“Do Portuguese People Speak English?” How Hard It Is To Get By Speaking Only English

I'm a Canadian who moved to Portugal back in 2018. When I first told friends and family abroad that I was living in Portugal, the most common question I'd get was, "But do you speak Portuguese?"

My answer still hasn't changed from then - no, I don't. I work online - for myself - and have no real way of learning the language besides learning apps and from media that I cannot yet understand (but kudos to Duolingo for gradually helping me pick up some comprehension of the lanugage!).

Before I moved here, I tried using Duolingo for months, but as anybody who's tried to learn a new language knows - it's just not an easy thing to do. And even things you tried to learn you may find yourself blanking out on and being unable to use in day to day life.

Then there are the accents - not everyone's going to speak in a way that you can understand. And boy are there a lot of accents accross Portugal - some which even the Portuguese have trouble understanding.

Needless to say - it's just not easy. On many levels, learning Portuguese is tricky and difficult, even though it's proven far easier for me to understand than my decades of attempting to learn French via the compulsory classes we took in school as Canadians. I still don't know Portuguese, and I still get by just fine without any knowledge.

Do Portuguese People Speak English?

So do Portuguese people speak English? Not all of them. Estimates are that roughly a quarter or a third of those in Portugual speak English. I feel like the estimates are kind of pointless to consider because the amount of English speakers is nowhere near evenly distributed.

You can go someplace that has little to no English speakers - like in the center of Portugual in small towns or cities that have few expats and tourists. If you're travelling someplace around Lisbon or in the Algarve, there are so many Portuguese locals that speak English it's ridiculous. Lisbon is both a city and a provence/state, by the way. The provence includes cities like Sintra, Cascais, Belém, and a bunch of other big towns and cities, and all of them have a lot of English-speaking locals living in them.

There are many Portuguese locals and plenty of immigrants and expats living there who come from other countries - like Brazil - that speak fluently in English as well.

The question of whether or not Portuguese people speak English is a bit pointless, so I feel the question should be reframed a little bit. Instead I'd say the more apt question is...

Is It Easy To Get By In Portugal If You Only Speak English?

Whether or not it's easy to get by in Portugal if you only speak English. This is what it really comes down to. And I would say - if you're primarily visiting Lisbon and the Algarve - hands down, it is pretty darn easy.

To travel to Portugal, to have an extended trip here, to live for years as a quasi-tourist in this country, even living in Portugal, permantly relocating here - it's all very easy to do if you only speak English.

If you're visiting one of these places and are interacting with employees at stores and little shops, restaurant waitresses and waitors, Uber and Bolt drivers and food delivery drivers, as well as other service industry workers - you're probably going to find that almost all of them speak English at varying levels.

If you end up getting one server in a restaurant who doesn't speak English, they'll typically run to grab their co-workers so you'll have an easier time ordering once they know you don't speak Portuguese.

That being said, if you're dealing with immigration and beaurocracy, things get a little more complicated, and I would recommend having a lawyer who speaks English to do that stuff for you and even accompany you. But it's usually fine at the post office, and normally every government building you'll need to interact with is staffed with plenty enough English speakers that if you request one, chances are very high there will be at least one to help you.

How Well Do English Speakers In Portugual Speak English?

Here's the thing. If you say something like a quarter of the population speaks English in Portugal, but the vast majority don't speak it well enough to make it easy for English speakers to get by, it's not a very helpful statement.

So how well do the Portuguese typically speak English when they say they do? Can you really get by without knowing a word of Portuguese if someone in Portugual says they speak some English?

Honestly - the Portuguese level of English fluency, in my experience, is so very high

Even when the locals respond to my frequently asked question, "Do you speak English?" with the most common response ever given in this country: "A little." - Boy do they not mean a little. And they are not being humble. They are genuinely completely unaware of just how good their English language skills are. Honestly.

Most of them can carry out full-fledged conversations in English only getting stuck on remembering a few words here and there. And it's so easy for us to fill in the blanks, offering up a word where they forgot the translation. It's as though they think speaking English well means they can't forget any of the vocabulary - while I space out and forget words in the primary language I speak all the time.

Their fluency is so good that if they moved to an English-speaking country tomorrow, they would do gloriously well. When they say they speak "a little" English. No, I'm not exaggerating. Yes, I really mean it. Someone needs to give these people a reality check, because they would all get A++ on their ESL classes.

It's unnerving - especially considering most of us English-speakers would say, "I speak a little French" when we could really only manage to ask where the bathroom is and order food successfully in a given foreign language.

Can you tell I'm more than a little jealous of their language skills? Yeah, they're that good.

Should I Worry About Anything In Particular If I Don't Speak Portuguese, Only English?

Honestly, I don't think so. If you're the type of person who is really anxious about not being able to be understood, just know that here, no one else is bothered when you don't speak the language.

Will you get a "You should try to learn Portuguese!" here and there? Absolutely! But it's not from a place of resentment or hostility or any of those things. I think, honestly, that a lot of the people who say this in pretty much flawless English say it from a place of not understanding how big of an accomplishment it is that they've mastered two languages. Like major kudos to them.

They're also not the type who will judge you for attempting to learn the language - even if you butcher it or really don't manage to get what you're trying to say across. They'll praise you for the attempt - then sympathize when you say, "Portuguese is not an easy language to learn!" They understand. And really only appreciate it when you try, then typically switch to English immediately to make things easier on you.

And if you want to try to learn a word or two, they'll be so excited to share. Honestly, the Portuguese are probably the most helpful, kind people I've met in my life. I've spoken about it in my article on why I think Portugal is a great place to live before, and I'll probably say it countless more times on this blog. So don't be afraid - either of not knowing, or of trying to say a word or phrase here or there, or of butchering the language. It will be okay.

What Are Some Useful Words & Phrases I Can Learn In Portugese?

There are a few things you can learn in Portuguese that will help you out if you're trying to make some effort before a trip to Portugal or a move to Portugal.

I've covered these in my article on the most helpful words and phrases to learn if you're visiting or moving to Portugal so go check that out if you're interested!

But if you don't manage to remember a single one - don't worry! You will 100% be okay in Portugal not knowing a single word of Portuguese. And again - don't worry about butchering the language. The locals will just be happy you gave it a try!