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Lots of you seem to be interested in learning Portuguese, and I’m all for it. No wonder: my native language is the sixth most spoken on the planet, and in my humble opinion, it sounds great in all its amazing diversity.
That’s where the list of Portuguese textbooks I’ve put together below comes in handy. After all, you’ll need a handful of great tools like podcasts, books, and apps to learn Portuguese and become fluent in it.
Without further ado, let’s check out the best Portuguese language textbooks available to order. Bear in mind I’ve grouped them according to the dialect they’re based on.
Best Brazilian Portuguese Textbooks
1. Complete Brazilian Portuguese: Beginner to Intermediate Course
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Developed by Teach Yourself, which has been publishing language learning materials for 75+ years, Complete Brazilian Portuguese is one of the most comprehensive Portuguese textbooks you’ll find on the web.
It’ll help you take your listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills in Portuguese from absolute first-timer to intermediate, which means you’ll manage to have simple conversations with Brazilians by the end of the book.
The book is filled with cultural insights and features 18 lessons, a word glossary, a verb reference, and a revision section. Not too shabby, huh?
Why you should try this book:
- It’ll introduce you to 1,500 essential words;
- Key aspects of Brazilian culture are highlighted;
- There are matching audio tracks for each lesson.
2. Living Language: Brazilian Portuguese, Complete Edition
Every time I set out to learn a new language, I’ll dive head-first and not stop until I feel comfortable communicating in that language. If that sounds like you, then Living Language’s textbook is the right choice for you.
Here you’ll get 46 lessons, plus a grammar appendix, review exercises, and culture-related notes throughout. That’s not to mention the nine audio CDs and the online learning lab with excellent extra content, including quizzes, games, and flashcards.
And the coolest thing is you’ll be learning through Living Language’s own method, which is based on instant and practical communication, a progressive approach, and recall exercises at regular intervals.
Why you should try this book:
- The package encompasses 46 lessons spread across three books;
- It comes with tons of interactive online materials;
- Living Language has developed its own time-tested method.
3. The Everything Learning Brazilian Portuguese Book
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I love books that live up to their title, and this one is a prime example of that. It’s jam-packed with dialogues and features a CD with wordlists, pronunciation guides, and fun exercises.
It also addresses vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar in a flawlessly balanced way and will have you engage in basic conversations faster than you think.
Author Fernanda Ferreira is a native-speaking professor of Portuguese with a Ph.D. She’s written other titles aimed at students of Portuguese, such as the fantastic workbook for The Everything Learning Brazilian Portuguese Book.
Why you should try this book:
- It’s a concise but extremely effective European Portuguese textbook;
- The audio material covers pronunciation and vocabulary like few other titles;
- The grammar and vocab target folks who’ll be traveling to Brazil soon.
4. Tudo bem? Vamos aprender Português!: Brazilian Portuguese
This is possibly my favorite Brazilian Portuguese textbook. Why? I feel the majority of textbooks are great at teaching you formal Portuguese and end up making foreigners sound pretty artificial when they speak. This book is a welcome exception.
Tudo bem? Vamos aprender Português! isn’t the most visually appealing textbook of all; I’ll give you that. Yet that doesn’t matter that much because it’s more of a study guide than a standalone textbook.
This will offer you the chance of combining it with less structured material like podcasts and storybooks through your learning journey.
The fact that every bit of information is presented in both English and Portuguese will ensure you’ll understand everything and help you learn countless new words as you go.
Why you should try this book:
- Explanations are entirely bilingual;
- It covers common phrases quite extensively;
- There are a bunch of exercises following each lesson.
5. Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide
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This aptly named book is an innovative reference material for serious learners who want to dive deeper into Brazilian Portuguese grammar. Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar expertly combines traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.
The first part covers traditional grammatical subjects such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The second part, on the other hand, focuses on expressions and contemporary usage while giving lots of examples.
What’s more, if you’re a Spanish speaker, you’ll get more out of this book as it has notes pointing out the main grammatical differences between the two languages.
Why you should try this book:
- Thorough explanations of both grammatical categories and functions
- Covers the history and current status of Brazilian Portuguese
- Additional notes for Spanish speakers
Best European Portuguese Textbooks
6. Bom Dia!: Level 1 – Portuguese Language Textbook
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No other book screams European Portuguese like Bom Dia!, complete as it is with beautiful images of the country across its pages.
Form aside, the content is hard to beat too. Its six lessons spread over 200 pages will make you go from zero to hero in Portuguese as you learn how to greet, describe, ask and answer questions, and have basic interactions with locals.
Since it was developed specifically for middle and high school classes, the book is particularly interactive, and its explanations are extremely easy to understand. In case you enjoy studying with it, make sure you get the matching workbook as well.
Why you should try this book:
- The layout is colorful and inviting;
- It’s followed up by an intermediate-level course;
- The content is clear and straightforward.
7. Learn Portuguese: A Simple Guide to Learning Portuguese for Beginners
Unlike all other Portuguese textbooks I’ve seen, Learn Portuguese boasts a supplement with 11 short stories to help you learn the language in a different way.
Before you get there, though, you’ll have gone through all the basics, including the gender of nouns, sentence structure, essential interactions, and more.
In addition to that, you’ll find a pocket dictionary and a list of false friends within the book, which is a precious asset when you’re approaching Portuguese for the first time.
Why you should try this book:
- It comes with a series of short stories;
- Its main goal is to have you communicate in Portuguese as fast as possible;
- Vocab and basic language structures are the main focus here.
8. Portuguese in 3 Months: Your Essential Guide to Understanding and Speaking Portuguese
By completing each of this book’s lessons for 12 weeks, you should be able to reach intermediate-level Portuguese. Portuguese in 3 Months is one in a collection of books applying an efficient method based on expanding your vocabulary above everything else.
One of the coolest things about it is that it teaches you pronunciation by replacing Portuguese sounds with an English syllable, which is especially valuable if you can’t rely on a native teacher to help you work on your pronunciation.
On top of that, the book comes with an accompanying audio app to guarantee you know your vowels from your consonants in Portuguese.
Why you should try this book:
- You’ll find not one but two bilingual dictionaries within it;
- Pronunciation keys cater to English speakers specifically;
- It’s part of a prestigious book series that teaches you the basics of a language in three months.
9. The Language Lover’s Guide to Learning Portuguese
One thing I’ve noticed in other Portuguese textbooks is that they typically overlook all the diacritical marks in Portuguese spelling, which is terrible for learners coming from languages that lack them (like English).
That’s one of the many advantages of this book, which focuses chiefly on grammar aspects. The Language Lover’s Guide to Learning Portuguese will be of special value to those of you who need to write in Portuguese or speak it in an academic or business setting.
It is, however, entirely presented in English. That means you can still invest in this book even if you’ve never studied Portuguese before. And although it’ll teach you European Portuguese, it’ll often confront the grammar and spelling that are used in Portugal with those of Brazil.
Why you should try this book:
- All explanations are written in English;
- It takes a holistic approach to grammar;
- It’s been designed with self-teaching students in mind.
10. Basic Portuguese: A Grammar and Workbook
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Published by Routledge, this reference guide packs grammar lessons and related exercises in one robust volume.
Basic Portuguese: A Grammar and Workbook comprises twenty units covering subjects that students can expect to encounter in their first year of studying Portuguese. In particular, this book helps with learning the fundamentals of European Portuguese.
The grammar points are then followed by several examples and exercises which will allow you to cement what you’ve learned.
Why you should try this book:
- Covers core grammatical points
- Provides ample exercises and examples of usage
- Clear and easy-to-follow explanations of grammar fundamentals
Best Portuguese Textbooks for Both Sides of the Atlantic
11. Contextos: Curso Intermediário de Português
This is by far the most advanced textbook on our list: you’ll waste your time if you look for a single sentence in English within it. That’s of course an asset for intermediate folks who are down to take the next step.
Units follow international guidelines for each of the language aspects they underscore. They’re also enriched with content lists for self-assessment that will let you track your progress on your own.
Contextos‘ exclusive website will lead you to audio tracks, grammar and vocab activities, as well as answer keys to the exercises in the book.
Why you should try this book:
- It’s the ultimate book in case you’re ready to bridge the gap between intermediate and advanced Portuguese;
- You’ll have access to a dedicated website with tons of extra activities;
- Exercises explore many interactive formats.
12. Para a Frente!: An Intermediate Course in Portuguese
With Para a Frente! (which fittingly means “Forward!”), you’ll get acquainted with some of Brazil’s most beloved writers as you study Portuguese.
Still, this book doesn’t aim just at Brazilian Portuguese students: every new lesson clearly differentiates between vocabulary that is used in both Portugal and Brazil from words and expressions you’ll only hear on one side of the Atlantic.
While the book is thorough across the wealth of contents it covers, one of its downsides is the lack of an answer key to the exercises. This shouldn’t be an issue if you’re studying with a tutor, but self-teaching learners might want to pick another textbook.
Why you should try this book:
- Its content concentrates mainly on daily-life vocabulary;
- You’ll read excerpts written by the greatest Brazilian authors of all time;
- It tells you very clearly which words are more common in which country.
13. Ponto de Encontro: Portuguese as a World Language
It’s really rare to find a textbook that will give you two separate learning paths, one for Brazilian and another for European Portuguese. That’s what Ponto de Encontro does.
While folks who need to become fluent asap won’t benefit much, the comparison offers a unique chance to understand more deeply how Portuguese is spoken in all its diversity.
The book’s open-ended activities are honestly far better than the same tired exercises you’ll have to count on in most titles. And although Ponto de Encontro is extremely culture-oriented, it never lets down in terms of grammar explanations and vocabulary.
Why you should try this book:
- Grammar, vocabulary, and exercises are seamlessly intertwined;
- The online language lab you’ll get to use is among the best on the market;
- You’ll be introduced to Portuguese-speaking culture in an engaging way.
14. Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Portuguese
Practice Makes Perfect’s edition dedicated to Portuguese will introduce you to the Brazilian and European dialects so you can develop a sort of neutral variant of your own.
That’s not what most people search for when they’re studying Portuguese. But it may come in handy if you have business interests in both countries, for example.
You’ll only learn high-frequency vocabulary here, which is crucial when you have to master the basics fast. Better yet, words are presented on flashcards which will definitely make memorization a lot easier.
Why you should try this book:
- Lessons are perfectly sized for time-pressed learners;
- Online materials include flashcards, audio tracks, and a progress tracker;
- It features 180+ exercises.
15. 501 Portuguese Verbs
You can never have too many Portuguese verbs at your disposal. With this book, you’ll learn the 501 most common and useful Portuguese verbs and how to use them.
501 Portuguese Verbs lists down a verb per page with its English translation, conjugations in all persons and tenses, as well as drills and practice sets. This book also covers helpful expressions and idioms for travelers, object pronouns, and more grammatical points.
Why you should try this book:
- Comprehensive guide on Portuguese verbs, usage, tenses, and more
- Clear and easy-to-use format
- Additional materials for travelers
Conclusion
I’m sure you’d done some research before coming across this post, but you might’ve missed a few of the greatest books to learn Portuguese on the market without it.
If you’re down to study Portuguese all the way to fluency, you’ll want to surround yourself with Portuguese learning resources that fit your specific needs. These include apps, grammar books, podcasts, online courses, workbooks, Portuguese novels, and more!
Luckily, a bunch of them are 100% free. That said, investing in quality material like one of the textbooks above will work wonders for your learning journey. Let me know in the comments which of them you ended up getting!