By Rui Coimbra / Joel Rendall
Learn European Portuguese from Portugal
We didn’t know what to talk about, so Practice Portuguese team member, Molly, gave us a list of questions to answer! Topics include: pet peeves, where else in the world we’d live, binge-watching habits, favourite cuisine, biggest fears and much...
Did you know the verb “dar” has at least 60 different meanings in Portuguese?
Are Rui and Joel still alive?! After many busy months, we’re back to talk about everything that we’ve been up to, and what’s next for Practice Portuguese in 2022. Special thanks to borderland.pt (@borderland.photo) for the fantastic job on our neon...
2021 has already been off to a busy start! Rui & Joel update you on everything that’s going on, in Portuguese: • Rui & Joel get COVID swabs jammed up their noses… for TV • Rui quits something and joins something else...
Have you been to the dentist lately? In this first-ever video podcast, we feature one of our latest Shorties and discuss useful vocabulary all about… teeth! While recording, we’re interrupted by some personal text messages that we reveal and deconstruct...
We all have moments where we need some colourful language to express ourselves. (No, we’re not talking about swear words, that’s for another episode). Today we go through the whole colour spectrum while featuring the Shorty, “Um Lindo Bebé“. Do...
Featured Shorty: “Diário de uma Quarent(o)ena II.” A lot has happened, to say the least, since we last recorded a podcast episode! We start out by challenging your comprehension with casual Portuguese conversation to get you up to speed on what’s been...
In this episode, we once again analyze record audio clips from our brave listeners! We listen to the Shorty, “À Busca de Doces“, and explore how to make your Portuguese sound more native with pronunciation subtleties and word choice. We...
Today, the tables have turned, because YOU, (our listeners) are the main voices of this special episode! European Portuguese learners from around the world bravely submitted recordings of themselves reading our featured Shorty, “Um Encontro“. We listen to each one, while...
‘Tis the season… to spread misinformation about the origins of Christmas and Santa Claus! In this special holiday episode, Rui and Joel explore the food and other traditions of Christmas in Portugal, while featuring one of our latest Shorties, “a...
Dona Amélia, an old-fashioned woman who only believes in natural remedies, pays a visit to the pharmacy. Will the pharmacist be able to help her, despite her hearing difficulties?
Cláudio and Joana are a Portuguese couple who decide to take a trip to Tomar in a rental car. When it comes to driving, they can’t seem to agree on anything. Will they make it to their destination without driving...
In this episode, we deconstruct one of our latest “Shorties”. We go through some useful food vocabulary, discuss verb and tense choices, and Rui irons out Joel and Molly’s “estrangeiro” pronunciation! There’s also some exciting news about Practice Portuguese, especially...
This is an episode of introductions! First, we introduce Molly, an American who recently moved to Lisbon and is off to a great start with her Portuguese. Next, we introduce the new “Shorties”, which are bite-sized audio dialogues, each around 1...
Dona Gertrudes, a retired 65-year-old woman, has just a received a surprisingly large bill from her gas company. Upset and nervous, she attempts to sort the matter out on the phone.
Monica has just moved to an apartment in the Historic Center of Porto. She meets her neighbour Eduardo who tries to impose some unexpected rules. Will she be able to deal with these strict requirements?
To prepare for an upcoming birthday party that they’ll be hosting, a modern grandma and her jokester husband stock up on groceries at the local supermarket. While taking advantage of every promotion they can, will they actually remember to pick...
Eduarda, the mechanic, deals with a customer who thinks he knows exactly what’s wrong with his car… when in fact, the biggest problem might just be the driver! (Special guest: Eliana Silva)
While making her way through her lengthy shopping list (containing useful food vocabulary, of course), Sra. Rosa shares her elderly wisdom with a young employee who is eager to help. Special Guest: Eliana Silva
This holiday season, a Practice Portuguese TV reporter takes to the streets to hear directly from Portuguese natives about their family Christmas traditions… until a particularly talkative woman steals the show!
With the holiday season approaching, Rui and Joel announce a special early gift for members of Practice Portuguese! Listen and find out exactly what is on “the Way”… Updated December 1, 2018: It’s launched!
Salvador and Mariana (– no, Adriana! –) visit a hair salon to freshen up their looks, but quickly find themselves in a hairy situation! In this episode, you’ll learn lots of new vocabulary and expressions that should come in handy...
Today we revisit Diálogo 29 to discuss some of the vocabulary and expressions surrounding the Portuguese housing market. There’s also an extra listening challenge waiting for you in the second half, so stick around!
In this episode, we explore the Portuguese apartment rental market with James, a young adult of Portuguese descent looking for a new place. To find some leads, he recruits the help of his friend, Luís. However, Luís happens to be...
After listening to our last podcast on foreign words derived from Portuguese, a Japanese member, Ryoko, came to our rescue with recordings of every Japanese word we mentioned, plus a bunch of new ones for good measure. Join us as...
In this unscripted dialogue between Rui and Joel, we discover words in English, Spanish, French and Japanese that apparently derived from Portuguese vocabulary… Come for the comprehension practice, stay for the butchered non-Portuguese pronunciations!
Hoping for a calm, vegetarian dining experience at a local Portuguese restaurant, Sr. John gets thrown off guard by unprofessional service and a problem with his order! Find out how he deals with these challenges, and learn lots of vocabulary...
“Ronaldo” is one of the first names that pop up when discussing Portugal, wherever you are in the world. Regarded as one of the most important football/soccer players of all time, he’s earned his place as not only a top...
Today we learn about one of the most important symbols of Portuguese culture, found all over the walls and buildings throughout the country – azulejos (tiles). As always, we explore new vocabulary and grammar, and correct more of Joel’s “pronúncia...
Our fabulously fictional Portuguese family is back (with peculiarly different voices
In this episode, we learn about one of Portugal’s most important symbols and main exports: cork! We explore tons of new vocabulary, and later, for your benefit, Rui humbles Joel by tearing apart his pronunciation skills!
Today, our fictional Portuguese family is subjected to some of the grammar you’ll find around the B2 Intermediate level, including the “conjuntivo” verb mood. Since the mother is sick, the father has to improvise with preparing dinner himself, all while...
Update: April 10, 2018 – As a gift to us and all Practice Portuguese fans, our friend Wayne has turned this episode into a fully-animated cartoon. The video is free for everyone to watch, plus our supporting Members get access...
When we launched Diálogo 24 Um Café Em Lisboa (with our special guest, Tatiana from Brazil), it understandably created some controversy with our audience, who normally looks to us for European Portuguese content! While most members loved exploring the differences between...
After our very challenging Diálogo, dedicated to the Algarvian dialect, we decided to record a follow-up discussion with Eliana, (who voiced the Algarvian characters). She will help us understand a bit better some of the difficult terms and expressions that came...
In what might possibly be our most ambitious Diálogo to date, we explore some of the delightful bureaucracy that surrounds obtaining a residency permit in Portugal. With Michael (our special guest estrangeiro) moving to Algarve, we get a chance to...
Discover the beautiful ballad that unexpectedly swept Europe off its feet in the Eurovision 2017 song contest: “Amar Pelos Dois”, by Salvador Sobral. After 53 years of competing, this marks Portugal’s first victory ever! With the help of a special guest,...
This episode is a collaboration featuring Tatiana Ribeiro, a Portuguese teacher (and fan of the project) from Brazil, currently living Italy! She recorded with us and also wrote the dialogue, which takes place in a café in Portugal. Since we all...
We’re back with another classic Portuguese tale, this time with the story of a Moorish king after the heart of a humble, female shepherd. Will he win her heart, despite their different religious backgrounds? How will they survive when the...
In this video, Joel (o Canadiano) interviews Pedro, a personal trainer in Lisboa. When he saw which videos and website his Greek girlfriend was using to learn Portuguese, he immediately recognized Rui and Joel as members of the gym! Instead of...
Márcio o Brasileiro calls in once again to everyone’s favourite Portuguese pizzeria, but this time to ask the owner for a job. Will they be able to overcome their cultural differences and work together? Have a listen and find out...
What could be better than a holiday episode in January? (Just about anything!) Listen to find out what happened to Rui that delayed this episode… and be extra prepared for when the holidays come around again in about 355 days! We also...
In this Lenda (tale), we explore a famous Portuguese tale of a woman… with goat feet! She manages to keep the secret hidden her entire life, until a nobleman falls in love with her and learns the truth. (special thanks to...
A few days ago, Joel overheard some enthusiastic Portuguese natives talking about how António Guterres had been chosen as the new secretary-general of the United Nations. So in this episode, we take the opportunity to explore António’s life and the...
Outdoor concert festivals are fun and everything… until someone goes missing! In this dialogue, a Canadian named Fred gets worried when his Portuguese friend João disappears unexpectedly. He attempts to file a police report in the middle of the night...
Attention Practice Portuguese podcast subscribers! This is not a regular podcast episode, but a special announcement to tell you about a 3-part video series we’re launching starting today. Check out the first lesson now: practiceportuguese.com/words. In these 3 lessons, we aim to solve a...
Today’s destination is Morocco, as we cover tons of new vocabulary to prepare you for wherever your future travels take you! Follow our journey through the airport, airplane, and all through the ancient city of Marrakesh. (Featuring a very special guest,...
In this second half of “Portugal Campeão“, we continue to celebrate Portugal’s futebol victory! Just like the last few episodes, we discuss vocabulary and grammar useful in every day life, even if (like us) you don’t follow sports! Make sure to listen...
We celebrate Portugal’s futebol victory with a play-by-play of how it all went down, including tons of useful expressions and vocabulary, soccer/football related and otherwise. With Rui and Joel’s lack of sports knowledge (sports experts, you’ve been warned), we hope this...
Marco and Ana take their kids to the “supermercado”, giving us an opportunity to learn some new vocabulary surrounding food. First, Rui reads the entire article all the way through, then Rui and Joel split the text into sections to discuss...
