English mistakes Brazilian Portuguese speakers make
Portuguese and English share thousands of words that come from Latin, which gives Brazilian learners a real head start with vocabulary. The same closeness also creates traps. Words that look identical can mean something completely different, and Portuguese grammar quietly shapes English sentences in ways that sound natural to you but strange to native speakers.
This guide covers the mistakes Brazilian Portuguese speakers make most often, with clear explanations and corrections. Most of them disappear quickly once you know what to listen for.
False friends: words that look the same but aren't
False friends (falsos cognatos) are probably the most famous Brazilian trap. These are the ones that cause the most confusion at work and in daily life.
| English word | What it means | Portuguese word it looks like | What that means |
|---|---|---|---|
| pretend | fingir | pretender | to intend, to plan |
| actually | na verdade, na realidade | atualmente | currently, nowadays |
| push | empurrar | puxar | to pull |
| parents | pais (mother and father) | parentes | relatives |
| assist | ajudar | assistir | to watch |
| college | faculdade | colégio | school |
| library | biblioteca | livraria | bookshop |
| novel | romance (book) | novela | soap opera |
| exquisite | refinado, delicado | esquisito | strange, weird |
| eventually | finalmente, com o tempo | eventualmente | occasionally |
| prejudice | preconceito | prejuízo | loss, damage |
| sensible | sensato | sensível | sensitive |
Some examples of how these go wrong:
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| I pretend to travel next year. | I intend to travel next year. / I'm planning to travel next year. |
| Actually I work in a bank. (meaning "currently") | Currently I work in a bank. / I work in a bank at the moment. |
| I assisted the match on TV. | I watched the match on TV. |
| All my parents came to the party. | All my relatives came to the party. |
And yes, the door that says PUSH means empurre. Many visitors to English-speaking countries have pulled it first.
Age and "have": I am 25, not I have 25 years
Portuguese uses ter (to have) for age. English uses be.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| I have 25 years. | I'm 25. / I'm 25 years old. |
| How many years do you have? | How old are you? |
| My son has three years. | My son is three. |
The same goes for some feelings. Portuguese says ter fome, ter medo, ter razão, but English uses be:
- I'm hungry (not I have hunger)
- I'm afraid (not I have fear)
- You're right (not You have reason)
"Have" for "there is" and "there are"
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, tem is used to say something exists: Tem muita gente aqui. Translated directly, that gives Have many people here. English needs there is / there are.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| Have many people here. | There are many people here. |
| Has a problem with the system. | There's a problem with the system. |
| Had a meeting yesterday? | Was there a meeting yesterday? |
Dropped subjects: is raining, is important
Portuguese often leaves out the subject because the verb shows who is doing the action: Está chovendo, É importante. English almost always needs a subject, even an "empty" one like it.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| Is raining. | It's raining. |
| Is important to finish today. | It's important to finish today. |
| Is very expensive, this restaurant. | It's very expensive, this restaurant. / This restaurant is very expensive. |
| Arrived yesterday. | I arrived yesterday. / She arrived yesterday. |
Extra vowels: i-school and Facebooki
Portuguese words rarely end in hard consonants like k, t, b or d, and they do not start with s + consonant. So the mouth adds a small vowel to make the word "feel finished":
- Facebook becomes Facebooki
- hip hop becomes hipi hopi
- school becomes i-school, Spain becomes i-Spain
- network becomes networki
How to fix it:
- Say the word slowly and stop with your mouth closed on the last sound: boo-k. No air after the k.
- For words starting with s, start with a long hiss: ssss-chool, then shorten it.
- Practise in phrases: a big black dog, a good book, stop and speak.
The th sounds
Portuguese has no th, so it is often replaced with t, d, f or s: tree for three, dey for they.
- Unvoiced th (think, three, month): tongue tip lightly between the teeth, blow air.
- Voiced th (this, they, mother): same position, add voice so you feel a buzz.
Pairs to practise: tree / three, tank / thank, day / they, dare / there. Then a sentence: I think there are three of them.
Other sound habits
- Initial r: in Brazilian Portuguese, r at the start of a word often sounds like English h (think of Rio). In English, red or rice need the English r, with the tongue pulled back and not touching anything.
- Final l: Brazilians often say final l as a w sound (Brasil sounds like Brasiw). In English, feel and full need the tongue touching behind the top teeth at the end.
- Long and short vowels: ship / sheep, full / fool, live / leave. Make the long vowels clearly longer.
Uncountable nouns: advice, information, news
Some nouns are countable in Portuguese but uncountable in English. They have no plural and do not take a or an.
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| Can you give me some informations? | Can you give me some information? |
| She gave me a good advice. | She gave me some good advice. / She gave me a good piece of advice. |
| I have many homeworks. | I have a lot of homework. |
| Thanks for the feedbacks. | Thanks for the feedback. |
| We bought new furnitures. | We bought new furniture. |
| The news are good. | The news is good. |
Small grammar habits
| Instead of | Say |
|---|---|
| I am agree. | I agree. |
| It depends of the price. | It depends on the price. |
| She is married with an engineer. | She's married to an engineer. |
| Can you explain me? | Can you explain it to me? |
| I work here since two years. | I've worked here for two years. |
| Make a question | Ask a question |
A 10-day practice plan
- Day 1: Learn the false-friends table. Write one true sentence about your life for each word.
- Day 2: Practise age and feelings with be: describe your family's ages, then three things you are afraid of or excited about.
- Day 3: Describe your city using there is / there are ten times.
- Day 4: Talk for two minutes about the weather and your plans, checking that every sentence has a subject.
- Days 5 and 6: Record yourself saying brand names and tech words (Facebook, WhatsApp, laptop, desk). Listen for extra i sounds.
- Day 7: th drills, five minutes, then read a short news paragraph aloud.
- Day 8: Write and say ten sentences with advice, information, news, feedback, homework.
- Days 9 and 10: Have a ten-minute conversation (with a friend, a colleague or an AI partner) and ask for feedback only on the mistakes in this guide.
Practising with explanations in Portuguese
It helps a lot to hear why something is wrong in your own language. WordSlick's AI tutor can be used with a Portuguese interface, holds text or voice conversations and role-plays, and explains corrections in Portuguese. It also remembers the mistakes you keep repeating. You can read WordSlick's page for Portuguese speakers, browse natural English expressions, or try a free taster without signing up.
Questions
What is the most common English mistake Brazilians make?
Many teachers would point to false friends such as pretend and actually, and to translating ter directly, which gives sentences like I have 25 years or Have many people here. These come straight from Portuguese structure, so they are very common and easy to fix once you notice them.
Why do Brazilians add an i sound to English words?
Portuguese words rarely end in consonants like k, t or b, and they do not start with s followed by another consonant. The mouth naturally adds a vowel to make the word feel complete, which gives forms like Facebooki or i-school. Practising clean word endings slowly helps a lot.
Is it wrong to say informations or advices?
Yes. In English, information, advice, news, furniture and feedback are uncountable, so they have no plural form and do not take a or an. Use some information, a piece of advice, or a lot of feedback instead.
How should I practise the th sound?
Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth and blow air out gently for the th in think, or add voice for the th in this. Practise pairs like tree and three, or day and they, slowly at first, then in full sentences.