European Portuguese is the Portuguese of Portugal, a country of about 10 million people. It is Portugal's official language, and formal Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique is based on it too. European Portuguese shortens many unstressed vowels, and some everyday words differ from Brazilian Portuguese, like autocarro for a bus. People in Portugal also say tu to friends where Brazilians mostly say você. Most big apps teach Brazilian Portuguese, including Duolingo, Babbel, Busuu, and Mango, so this page gathers the ones made for Portugal.
For apps that cover Portuguese as a whole, see our Portuguese app comparison. Here are the apps, courses, and free resources we found for European Portuguese, grouped by what they help you do. You can start with one and add another when you need it.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Bubblegum suits learners who want European Portuguese built around their own lives. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you want to learn. She writes lessons in the Portuguese of Portugal for your level and helps you understand the words and grammar. You can read and listen, and ask her about anything that is unclear. News and stories give you more European Portuguese to read about the things you care about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum does not replace real voices from Portugal. For recorded speakers and a fixed course, Memrise and Pimsleur are the better fit, and for conversation, try the apps in Learn With People.
- European Portuguese is its own journey in Bubblegum, with lessons written in Portugal's Portuguese and voiced in a Portugal accent.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in European Portuguese about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Lesson audio uses AI voices, not recordings of speakers from Portugal.
- You cannot import your own books or articles.
- The free plan includes one new custom lesson each day.
- Regenerative Review™
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Follow a European Portuguese Course
If you want someone to choose what comes next, start here.
Memrise
Memrise has an official European Portuguese course, listed on its site as Portuguese (EU). Short video clips show local people saying each phrase. It suits learners who want to hear real speakers from the start.
- More than 500 lessons built around real situations, such as travel and meeting a partner's family.
- More than 300 videos of native speakers and more than 75 AI conversations to practice speaking.
MobileWeb
Practice Portuguese
Practice Portuguese teaches only European Portuguese. You can follow its units in order or choose a topic you need, such as opening a bank account. Dialogues come with speed controls, translated subtitles, and questions about what you heard.
- Step-by-step lessons from A1 to B2 in the Portuguese of Portugal.
- Recorded dialogues, grammar notes, and phrase review with flashcards.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Practice Speaking and Listening
Pimsleur
Pimsleur suits learners who want to start speaking before they read much. You hear a prompt, answer aloud, and then hear the answer. Its European Portuguese course is separate from its Brazilian Portuguese course.
- Level 1 has 30 audio lessons of about 30 minutes each, taught in the Portuguese spoken in and around Lisbon.
- Reading lessons, flash cards, and a Voice Coach that gives feedback on your pronunciation.
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika has a Portuguese (Portugal) course that is separate from its Portuguese (Brazil) course. You pick up grammar and vocabulary together as you listen to its sentences.
- More than 5,000 words and sentences, from A1 to C1.
- Audio training that has you work through sentences it prepares for you.
- Grammar is absorbed from the sentences, so rules are not explained.
MobileWeb
Build Vocabulary
Drops
Drops has a course made for European Portuguese. It suits learners who want to build a bank of words they recognize.
- Five-minute word games with simple pictures to help you remember.
- Audio recorded by native speakers.
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk teaches words and phrases through games and audio, and its European Portuguese course is separate from its Brazilian Portuguese one. It starts with greetings and common words, then moves to practical topics like food and travel.
- More than 2,500 everyday words and phrases across 60+ topics.
- Recorded by native European Portuguese speakers.
MobileWeb
Read and Listen to European Portuguese
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to lessons and save the words you do not know as you go. You can also add your own articles and videos.
- Library courses for European Portuguese, including 62 beginner Mini Stories and 55 intermediate lessons from Portuguese With Leo.
- Filter the library to European Portuguese when you browse.
- Flashcards
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Learn With People
A tutor can teach you and correct you while you speak. A language exchange gives you a practice partner, and you help with English in return.
italki
italki profiles show how long a tutor has taught and which levels they teach. Some tutors list a teaching degree in Portuguese as a second language.
- Profiles show where each tutor is from, and several teach from Portugal, such as Porto and Braga.
- Get feedback while you speak.
- Lessons are paid, and the Portuguese list includes Brazilian tutors, so read each profile.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply says its Portuguese tutors come from many countries, so you can choose the accent and vocabulary you want to learn.
- Filter Portuguese tutors by region, Brazilian or European.
- Compare tutors by profile, reviews, and intro video.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk has a page of language partners in Portugal, so you can look for people who speak the Portuguese you are learning.
- Meet speakers from Portugal for language exchange.
- Practice with messages and voice notes.
- Partners may speak Brazilian or European Portuguese, so say which one you want to practice.
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Tandem
Tandem says thousands of Portuguese speakers on the app are looking to practice English, so you can offer English in return. Agree with your partner on how to split time between your two languages.
- Practice with messages, voice notes, and video calls.
- Language exchange pages for Lisbon and Porto.
- It can take a few tries to find a partner who matches your interests and time.
MobileWeb
Podcasts, Videos, and Free Courses
- Portuguese With Leo is a YouTube channel and podcast from Leonardo Coelho, who is from Lisbon. The beginner podcast is at A2 level and has bilingual transcripts and a glossary. Most episodes of the intermediate podcast run 20 minutes or less.
- Portuguese Lab is a podcast from Susana Morais with many episodes. She covers grammar and pronunciation points and builds vocabulary through short stories.
- RTP Play is the streaming site and app of Portugal's public broadcaster, with live TV and radio channels, and series and podcasts on demand.
- The Camões Institute, Portugal's language institute, teaches online Portuguese courses for adults from A1 to C1. You can study on your own for 12 weeks, or add small-group or one-to-one tutoring sessions.
- The Priberam dictionary has more than 181,500 entries, a verb conjugator, and a switch between European and Brazilian Portuguese and between spelling rules. It is written in Portuguese, so it suits learners who can follow Portuguese definitions.
Learn European Portuguese in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings. Lesson explanations and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Glossika | 2 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| uTalk | 1 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Tandem | 14 | Full list |
| Practice Portuguese | 1 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (7)
- Olá QuestQuiz-style questions on real-life themes such as cafés, markets, and appointments, made for expats and learners who want the Portuguese of Portugal. It is new and growing.
- Aprender: European PortugueseLessons built for the Portuguese spoken in Portugal, with an AI tutor named Sofia for conversation practice and pronunciation feedback. It is new and growing.
- Speak Portuguese PT: FluentusAn app made for European Portuguese, with flashcards that bring back the words you have learned. It is new and growing.
- Estudo: European PortugueseAn app for learning the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. It is new and growing.
- Portugal Lifestyle ProStructured lessons from A1 to C2, with games and native audio, made for European Portuguese. It is new and growing.
- Portuguese With Carla & FriendsA European Portuguese teaching site with a learning handbook for new learners and a list of top apps.
- Catarina Bento's Learn European PortugueseA weekly newsletter with lessons, cultural notes, and speaking practice for European Portuguese.
Common Questions
Which European Portuguese app should a beginner choose?
Start with a course made for Portugal's Portuguese, like Practice Portuguese or Memrise. Add Pimsleur if you want to speak from the start. Bubblegum suits learners who want lessons around their own interests. Portuguese uses the Latin alphabet with a few accent marks, so you do not need to learn a new script first.
Can I learn European Portuguese for free?
Yes. Practice Portuguese shares an archive of more than 950 audio and video episodes for free, and RTP Play streams Portugal's TV and radio at no cost. The Portuguese Lab and Portuguese With Leo podcasts are free, and the Priberam dictionary is free to use online. Bubblegum's lesson library is free to read as well.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team.
Sources
- Statistics Portugal (INE): 2021 Census results
- Constitution of Portugal (1976, rev. 2005), Article 11
- Angolan Portuguese (standard pronunciation follows the European standard)
- Mozambican Portuguese (standard vocabulary follows the European standard)
- Mango Languages: What are the main differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese?
- Practice Portuguese: Tu and Você in European Portuguese
- Babbel: Available languages (Portuguese is Brazilian)
- Busuu: Learn Portuguese online (Brazilian Portuguese)
- Mango Languages: Learn Brazilian Portuguese
- Duolingo Wiki: Portuguese (the course teaches Brazilian Portuguese)
- Practice Portuguese: Learn European Portuguese for free
- RTP Play
- Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa
- Practice Portuguese: current iPhone listing
- European Portuguese learner discussion
- Bubblegum
- Memrise
- Practice Portuguese
- Pimsleur
- Glossika
- Drops
- uTalk
- LingQ
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
- Tandem
Checked on October 5, 2026 against each app's own pages.
