You Already Speak Half of Portuguese
Parli già italiano? Sei già a metà strada.
Italian and Portuguese both grew out of Latin, so they share a huge amount of vocabulary at the root. Learn the handful of sound and spelling patterns that connect them, and hundreds of Portuguese words you've never seen before will suddenly make sense.
Dall'Italiano al Portoghese
6 Real PatternsWords You Already Know, in Disguise
-zione → -ção
Italian nouns ending in -zione almost always become -ção in Portuguese — same meaning, same gender.
informazione → informação · nazione → nação
gli / gn → lh / nh
Italian spells these two soft sounds as gli and gn. Portuguese spells the same cousin-sounds as lh and nh.
famiglia → família · sogno → sonho
-tà → -dade
Abstract nouns ending in -tà in Italian become -dade in Portuguese — the same family as English "-ty."
città → cidade · verità → verdade
Get the Full Guide, Free
All 6 patterns, real example words for each one, a false-friends warning list, and a one-page cheat sheet you can keep next to you while you read or listen to Portuguese.
«Non stai imparando una lingua completamente nuova — sai già più di quanto pensi.»
You're not learning a whole new language — you already know more than you think.Ready to Go Beyond the Shortcuts?
Spelling patterns get you reading fast. Real fluency comes from speaking out loud with a native speaker who can correct your Italian habits before they become the wrong Portuguese habits. Take our free level test and we'll build your path from exactly where you are.
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