Learn Dutch from Brazilian Portuguese at PBC Languages
Free Dutch practice for Brazilian Portuguese speakers: small group classes with native teachers and 30/30 one-on-one exchanges at PBC Languages.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
Dutch throws two sounds at Brazilian Portuguese speakers that don't exist in their language: the diphthong in 'huis' (house) and 'ui' words like 'buiten', and the guttural 'g'/'ch' in 'gracht' or 'nacht' — closer to clearing your throat than anything in Portuguese. Vowel length also carries meaning in Dutch: 'man' (man) and 'maan' (moon) are different words, not the same word said slower, which trips up ears used to Portuguese's more flexible vowels. Consonant clusters at the start of a word — 'schrijven', 'straat' — also feel unnatural at first, since Portuguese rarely stacks that many consonants before a vowel.
Some words seem to hand you a shortcut and then don't: 'bom' means bomb in Dutch, not good, and 'balkon' is a balcony, not the counter at a shop like 'balcão' in Portuguese. Others genuinely help: 'fabriek', 'informatie' and 'universiteit' land close enough to 'fábrica', 'informação' and 'universidade' that you can guess the meaning on sight, since Dutch borrowed heavily from French and Latin just like Portuguese did.
The real work is word order. Portuguese keeps the verb close to the subject no matter what; Dutch moves it to second position in main clauses and dumps it at the end of subordinate ones — 'Ik denk dat hij het boek leest' reads literally as 'I think that he the book reads'. Gender is another shift: Portuguese gender is mostly predictable from the ending of a word, but Dutch 'de' and 'het' aren't, so you end up memorizing gender word by word instead of guessing it. What moves fast is vocabulary recognition once you get past the spelling, and the diminutive habit — Portuguese '-inho' and Dutch '-je' work the same way and get used just as often, so that part of the culture already makes sense.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| bom | bom | Same spelling, opposite meaning: in Dutch it's 'bomb', in Portuguese it's 'good'. Don't call the coffee 'een bom' if you're trying to compliment it. |
| balkon | balcão | In Dutch a 'balkon' is the balcony on a building. In Portuguese 'balcão' is the counter at a shop or bar — different piece of furniture entirely. |
| fabriek | fábrica | Both mean factory. Close enough in sound and spelling that you can guess it the first time you see it written. |
| informatie | informação | Same meaning, same Latin root, easy to recognize in writing and in slow speech. |
| universiteit | universidade | Same meaning again. Dutch academic vocabulary keeps a lot of these Latin cognates that Portuguese also kept. |
| vaas | vaso | A Dutch 'vaas' is a vase for flowers on a table. A Portuguese 'vaso' is usually a flower pot. Close but not the same object. |
| actueel | atual | Both mean current or topical, as in 'the news right now'. Safe to guess. |
| tas | taça | Sounds alike, means something else: Dutch 'tas' is a bag, Portuguese 'taça' is a cup, glass or trophy. |
| kop | copo | Close in sound and both are containers, but a Dutch 'kop' is a mug or cup (also slang for 'head'), while a Portuguese 'copo' is a drinking glass — easy to mix up when ordering at a café. |
How it works here
-
Sign up and say your level
Two minutes. If you do not know your level, we place you in the first class.
-
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.
-
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 take a Brazilian Portuguese speaker to get comfortable in Dutch?
There's no fixed timeline, but the grammar takes longer to click than the pronunciation. The guttural sounds and vowel length usually start feeling normal after a few months of regular practice, while the sentence structure ('Ik denk dat...') needs sustained conversation, not just study, before it becomes automatic.
Is the one-on-one exchange really free?
Yes. You give half an hour speaking Portuguese with someone who wants to practice it, and get half an hour of Dutch in return with a Dutch speaker. Nobody pays for that half of the session — it's a trade of time, not a purchased lesson.
What level of Dutch do I need to join a group class or an exchange?
For group classes with native teachers you can start from zero — the teacher builds the class around the group's level. For one-on-one exchanges you need enough Dutch to hold a real conversation for half an hour, so most people do a few group classes first and move to exchanges once they can talk, not just read.
How does the 30/30 split work in a Portuguese-Dutch exchange?
You and your partner agree on the order before starting: half an hour in Dutch, half an hour in Portuguese, with a clear switch in between instead of mixing both languages the whole time. That structure exists so both people get equal practice instead of the conversation drifting toward whoever is more confident.
Keep looking around
Start this week
A free account, a free first group class, and exchanges that never cost anything.
