Learn Persian from Brazilian Portuguese – PBC Languages
Free Persian practice for Brazilian Portuguese speakers: small classes with native teachers plus 1-to-1 exchanges, half Persian, half Portuguese.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
The sounds that trip up a Brazilian Portuguese speaker first are the uvular ones: خ (kh) in خیلی (kheyli, 'very') is stronger and further back than any Portuguese sound, closer to a hard Spanish jota, and غ/ق (gh/q), as in قهوه (qahve, 'coffee'), get flattened into a soft Portuguese 'g' if you're not paying attention. The vowel â, as in ماه (mâh, 'moon'), is longer and more back than Portuguese 'a', so words end up sounding clipped until your ear adjusts. None of this is tonal or wildly exotic, it just needs repetition with a native speaker correcting you early, before the habit sets.
A few words help because Portuguese and Persian both borrowed heavily from Arabic centuries ago, so you'll recognize açúcar in شکر (shekar) or limão in لیمو (limu) almost immediately. But that same history sets traps: پدر (pedar, 'father') sounds close to 'pedra' (stone) and means nothing like it, and نه (na, 'no') is pronounced identically to the Portuguese preposition 'na' — small words, high frequency, easy to mishear in a fast sentence.
Where Brazilian Portuguese speakers move fast: Persian has no grammatical gender and no cases, so you drop the whole o/a agreement instinct you're used to. The catch is word order — Persian is SOV, the verb goes at the end, and nouns link through the ezafe construction (کتاب من, ketâb-e man, literally 'book-of me' for 'my book'), which needs a few weeks of deliberate practice before it stops feeling backwards.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| شکر (shekar) | açúcar | Same root: both trace back to the Arabic 'sukkar'. Recognizable on sight, means sugar in both. |
| نارنج (nārenj) | laranja | Portuguese 'laranja' descends from this Persian word for orange, via Arabic 'nāranj'. Same fruit, same chain. |
| لاجورد (lâjevard) | azul | Portuguese 'azul' comes from this Persian word for lapis lazuli, via Arabic 'lāzaward'. Same color family. |
| لیمو (limu) | limão | Shared root through Arabic 'laymūn'. Means lemon in both languages. |
| یاسمن (yâsaman) | jasmim | Same flower, same word, borrowed into Portuguese through Arabic and French. |
| کاروان (kârvân) | caravana | Identical concept and near-identical sound; the word travelled through Arabic and French into Portuguese. |
| شال (shâl) | xale | Same garment, direct borrowing — easy win, no trap here. |
| پدر (pedar) | pedra | Sounds like 'stone' but means 'father'. A classic early mix-up, unrelated meanings. |
| نه (na) | na | Pronounced the same as the Portuguese preposition 'na', but means 'no'. Confusing in fast speech. |
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 hold a basic conversation in Persian?
The script and the SOV word order are the real speed bumps, not vocabulary. Most people who attend group classes weekly and do at least one exchange a week get through basic conversations — greetings, simple questions, daily routines — in a few months of steady practice.
Is the one-on-one exchange really free?
Yes. You spend half an hour speaking Persian with your partner and half an hour speaking Portuguese, so both people are teaching and learning. Nobody pays, because nobody is being paid — it's a trade of time, not a service.
What level do I need to join?
Group classes start from zero, with a native Persian teacher who can explain things in Portuguese or English when needed. For the one-on-one exchanges, it helps to already know basic phrases so the half hour isn't spent only on 'how do you say...', but absolute beginners can still join if their partner is patient.
How exactly is the time split in the exchange?
Thirty minutes in Persian, thirty in Portuguese, with a clear switch in the middle so neither side dominates. Your partner will usually be a native Persian speaker from Iran, Afghanistan, or Tajikistan looking to practice their Portuguese.
Keep looking around
Start this week
A free account, a free first group class, and exchanges that never cost anything.
