Learn Portuguese with Movies & TV Shows
Portuguese is spoken by 260 million people, and Brazilian Portuguese sounds nothing like what you hear in a classroom. Wordy uses real movie clips so you learn the language people actually speak, from telenovelas to award-winning cinema.
Why Learn Portuguese?
Sixth most spoken language
Portuguese is the most spoken language in South America and has official status across four continents. It opens doors from Lisbon to Sao Paulo to Luanda.
Growing economic importance
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America. Speaking Portuguese gives you access to business opportunities that Spanish speakers miss.
Gateway to other Romance languages
Portuguese speakers can often understand Spanish and Italian with minimal effort. Learning Portuguese first gives you a head start on the entire Romance language family.
How to Learn Portuguese with Wordy
Three steps to start picking up Portuguese from real movies and shows.
Pick a Movie or Show
Browse Portuguese content from our library of 15,000+ clips or connect your streaming service.
Watch and Tap Words
Tap any word in the subtitles for instant translation. Save words you want to remember.
Review with Flashcards
Practice saved vocabulary with spaced repetition flashcards linked to the original scene.
Popular Portuguese Content for Learning
Great Portuguese movies and shows to get you started.
City of God
Fast, raw Brazilian Portuguese from Rio, incredible for picking up informal speech and slang you will not find in textbooks.
3%
A Brazilian sci-fi series with clear dialogue and a mix of formal and casual registers, good for intermediate learners.
Central Station
Emotional, slower-paced dialogue between characters from different regions, great for hearing Brazilian accent variation.
Good Morning, Veronica
A Brazilian thriller with intense dialogue and contemporary vocabulary, perfect for advanced listening practice.
The Mechanism
Political vocabulary and formal Portuguese mixed with casual conversation, useful for learning how registers shift in real life.
Tips for Learning Portuguese from Movies
Pick Brazilian or European early
Brazilian and European Portuguese differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Pick one to focus on first. Most learners start with Brazilian because there is far more media available.
Train your ear for nasal vowels
Portuguese has nasal sounds that do not exist in English or Spanish. Listen for words like "pao" (bread) and "mao" (hand) in movie scenes. Repetition through clips helps your ear adjust naturally.
Watch with Portuguese subtitles
Portuguese spelling is more phonetic than English, so reading along while listening connects the sounds to the written form. Start with Portuguese subtitles once you have some basics down.
Portuguese Fun Facts
Portuguese is the official language of 9 countries across Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, making it one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world. (Source: CPLP, Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
The longest word in Portuguese is "anticonstitucionalissimamente" (27 letters), meaning "in the most unconstitutional way." (Source: Dicionario Priberam da Lingua Portuguesa)
Japanese has thousands of Portuguese loanwords from 16th-century traders. "Tempura," "pan" (bread), and "sabato" (Saturday) all came from Portuguese sailors. (Source: Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics)
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to learn Portuguese?
How long does it take to learn Portuguese?
The FSI estimates 600 hours for English speakers to reach professional proficiency. Portuguese is a Category I language, the easiest tier. If you already speak Spanish, you can cut that time significantly because the languages share about 89% lexical similarity.
Should I learn Brazilian or European Portuguese?
Should I learn Brazilian or European Portuguese?
Start with Brazilian Portuguese if you want more media, music, and conversation partners. Brazil has 215 million people compared to Portugal's 10 million, so Brazilian content dominates streaming platforms. You can always adjust to European Portuguese later since the grammar is nearly identical.
Is Portuguese harder than Spanish?
Is Portuguese harder than Spanish?
Slightly harder in terms of pronunciation. Portuguese has more vowel sounds and nasal vowels that Spanish lacks. But the grammar and vocabulary are very similar. If you know Spanish, Portuguese will feel familiar after the first few weeks.
What are the best Portuguese shows on Netflix?
What are the best Portuguese shows on Netflix?
3% is the most popular Brazilian series on Netflix globally. Good Morning, Veronica and The Mechanism are also well-produced Brazilian shows with strong dialogue. Wordy helps you learn from clips of shows like these with built-in vocabulary tools.
Start Learning Portuguese Today
Download Wordy and learn Portuguese from your favorite movies and TV shows. Free to start.