First release , plus many later additions
Disregarding pronunciation differences, Spanish and Portuguese are very similar languages. A large proportion of the vocabulary, including conjugated verbs, of each language can be derived from the other by simple transformation rules.
However, quite a few often-used words are different. I am compiling a list of them here.
The idea is to include only words with a different etymological background here. Some words seem very different at the surface, but the difference can easily be explained by transformations in the course of each language's history.
Next is a list of words that are not included, and the reason why not.
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | Reason for non-inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| mujer | mulher | Spanish j corresponds regularly to Portuguese lh |
| hijo, hilo, hablar, hacer | filho, fio, falar, fazer | Spanish h corresponds regularly to Portuguese (and Latin!) f |
| hallar | achar | Latin: afflāre, which in Vulgar Latin had a variant *faflāre after internal consonant spread. This regularly developed into the Spanish word. |
| solo, hilo | só, fio | Portuguese loss of l between vowels |
| cena, tener | ceia, ter | Portuguese loss of n between vowels |
| solano | soão | Portuguese loss of l between vowels; n between a and o is lost but nasalises the diphthong |
| playa | praia | Latin pl regularly developed into pr in Portuguese |
| llorar | chorar | Latin pl regularly developed into ll in Spanish, and into ch in Portuguese |
So here are the words that are included:
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| todavía, aún | ainda | still, yet |
| pueblo, aldea | aldeia | village |
| pueblo | povo | people |
| romero | alecrim | rosemary |
| cifra, guarismo, dígito | algarismo | digit |
| redondeo | arredondamento | rounding (of numbers) |
| aduana | alfândega | customs (at port of entry) |
| desayuno | pequeno almoço | breakfast |
| balsa | jangada, balsa | raft |
| columpio, mecedor | baloiço, balouço | swing (Italian: altalena) |
| mariposa | borboleta, mariposa | butterfly |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| coche | carro | car |
| roble | carvalho (roble, alvarinho) | oak |
| temprano, pronto | cedo | early |
| té | chá 8 | tea |
| olor | cheiro, odor | smell |
| tren | comboio | train |
| bailar | dançar | to dance |
| baile | dança | dance |
| enfermo, malo | doente | sick, ill |
| enfermedad | doença | illness |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| donde | onde | where |
| dedonde | donde | from where |
| menú | ementa | menu |
| mientras | enquanto | while |
| olvidar | esquecer | to forget |
| cuchillo | faca | knife |
| cuchara, cucharilla | colher | spoon |
| cerrar | fechar, cerrar | close |
| quedar | ficar | to stay, to remain |
| caer | cair | to fall |
| caída | queda | fall (the act of falling) |
| película | filme | film |
| pollo | frango | chicken |
| botella | garrafa, botelha | bottle |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| amar | amar | to love |
| querer | querer | to want |
| querer | gostar de | to love |
| gustar | gostar de | to love, to like; different usage 1 5 |
| guitarra | viola 2, violão 3 4 | Spanish guitar |
| guitarra portuguesa | guitarra | Portuguese guitar |
| cenar | jantar | have a late dinner |
| ventana | janela | windows |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| ancho | largo | wide |
| anchura | largura | width |
| largo | comprido | long |
| largura | comprimento | length |
| complemento | complemento | complement |
| subjuntivo (conjuntivo) | conjuntivo (subjuntivo) | subjunctive mode |
| subasta | hasta, leilão | auction |
| recordar, acordar | lembrar, recordar | remind, remember |
| despertar | acordar | wake up |
| aleación | liga | alloy |
| basura | lixo | waste, garbage |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| tienda | loja | shop |
| tienda | tenda | tent |
| lejos | longe | far away |
| cerca | perto | close by |
| morir (single r; ‑ir verb) | morrer (double r; ‑er verb) | die |
| morar | morar | live, dwell |
| vivir (-ir verb) | viver (-er verb) | live |
| taller | oficina | (car) workshop, garage |
| oficina, escritorio | escritório | office |
| cubierto | talher | cutlery, flatware, silverware, dining utensils |
| carnicería | talho | butcher, butcher’s |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| anteayer | anteontem | the day before yesterday |
| ayer por la mañana | ontem de manhã | yesterday morning |
| anoche, ayer por la noche | ontem à noite | yesterday evening |
| ayer | ontem | yesterday |
| por la noche | à noite 6 | in the evening |
| por la noche | de noite (à noite) 6 | at night |
| por la mañana | de manhã | in the morning |
| mañana | manhã | morning |
| mañana | amanhã | tomorrow |
| mañana por la mañana | amanhã de manhã | tomorrow morning |
| pasado mañana | depois de amanhã | the day after tomorrow |
| albahaca | manjericão | basil |
| más | mais | more |
| pero | mas | but |
| perro | cão | dog |
| pasta | massa | pasta |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| cambiar | mudar 5 | to change |
| nada | nada | nothing |
| nadie | ninguém | nobody |
| alguién | alguém | somebody |
| nido | ninho | nest |
| niño | menino | child, boy |
| niño, niña | criança | child |
| gracias | obrigado | thank you |
| gafas, anteojos | óculos | glasses |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| escenario, tablado | palco | stage (in a theater) |
| quizá, quizás | pode ser | maybe, perhaps |
| talvez | tal vez | maybe, perhaps |
| vale | pois | right, OK |
| aunque | porém, contudo, no entanto, etc. | however |
| sin embargo | porém, contudo, no entanto, etc. | however |
| ahorrar | poupar | save |
| regalo | prenda | gift, present |
| jamón | presunto | ham |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
| buscar | procurar, encontrar | (try to) find |
| ir por, buscar, sacar | buscar | go get |
| encontrar, hallar | encontrar | find |
| pensar | achar | have the opinion |
| habitación, dormitorio | quarto | (hotel)room |
| vivienda, casa, morada | habitação | house |
| calle | rua | street |
| teléfono | telefone | telephone; same origin, almost the same word, but different stress |
| falda | saia | skirt |
| sopa, potaje | sopa 7 | soup |
| haber + participio | ter + particípio | (see grammars and my article) |
| rojo | vermelho | red |
| morado | roxo | purple |
| volver | voltar | return |
| tener ganas | ter vontade | to feel like (doing) |
| Spanish word | Portuguese word | English meaning |
en I love you = pt Gosto de ti
en I like you = es (Tú) me gustas a mí, (tú) me gustas, me gustas tú.
Confer this song text by Manu Chao.
Confer the es vihuela, which is clearly cognate with pt viola, and denotes an old guitar-like shaped instrument.
Violão is more likely to be used in pt-BR than in pt-PT.
Note that in pt-BR violinista is a violin player, but a violonista is a guitar player.
In many cases, both words do exist in both languages, but the frequency of use and the shades of meaning are rather different.
This difference between Portuguese ‘à noite’ and ‘de noite’ is rather complicated, as becomes clear from this discussion, which also involves Galician and possible interference from Spanish among bilingual speakers of that language.
From one of the clearer contributions there I gathered this:
À noite se opõe geralmente a de manhã.
De noite se opõe geralmente a de dia.
So ‘à noite’ stresses the difference with ‘in the morning’, while ‘denoite’ stresses the difference with ‘by day, during the daytime’.
The word ‘potagem’ exists in Brazilian Portuguese, but I do not find it in dictionaries from Portugal.
The national Portuguese TV station RTP has a very nice weekly program about the Portuguese language, called Cuidado com a Língua (be careful with the language). In the Nov 17, 2008 edition, it is explained why Spanish has “té” (cf. English tea, Dutch thee, French thé, etc.) but Portuguese has “chá”: Portuguese took the word from Mandarin Chinese, the other languages have it from Fukien (other sources say Amoy), which is probably a form of Min Nan. See also Min Nan in Wikipedia.
I have a feeling there must be many more such words, so suggestions and corrections will be appreciated.
See also these false friends.
See also this list of Galician-Portuguese words.
10 August 2015:
Fernando Venâncio compiled a
list of links to other such lists
of false friends between Spanish and Portuguese. It also
mentions studies about the subject.
Copyright © 2006-2013 by R.Harmsen.
14 October 2006.
Updates 19 October 2006,
30 October 2008,
19 June 2010,
2 September 2013.