT’S HOW IT IS – É ASSIM

“É assim” is basically “that’s how it is”. People use it to confirm something, close an idea, or accept a situation as it is — sometimes with a “welp… that’s life” vibe.

• É assim que se faz.

5. A 10% / 10% – 10%

In Spanish you say “un 10%” because the article is required. In Portuguese, people usually say just “10%” (no article) and the sentence continues normally.

• 10% das pessoas gostaram do filme.

6. EVERY 5 MINUTES – A CADA 5 MINUTOS

• Eu sempre tenho que tá falando com ele a cada 5 minutos pra não fazer barulho.

7. SINCE 2020 – DESDE 2020

• A empresa começou a funcionar desde 2020.

8. SINCE WEDNESDAY – DESDE QUARTA-FEIRA

• Ele tá tentando entrar em contato com a empresa desde quarta-feira e não consegue.

9. TRY TO TALK – TENTAR FALAR / FAZER O POSSÍVEL

• Vamos tentar falar com o gerente pra resolver a situação.

Different ways to say something is damaged, broken, or not working.

10. NOT ALWAYS – NEM SEMPRE

In Spanish you say “no siempre” to mean something happens only sometimes. In Portuguese, you use “nem sempre” with the same meaning — but the way negation is built is different.

• E você sempre compra roupa pra academia nessa loja? - Nem sempre.

11. NEVER AGAIN – MAIS NUNCA

It’s common in Brazil to hear both “Nunca mais” and “Mais nunca”, depending on the context.

• Mais nunca falei com teu primo, como é que ele tá?

12. I JUST SAW THE VIDEO – SÓ AGORA QUE EU VI O VÍDEO

In Spanish you might say “hasta ahora vi el video” to show it happened recently. But a literal Portuguese version like “até agora vi o vídeo” sounds unnatural.

In Portuguese, the natural way is “só agora que eu vi o vídeo”. “Só agora” shows that it just happened.

• Faz 2 anos que estou aprendendo Português mas só agora que encontrei teus vídeos.

13. LIFETIME WARRANTY – GARANTIA POR TODA A VIDA - GARANTIA VITALÍCIA

In Portuguese, “lifetime warranty” isn’t said with a literal translation. “Garantia por toda a vida” is understandable, but the most natural (and most common) option is “garantia vitalícia”, especially in ads, legal terms, and sales language.

• A grande vantagem do produto é que você terá garantia por toda a vida. (vitalícia)

14. EVEN IF IT’S JUST… – NEM QUE SEJA / AINDA QUE SEJA

In Portuguese, “así sea / aunque sea” is usually said as “nem que seja” or “ainda que seja”. Both work for “minimum condition / even if it’s just…”, but “nem que seja” is the most common in everyday speech.

• Recomendo que você veja vídeos em Português nem que seja / ainda que seja 30 minutos por dia.

7 ways to use AINDA in Portuguese.

Different ways to use NEM in Portuguese.

15. ONE MORE TIME – MAIS UMA VEZ

In Spanish you say “una vez más”, but in Portuguese the order flips to “mais uma vez”: first mais, then uma vez. Same meaning, different order.

• Gostaria de visitar o seu país mais uma vez.

16. COULD YOU HEAR ME? – DEU PRA ME ESCUTAR?

In Spanish, people use “¿alcanzó escucharme?” to ask if it was possible (or enough) to hear something.

In Portuguese, that idea isn’t expressed with alcançar. Instead, you use “deu pra”, which shows possibility/sufficiency: “Deu pra me escutar?”.

• Deu pra escutar o que eu falei pra você?

17. DON’T EVEN MENTION IT – SEM FALAR DISSO

In Spanish, “ni hablar de eso” uses ni to reinforce a total refusal or strong “nope”.

In Portuguese, the same idea is expressed with “sem”, showing exclusion: “sem falar disso”, with the sense of “that’s not even part of the conversation”.

• Nossa, os custos dessa viagem estão muito altos, e nem coloquei o custo do transporte na cidade. - Caramba, sem falar disso né.

How to use Longo/Longe and Se/Sim.

18. MARCH 10TH – 10 DE MARÇO

• Qual é a data do seu aniversário? 10 de março.

19. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? / WHAT DO YOU WANT? – O QUE VOCÊ QUER?

• Vamos ao/no/pro shopping, o que você quer que eu traga?

20 irregular verbs in Portuguese.

20. LITTLE BY LITTLE – POUCO A POUCO / AOS POUCOS

In Spanish you can say “de a poco” using the preposition de to show gradual progress.

In Portuguese, you don’t use de. The correct options are “pouco a pouco” or “aos poucos” — same idea, different structure.

• Comecei a aprender Português há 2 meses, tô avançando pouco a pouco / aos poucos.

21. NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT – NADA A RECLAMAR

In Spanish you say “nada que reclamar”, using “que” to introduce what there’s no complaint about.

In Portuguese, the structure changes and you use “a”: “nada a reclamar”, where “a” works as a preposition before the verb.

• Não tenho nada a reclamar da nossa viagem, deu tudo certo.

22. I WENT FOR A WALK – FUI PASSEAR / DAR UMA VOLTA / DAR UMA SAÍDA

In Spanish you can say “fui de paseo” as a completed action.

In Portuguese, that structure isn’t used. The natural options are “fui passear”, “dar uma volta”, or “dar uma saída”, using a verb to express the action.

• Ontem fui dar uma volta /dar uma saída / fui passear com meus amigos na praia.

23. DO SOMETHING DAILY – FAZER ALGO DIARIAMENTE

In Spanish it’s common to say “hacer algo a diario” using the preposition a.

In Portuguese, you don’t use that structure. The natural way is “fazer algo diariamente”, with the adverb diariamente — no preposition.

• Você tem que se alimentar bem e fazer exercícios diariamente pra melhorar sua saúde.

24. DURING THE WEEK – NO MEIO DA SEMANA

In Spanish people say “entre semana” or “durante la semana” to talk about weekdays.

In Portuguese, the most natural option is “no meio da semana”. It’s not a literal translation like entre a semana.

• Muito em breve vou te fazer uma visita, vai ter que ser no meio da semana porque no fim de semana estarei com minha família.

Different ways to use MEIA in Portuguese.

25. TWO THOUSAND TWENTY – DOIS MIL E VINTE

• Vou fazer uma transferência de dois mil e vinte reais pra sua conta.

Words and expressions related to money in Portuguese

26. NEXT WEEK’S FRIDAY – SEXTA-FEIRA DA PRÓXIMA SEMANA

• Vou dar uma passada na sua oficina na sexta-feira da próxima semana.

EXTRA

27. EVERY OTHER DAY – DIA SIM, DIA NÃO – A CADA 2 DIAS

In Spanish, “día de por medio” means something happens on alternating days.

In Portuguese, you say “dia sim, dia não” or “a cada 2 dias”, without translating word for word.

• A recomendação dada pelo doutor foi de tomar 2 pílulas a cada 2 dias.

28. I’VE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR 2 MONTHS – JÁ FAZ 2 MESES QUE TÔ MORANDO AQUI

In Spanish, people often use “llevo + time” to express duration.

In Portuguese, that idea is expressed with “já faz + time que…”, not with a direct translation of llevar.

• Já faz 2 meses que tô (estou) morando aqui e nunca tinha ouvido/escutado essa expressão.

How to use “TER” and “HAVER” in Portuguese.

29. I’LL PICK YOU UP – EU PASSO PRA TE PEGAR

In Spanish you say “yo paso por ti” to mean you’ll go pick someone up.

In Portuguese, you don’t use passar por with that meaning. The natural option is “eu passo pra te pegar”, where pegar means “to pick up / go get”.

• Depois do trabalho eu passo por aí pra te pegar e a gente vai pro barzinho se encontrar com a galera.

Different meanings of PEGAR in Portuguese.

IN SEPTEMBER – EM SETEMBRO

• O aniversário dela é em setembro.

PASSAR PERRENGUE

It means going through a tough situation — uncomfortable, stressful, messy, or complicated. Usually it’s unexpected and annoying, but not necessarily something serious.

• Melhor deixar tudo organizado hoje pra não passar perrengue amanhã nas correrias.

Spanish vs Portuguese: Which One Is Easier to Learn?

Here are a few more differences between Portuguese and Spanish. In this case, I honestly think Portuguese is easier to learn than Spanish — what do you think?

Avoid Mistakes When Speaking “Portuñol / Portunhol”

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Want to see more differences between Portuguese and Spanish? I made a playlist about common mistakes Spanish speakers make when learning Portuguese.