What Languages Are Spoken In Brazil? (Find Out!)

The official language of Brazil is Portuguese. Around 97% of the population speaks the language. Additionally, it is joined by Brazilian sign language as the primary dialect of the state.

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in South America, housing half of the continent’s population with over 200 million residents.

As the world’s fifth-largest country in land mass, it plays a pivotal role in South America both culturally and economically.

Often associated with vibrant colors, carnivals, soccer, and iconic beaches, Brazil’s linguistic history is lesser-known.

Since Portuguese explorers arrived in the 1500s, making it part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese has remained its dominant language.

This article delves into the languages spoken in Brazil.

In This Article

What Languages Are Spoken In Brazil?

What are the top 3 languages in Brazil?

The top three languages in Brazil are based on the number of speakers representing the dialogue.

The most spoken languages spoken in Brazil are:

Portuguese– 208 million speakers. Portuguese is the most spoken language in the country. Around 97% of the nation speaks the dialect. Portuguese is an Indo-European language. It is distantly related to Ukrainian, Slovak, Croatian, Lithuanian and other languages. This is the most spoken and official language of Brazil.
English– 8 million speakers. More than 8.5 million Brazilian residents can understand English. Statistics indicate that 5% of the population can understand English. There is no saying what the actual fluency of English is in Brazil; however, it is one of the more familiar languages in the country.
Spanish– 8 million speakers. There are a similar amount of people who can speak Spanish in Brazil as there are English speakers. This amounts to around 4% of the population. Since Spanish and Portuguese are related, some people get mixed up. The two languages share similarities in vocabulary, but often the pronunciation is completely different.

These three languages represent the most spoken dialects in Brazil.

Portuguese is the most known, unsurprisingly, as it is the country’s official language.

Are there any indigenous languages in Brazil?

Brazil’s indigenous people speak a variety of discrete languages.

Some academics say that the most unique language among the native people is Tupian.

Tupian was the primary language of native Brazilian people before European contact.

Indians and Portuguese traders used this language to communicate.

It was used widely in Brazil until the 19th century.

The Tupian language is also why Brazilians enunciate clearly and have a nasal accent.

Are there any Minority Languages in Brazil?

Brazil is home to many minority languages which have found their way to the country via migration.

Here are some of the minority languages in Brazil:

Japanese- Brazil is home to the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan. There are 1.5 million Brazilians who hail from East Asia. Many Japanese people are second and third-generation migrants. This means that the majority have taken Portuguese as their mother tongue. Therefore, you will find people from Japan mainly living in Sao Paulo. There is even a newspaper in Japanese; it has been published since 1945.
French- The country is home to a small number of French speakers. 30,000 French people are living in Brazil. French speakers usually reside in Sao Paulo or Rio De Janeiro.
Vlax Romani- There are, according to studies by People Groups, 354,000 Vlax Romani in Brazil. They comprise a worldwide community of 1.2 million people, spanning 21 countries.

Is Portuguese hard to Learn?

Portuguese is a romance language similar to Spanish.

It is widely spoken around the world, and it is relatively straightforward for English speakers to learn.

As we have said, Portuguese is a romance language.

This means that it is similar to Latin and Spanish.

This is a crucial reason why Portuguese is easy to learn.

Many Portuguese words have the same pronunciation as English.

Even if you can only speak one language, there are many familiar words and pronunciations in Portuguese.

Are Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese in Portugal the same thing?

Whilst the two versions of Portuguese have similarities, they sound different and have grammatical differences.

For example, Brazilians speak vowels longer and broader.

Contrastingly, Portuguese people pronounce words with a closed mouth.

Vowels are less enunciated.

They also say the letter ”s” at the end of the word differently.

For example, in Portugal, an ”s” at the end of a word is pronounced ”sh”. In Brazil, it is pronounced as ”ss”.

This variation may seem slightly irrelevant, but when you hear the difference- it is pretty clear that the two versions are unique.

The accent changes dramatically because of the vowels.

As a result, Brazilians sound clearer and better sounding.

Portuguese in Portugal can sound like the words are being garbled because the vowels are close together.

Sometimes, words are spelled differently in the two versions of Portuguese.

In Brazil, there is often a ”p” in words.

Other words may have a ”p” in the European and Brazilian spelling, but it is only pronounced in Brazil.

Overall, these differences make the Portuguese unique in both Europe and Brazil.

The two versions can likely understand each other, yet in reality, they may sound wildly different.

Brazil is a country home to color, passion, and a stunning vibe.

Whilst Portuguese may be the primary language today, the nation has a history of indigenous languages.

More in Regional Languages

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!