Is Portuguese hard to learn?

Difficulty depends on how different a language is from your own. For a native English speaker, Portuguese falls in the closest to English band, which follows the US Foreign Service Institute's groupings of 24-30, 36, 44 and 88 weeks of full-time class. Languages the Institute does not rank are placed beside their closest relatives, so treat this as an estimate.

Easier if you already know Spanish or French. Pronunciation is the harder part, especially the nasal vowels and the way unstressed vowels shrink.

Languages in the same band include Spanish, Mexican Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch.

• Portuguese uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.
• Motivation. A trip, a partner, a job or a show you love will carry you further than a small difference in difficulty.
• Speaking from day one. Sentences you say out loud stick far better than words you only read.
• Short daily practice. Consistency beats intensity.

Nasal vowels, as in ão and ões, are the sounds that most often catch English speakers out. Hear them, then say them aloud and check how close you were.

Go deeper with most common Portuguese words, and useful Portuguese phrases.