Learn Spanish for Free from Portuguese at PBC Languages
Free Spanish-Portuguese tandem exchanges and small native-led classes at PBC Languages, built around the traps and shortcuts unique to this pair.
Create your free accountNo card needed. Exchanges between members are always free.
If your first language is Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish gives you a head start almost nobody else gets: verb endings, sentence order and most vocabulary line up so closely that you can follow a basic conversation from week one. The catch is that this closeness also breeds overconfidence. Words like 'exquisito' (delicious, not weird) or 'presunto' (alleged, not ham) sound so familiar that you say them with total certainty and mean the wrong thing.
Sound-wise, Spanish drops the nasal vowels you use constantly in words like 'não' or 'mãe', so 'pan' and 'bien' need a cleaner, non-nasal vowel than your instinct suggests. The rolled 'rr' in 'perro' or 'carro' also has no real equivalent in Brazilian Portuguese, where 'carro' uses a softer, more guttural r; this is usually the single hardest sound to fix. The jota sound in 'jugar' or 'gente' trips people up too, since Portuguese never produces that harsh, dry friction at the back of the throat.
Where you gain speed is grammar and gender logic, since both languages inherited the same Latin skeleton, so subjunctive uses, reflexive verbs and adjective agreement transfer almost directly once you adjust the vocabulary. The real trap is gender mismatches on everyday nouns: 'a leite' doesn't exist, it's 'la leche', while 'el problema' matches your instinct despite ending in -a. In a live exchange with a native, these small mismatches get corrected in seconds instead of turning into fossilized habits.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| vaso | copo | 'Vaso' in Spanish is the drinking glass on your table; in Portuguese that's 'copo', and 'vaso' is a flower pot. Order a 'copo' in a Spanish bar and you'll get a blank look. |
| embarazada | embaraçada | 'Embarazada' means pregnant in Spanish, not embarrassed. 'Embaraçada' in Portuguese is closer to 'apenada' or 'avergonzada' in Spanish. |
| exquisito | esquisito | In Spanish 'exquisito' is a compliment about food or taste; in Portuguese 'esquisito' means weird or off. Telling someone their cooking is 'esquisito' will not land well. |
| oficina | oficina | Same spelling, different job: in Spanish it's an office, in Portuguese it's a repair shop or garage. Ask for the 'oficina' in a Spanish-speaking country and they'll point you to a desk, not a mechanic. |
| borracha | borracha | In Spanish it's the feminine of 'borracho' (drunk); in Portuguese it's the word for eraser. One describes a Friday night, the other fixes a pencil mistake. |
| taller | talher | 'Taller' in Spanish is a workshop or garage; 'talher' in Portuguese is a piece of cutlery. They sound close enough over audio that listeners often mishear one for the other. |
| presunto | presunto | Identical spelling, unrelated meaning: 'presunto' in Spanish means alleged or presumed, while in Portuguese it's ham. Reading news in Spanish, don't expect sandwiches. |
| información | informação | A near-perfect cognate that works in your favor: spelling and meaning line up almost exactly, so this is one you can use with confidence from day one. |
| posible | possível | Same root, tiny spelling shift (single 's', accent drops). This kind of predictable pattern lets you guess dozens of similar words correctly. |
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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 take a Brazilian Portuguese speaker to get conversational in Spanish?
Because so much vocabulary and grammar overlap, most people can hold basic exchanges within a few weeks of regular practice. The slower part is unlearning the false friends and fixing pronunciation habits like nasal vowels, which is exactly what the tandem sessions are for.
Is the one-on-one exchange actually free?
Yes. The tandem exchange itself costs nothing: you spend half an hour speaking Spanish and half an hour speaking Portuguese with your partner, swapping roles as teacher and learner. What's paid are the small group classes with native teachers, if you choose to add those.
What level of Spanish do I need before joining?
There's no minimum. Given how much Spanish and Portuguese already share, even a beginner can follow a slow, simple conversation with a patient partner. Exchanges are matched informally so both sides can adjust pace and vocabulary as needed.
How exactly is the time split during the exchange?
Thirty minutes in Spanish, thirty minutes in Portuguese, back to back in the same session. This way both people get equal speaking time and equal help, instead of one side doing all the teaching.
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