Portuguese vs Spanish

[Doughbelly]

Not too much, as an Argentine, I can't really understand it. It's just another language, there are far more differences than similarities. As for Portuguese, forget it. Brazilian Portuguese and won't even bother with the European. I hear Brazilian have problems understanding the Europeans, since the Europeans don't open their mouths when they speak.

That's not true at all. In the grand scheme of languages, Portuguese and Spanish are much more similar than they are different and exist in that grey area where they are almost dialects of each other - Spanish and Portuguese have more mutual intelligibility than mutually unintelligible dialects of Arabic or Chinese, for example.

 

[Iroh]

Que?

 

[MiniCraque]

Not too much, as an Argentine, I can't really understand it. It's just another language, there are far more differences than similarities. As for Portuguese, forget it. Brazilian Portuguese and won't even bother with the European. I hear Brazilian have problems understanding the Europeans, since the Europeans don't open their mouths when they speak.

Been to Argentina a few times, have dealt with Argentine tourists many times and I don't really have any issues understanding them.

Spain on the other hand... what the fuck. I had to resort to English when I went there.

 

[The_Renaissance]

If you speak good Spanish, and no Portuguese, you can still probably make out what two dudes are saying to each other...lots of similarities, easy to get the 'gist' of what someone is saying

 

[bufetadanacara]

I spoke Spanish when I arrived in Brazil but I couldn't understand anything in Portuguese. They could understand my Spanish a little. I was in the South where they receive a lot of Argentine tourists and are used to hearing Spanish.

If you already speak Spanish, you'll learn Portuguese very fast, I was speaking it very well after two months.

 

[loyalyolayal]

Level of intelligibility:

1. New world Spanish(although there different intonations that differ per region & country)

2. Peninsular Spanish with their lisp is annoying.

3. Portuguese - I heard an Argentine call it "retarded Spanish. & Ive been watching bjj instructional for almost 7 yrs & talk to my instructor on a daily basis. But I'm getting the hang of it.

 

[DaleBoca]

That's not true at all. In the grand scheme of languages, Portuguese and Spanish are much more similar than they are different and exist in that grey area where they are almost dialects of each other - Spanish and Portuguese have more mutual intelligibility than mutually unintelligible dialects of Arabic or Chinese, for example.

I was referring to Italian and Spanish. There are times when one thing sounds like something in Spanish but it's completely different in Italian.

As for Portuguese, it's difficult for me to really understand it. I can't watch a Portuguese movie without subtitles. Speaking, and trying to communicate is hard, I understand certain things but not all. That is why I said I don't even bother.

I took a year of French in college, and my professor was like, French is the closest thig to English, not sure what she was talking about, I found it nothing like English.

 

[DaleBoca]

Been to Argentina a few times, have dealt with Argentine tourists many times and I don't really have any issues understanding them.

Spain on the other hand... what the fuck. I had to resort to English when I went there.

Yeah, I get it, I been to Rio Grande do Sul, and the culture and people are far more similar to those of Uruguay and Argentina than lets say to Rio. As for communicating with that part of Brazil, it's once again trying to speak at the right tone and pace for me. But there were plenty of Uruguayans and Atgentinos that work and lived there that were more than helpful.

 

[zzzzz]

I speak decent Spanish and I can pretty much read Portuguese. I can understand about 20% of what Brazilians say more or less. My friends from Spain tell me that they can't understand what people from Portugal are saying, but the Portuguese can more or less understand them. I guess it depends on the person, the dialect, etc.

 

[Shael]

I speak Spanish, I can kinda understand some
Portuguese depending on how fast the person is speaking. You should probably take a crash course or something.

 

[kurtwpg]

I'm just curious to those of you who speak either language, or are familiar with how difficult it is to understand one an other? I'm planning on going to Brazil, and I speak Spanish and English, but zero Portuguese. Will the language barrier be huge, or is there similarities in your experiences between the two languages?

I think you'd pretty much breeze if your Spanish is good.

 

[Marfa]

It's all about the accent. The thicker the accent the worst you'll be trying to understand it.

If you think your HS/101 Spanish is gonna be enough to understand people in Brazil, you are gonna have a bad time.

 

[kurtwpg]

It's all about the accent. The thicker the accent the worst you'll be trying to understand it.

If you think your HS/101 Spanish is gonna be enough to understand people in Brazil, you are gonna have a bad time.

More important that they understand you. They'll manage.

 

[Possum Jenkins]

The grammar is very similar. I speak Spanish and can get the gist of most sentences or phrases in Portuguese.

Understanding spoken Portuguese is something else. Some people I can pick up a few words here and there, others nothing.

Though I have heard that it's easier for Portuguese-speakers to understand Spanish than vice versa. My Brazilian friend told me this. It might have to do with the actual language or the fact that Brazil is surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries and a lot of culture seeps in so they're used to hearing it.

 

[Perfidious]

Anytime I watch Brazilian pron I note how ugly Portuguese sounds

Well I do the same but instead I watch Brazilian gay porn (ie, MMA)

 

[livingdeadmoose]

Anytime I watch Brazilian pron I note how ugly Portuguese sounds

This is the reason I never find Brazilian chicks hot. I watched one Brazilian porno and turned it off the minute she started talking. Yes I could have muted it but watching porn in mute is weird.