Learn Catalan from Brazilian Portuguese – PBC Languages
Free Catalan practice for Brazilian Portuguese speakers: small classes with native teachers and 30/30 exchanges with nativos. No app, real conversation.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
If you speak Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan gives you a head start that Spanish speakers don't fully get: shared vocabulary is closer to 80% in everyday and formal registers, verb conjugation follows the same three-group logic (-ar/-er/-ir), and both languages actually use the periphrastic gerund ('estic fent' / 'estou fazendo') the same way, unlike Spanish. You'll read basic Catalan text and guess half the meaning on day one.
The sounds that trip people up are specific: Catalan reduces unstressed a/e to a schwa sound ('casa' comes out closer to [ˈkazə]), and Brazilian Portuguese doesn't do that reduction the same way, so you'll clip vowels too clearly at first. The geminate 'l·l' in words like 'col·legi' or 'il·lusió' doesn't exist in Portuguese at all, and the Catalan trilled 'rr' (guerra, terra) is a tongue-tip vibration, not the throat 'r' you use in carioca or paulista speech for words like 'carro'. Nasal vowels are also a trap in reverse: Catalan has none, so nasalizing endings out of Portuguese habit (on words like 'germà') will mark your accent immediately.
False friends are the other danger zone, and they bite fast: 'acordar' in Catalan means to agree, not to wake up; 'embarassada' means pregnant, not embarrassed; 'exquisit' means delicious, not strange. Clitic pronoun placement is also calqued badly at first — Portuguese hangs them after the verb with a hyphen ('comprei-o'), Catalan usually puts them before ('l'he comprat') — so that's where progress slows down even after the vocabulary clicks.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| exquisit | esquisito | False friend: in Catalan it means delicious or exquisite; in Brazilian Portuguese it means weird or strange. |
| embarassada | embaraçada | False friend: in Catalan it means pregnant; in Portuguese it means embarrassed. |
| acordar | acordar | Same spelling, different meaning: in Catalan it means to agree; in Portuguese it means to wake up. |
| oficina | oficina | False friend: in Catalan it's an office; in Portuguese it's a repair workshop. |
| pastís | pastel | False friend: a Catalan pastís is a sweet cake; a Brazilian pastel is the fried savory snack. |
| cadira | cadeira | True cognate, near identical: chair. |
| treballar | trabalhar | True cognate: to work, same root and conjugation pattern. |
| guanyar | ganhar | True cognate: to win or to earn, easy to recognize on sight. |
| pressa | pressa | Identical word and meaning: hurry, as in 'tinc pressa' / 'estou com pressa'. |
Classes coming up
Times in your own time zone. This list changes every day.
How it works here
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Sign up and say your level
Two minutes. If you do not know your level, we place you in the first class.
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Pick a class or an exchange
Classes are led by a native teacher. An exchange is with another member: half the time in their language, half in yours.
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Join by video, nothing to install
From your phone or your computer. If you cannot make it, cancel and get your place back.
Questions about this
How long does it actually take for a Brazilian Portuguese speaker to hold a conversation in Catalan?
There's no fixed number, it depends on how often you show up. Because so much vocabulary overlaps, most Portuguese speakers get through basic conversation faster than speakers of unrelated languages, especially if they combine a weekly group class with a weekly exchange. What takes longer is unlearning the false friends and fixing clitic pronoun order, which only comes with real conversation practice.
Is the one-to-one exchange really free?
Yes. You're paired with a Catalan speaker who wants to practice your other language, and you split the half hour: 30 minutes in Catalan, 30 minutes in Brazilian Portuguese (or whatever the other member speaks). Nobody pays for that time, it's a straight swap between members.
What level do I need to join?
For the group classes with native teachers, absolute beginners are welcome, the classes are built around that. For the one-to-one exchange it helps to have at least basic A2 Catalan so you can sustain 30 minutes of conversation, though plenty of members start earlier with a patient partner.
How exactly is the time split during the exchange?
Half an hour in Catalan, half an hour in Brazilian Portuguese, agreed between the two of you before you start. Most pairs use a timer or just switch when the first half feels done, there's no rigid script, just make sure both languages actually get their 30 minutes.
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