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Insight Horizon Media

Is it better to learn Portuguese or Spanish first?

Author

Rachel Hickman

Published Mar 01, 2026

Is it better to learn Portuguese or Spanish first?

For most native English speakers, Spanish is slightly easier to learn than Portuguese. This is primarily a matter of access. Since Spanish is spoken by over 400 million people worldwide (compared to just over 200 million for Portuguese), it’s easier to find Spanish resources and media for learning or practising.

What names are illegal in Portugal?

Portugal: No nicknames allowed Aiden, Ashley, Bruce, Charlotte, Dylan and Jenny are all banned, with foreign names not permitted to be used for Portuguese babies. This means that Portuguese parents looking for inspiration from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s daughter Charlotte will have to look elsewhere.

Can a Spanish person understand a Portuguese person?

While there are some differences between the two languages, most native Spanish and Portuguese speakers can understand each other if each party speaks clearly.

What is the most common Portuguese first name?

Popular Portuguese names

  • Santiago.
  • Francisco.
  • João.
  • Afonso.
  • Rodrigo.
  • Martim.
  • Tomás.
  • Duarte.

Why is Portuguese difficult?

Portuguese is guttural with ‘d’ and ‘t’ distinctly pronounced, which is why the Portuguese find it hard not to over stress the ‘ed’ endings of many English words. Then there’s the pronunciation problems of some Portuguese words beginning with ‘es’ where the ‘es’ is pronounced as sch, such as in Estoril (schtoril).

Is Emily illegal in Portugal?

The banned list includes William, Catherine, George and Charlotte. It also includes a number of common British names such as Emily, Michael and Tom. America are also not too fond of the royal theme having ruled out the names, Duke Judge, King, Master, Queen and Majesty.

Why is Alice banned in Saudi Arabia?

There wasn’t too much elaboration on why Alice – along with names like Elaine, Linda and Sandy – was to be banned other than the statement that these names ‘contradict the culture and religion’ of the country. Banned names include ‘foreign’ names, along with names related to royalty and ones considered blasphemous.

Is Portuguese basically Spanish?

Portuguese and Spanish were, basically, dialects of the same language. That language was Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, from which all Romance languages spring. Hundreds of years later, how have Portuguese and Spanish grown apart, and why?

What is the most Spanish name?

While our grandparents are called Francisco, Antonio, José, or Manuel and María, Ana, Carmen, or Dolores, the most common names throughout Spain in 2017 according to the National Institute of Statistics were Lucía, Sofía, María, Martina, and Paula for girls and Lucas, Hugo, Martín, Daniel, and Pablo for boys.

Which is the toughest language to learn?

1.1 1. One of Top 10 Hardest Languages To Learn – Arabic.

  • 1.2 2. Mandarin Is Really Hard to Learn.
  • 1.3 3. Japanese Comes In The List Of Top 10 Hardest Languages To Learn.
  • 1.4 4. Hungarian Is Beneficial But Hard to Learn.
  • 1.5 5. Korean.
  • 1.6 6. Top 10 Hardest Languages To Learn – Finnish.
  • 1.7 7. Basque.
  • 1.8 8. Navajo.