One of the challenges of moving to most countries in Europe is having to learn the language. However, that’s one area where Portugal is a much easier place to live than France, Spain, or Italy: English is widely spoken in Portugal, particularly in places like the Algarve, Lisbon, and Porto.
In fact, many people manage to live for years without ever really learning much more than the basics. But what if you genuinely want to learn European Portuguese? How long should you expect learning Portuguese to take?
The answer, unfortunately, is: it depends.
Define what Learning Portuguese means to you
Before continuing, it’s important to define what “learning Portuguese” means to you.
To some it means being able to get by in most day-to-day situations. To others it means being able to hold complex conversations with Portuguese friends or work in a job that requires you to speak Portuguese all day.
Joel Rendall, who co-runs Practice Portuguese, says students typically take anywhere from a few months to a few years to reach an A2-level of Portuguese. This is the upper-beginner level, and also the required level if you’re planning to apply for Portuguese citizenship. For many people, this is the goal, so it’s good to know that you could achieve this in as little as a few months.
Fluency, on the other hand, will take a bit longer. One Portugalist reader, Jonah Salita, was able to reach roughly a C1-level of Portuguese (which is essentially fluency) in just eighteen months, but this required him to study for roughly three hours per day. The FSI suggests this level could be achieved faster (more on that below) but most estimates suggest it’ll take you at least a year if not 2-3 of very regular study (1-3 hours per day).
So, it depends on your definition of learning Portuguese and what your goals are. If you don’t already know, a good level to aim for is intermediate, which is the B1 and B2 levels of Portuguese.
How to learn Portuguese
What’s the key to learning Portuguese? It’s not, surprisingly, moving to Portugal. It’s also not choosing the right course or textbook, although this can make a very big difference.
The key is actually the amount of work you put in – regardless of whether you’re in Portugal or anywhere else in the world. While you will speak Portuguese at the café or in the supermarket, unless you work in a Portuguese office or have a Portuguese partner, you’ll probably speak in your own language the rest of the time. In fact, someone living in another country who takes Portuguese lessons over Skype a few times per week probably gets more speaking practice than the average expat in Portugal.
Your goal therefore should be to actively study it and to be one of the people who gets the basics in months and not years. The best way to do this is to:
- Pick a course and study it: This could be online (there are some great online courses) or it could be in person, but the most important thing is that you actually study.
- Get plenty of speaking and listening practice: This could be with a language exchange partner, but the best option for most people is to book regular conversational Portuguese classes with a tutor (this could be on Italki, if you’re not in Portugal).
Note the word course. Yes, there are some fun apps out there (not Duolingo, but others) but they won’t teach you a language and despite their promises, they also won’t teach you a language in just five minutes per day. They’re great for learning new words on the go or revising words you’ve already learned, but they won’t teach you a new language on their own.
Okay, but how many hours exactly?
It may seem like an impossible question to answer, but the U.S. Foreign Service Institute has actually calculated how long it would take to learn a language like Portuguese to somewhere between a B2 and C1 level. Portuguese falls under Language Group I, as it is closely related to English. According to their estimations, it would take between 575 and 600 “classroom hours” to learn Portuguese.
ALTE, the Association of Language Testers in Europe, estimates that it would take 500-600 hours to reach B2 level and 700-800 hours to reach a C1 level [source]. This is to learn English: ALTE didn’t specifically estimate how long it would take to learn Portuguese.
Basically, with an hour of Portuguese per day, you’re looking at somewhere between 1.6 and 2.2 years to learn Portuguese to somewhere between a B2 and C1 level. As mentioned earlier, if you’re simply aiming for the A2, which is the minimum level for obtaining Portuguese citizenship, that could take you as little as a few months.
Studying Smarter and Not Harder
The biggest factor is how much work you put in. Even if you have the oldest, most boring textbook, if you study that for an hour or two every day, you’ll do much better than someone who does an hour per week with the fanciest, most expensive app or course.
That said, if you not only put the effort in but also study the right materials, you’re going to learn Portuguese a lot faster. Check out this guide on how to actually learn European Portuguese.