European vs Brazilian Portuguese words: 25 terms to say the Portugal way

🇵🇹 PortugueseA1–A225 words

If you learned some Portuguese from a Brazilian course, these are the words to update first. Each entry gives the word used in Portugal and the meaning notes the Brazilian equivalent, so you can recognise both and speak the way people do in Lisbon or Porto.

Where you will use it: Switching from Brazilian to European Portuguese.

Portugal words that differ from Brazil — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Portuguese	Meaning and example
o telemóvel	Mobile phone (Brazil: celular).“Deixei o telemóvel na cozinha.”I left my mobile phone in the kitchen.
o autocarro	Bus (Brazil: ônibus).“O autocarro está cheio esta manhã.”The bus is full this morning.
o comboio	Train (Brazil: trem).“Perdi o último comboio para casa.”I missed the last train home.
o pequeno-almoço	Breakfast (Brazil: café da manhã).“O pequeno-almoço está na mesa.”Breakfast is on the table.
a casa de banho	Bathroom; toilet (Brazil: banheiro).“A casa de banho fica no primeiro andar.”The toilet is on the first floor.
o ecrã	Screen (Brazil: tela).“O ecrã do computador está sujo.”The computer screen is dirty.
o frigorífico	Fridge (Brazil: geladeira).“Pus o leite no frigorífico.”I put the milk in the fridge.
a rapariga	Girl; young woman (Brazil: garota).“Aquela rapariga é a minha vizinha.”That young woman is my neighbour.
o sumo	Juice (Brazil: suco).“Este sumo de maçã está fresco.”This apple juice is chilled.
a paragem	Bus stop (Brazil: ponto de ônibus).“Esperamos por ti na paragem.”We'll wait for you at the bus stop.
o rato	Computer mouse (Brazil: mouse).“O rato do computador deixou de funcionar.”The computer mouse stopped working.
o talho	Butcher's shop (Brazil: açougue).“O talho da esquina abre cedo.”The butcher's on the corner opens early.
o passeio	Pavement (Brazil: calçada).“Não estaciones em cima do passeio.”Don't park on the pavement.
o fato	Suit (Brazil: terno).“Ele levou um fato azul à entrevista.”He wore a blue suit to the interview.
a camisola	T-shirt; jersey (Brazil: camiseta).“Comprei uma camisola de manga curta.”I bought a short-sleeved T-shirt.
o peão	Pedestrian (Brazil: pedestre).“O condutor parou para deixar passar o peão.”The driver stopped to let the pedestrian cross.
a montra	Shop window (Brazil: vitrine).“Vi uns sapatos bonitos na montra.”I saw some nice shoes in the shop window.
o guarda-redes	Goalkeeper (Brazil: goleiro).“O guarda-redes defendeu o penálti.”The goalkeeper saved the penalty.
a equipa	Team (Brazil: time).“A nossa equipa ganhou o jogo.”Our team won the match.
o gelado	Ice cream (Brazil: sorvete).“Queres um gelado de chocolate?”Do you want a chocolate ice cream?
a chávena	Cup (Brazil: xícara).“Esta chávena de café é para ti.”This cup of coffee is for you.
a sandes	Sandwich (Brazil: sanduíche).“Trouxe uma sandes de queijo para o almoço.”I brought a cheese sandwich for lunch.
o agrafador	Stapler (Brazil: grampeador).“Emprestas-me o agrafador, por favor?”Could you lend me the stapler, please?
o penso rápido	Sticking plaster (Brazil: curativo adesivo).“Preciso de um penso rápido para este corte.”I need a sticking plaster for this cut.
o descapotável	Convertible car (Brazil: conversível).“Alugámos um descapotável para as férias.”We hired a convertible for the holidays.

Tips for learning Portuguese words

Learn the article with the nounWrite o comboio or a paragem, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Listen before you speakEuropean Portuguese swallows many unstressed vowels, so words sound shorter than they look. Play the audio and repeat each example aloud.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing água, não and amanhã correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

European, not Brazilian Portuguese

Portugal and Brazil share one language but differ in everyday words, pronunciation and grammar: a train is a comboio in Portugal and a trem in Brazil, and "I am eating" is estou a comer rather than estou comendo. WordNest teaches the Portugal variety — example sentences, pronunciation and AI corrections all follow Portugal's norms.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

European vs Brazilian Portuguese: 50 everyday words that differ →How to learn European Portuguese with WordNest →

Questions about this list

Is this European or Brazilian Portuguese?

European Portuguese, as spoken in Portugal. Where Brazil uses a different word, the list gives the Portugal one — for example comboio instead of trem.

How do I practise Portugal words that differ from Brazil?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Portuguese word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose Portuguese as a study language and add these words to your own deck.