Picking the wrong Portuguese books can kill..
Your Portuguese progress that is. You want to learn Brazilian Portuguese efficiently. And you want to learn it at an affordable price.
No problem.
Below I’ve written up a brief list of the best and cheapest Brazilian Portuguese books. I have all these books personally.
My secret stash of Portuguese books.
I’ve already written about the Green Book -> Learn Portuguese Fast With This Book!
But I know you like options. These language books will teach you how to speak Portuguese.
Let’s check them out.
Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar
This is the big daddy of them all.
The Godfather. The Pope of Brazilian Portuguese books. The Messiah!
I can never recommend this book enough because it’s just that awesome. Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide is so good it’s like it actually talks to you.
And it has the voice of Seu Jorge.
The book is split into two parts: Part A and Part B.
Part A: Structures explains the traditional Portuguese language learning curriculum.
- Nouns
- Adjectives
- Articles
- Verbs
- Conjugations
- Adverbs
- Numbers
BORING!
Part B is where the fun begins.
This part is titled: Functions. The author, John Whitlam, gives you tips and tricks on how to speak in modern-day Brazil.
In Part B, you’ll find useful information about:
- How To Answer The Phone
- How To Ask Questions
- How To Tell A Story
- How To Be Polite
- How To Express Emotions Like Anger, Sadness, Fear, Excitement
- How To Persuade
And that’s just the tip of the ice. The book is crazy. I highly recommend it for your collection.
Talking Brazilian
This is another amazing book. Talking Brazilian is all about the sounds and tones of Brazilian Portuguese. You will fine tune your listening comprehension as well as your pronunciation.
It can be tough noticing the differences between similar words like avô/avó or caro/carro. This book will help you notice and produce these different sounds.
The book has audio exercises for each lesson that focuses on a particular vowel or consonant sound.
For example, Lesson 3 is about pronouncing the consonants t and d.
You’d listen to the exercise first:
LISTEN
- te – you
- de – of
- tia – aunt
- dia – day
- diga – say (imperative)
- disse – he/she said
Then you would repeat the words. At the end of each lesson, there are phrases or conversations for advanced students to listen to.
This book is great for slowing down Portuguese.
WARNING: This book does not teach you fluent Portuguese. It’s primary purpose is as a supplement to a more complete learning experience like Semantica Portuguese.
Falar Ler Escrever
This is a more traditional language learning book but it’s still great for motivated self learners. I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you like to study Portuguese as if you were in a class setting. And if you already have a little Portuguese under your belt.
Why?
Because Falar Ler Escrever is entirely in Portuguese.
The book is split into 18 units about general topics like the city, the airport, shopping and apartment searching.
Each unit has exercises, audio lessons, verb conjugations, vocabulary lists, pictures and stories.
I recommend this book if you learn best with traditional language teaching strategies.
A Frequency Dictionary Of Portuguese
This Portuguese book is crazy! Someone took the time to find the 5,000 most common Portuguese words.
How many words do you need to speak a language?
Beats me. I’m sure knowing how to use the 5,000 most common words is more than enough. I love A Frequency Dictionary Of Portuguese but I’ve been pretty lazy and haven’t cracked it open in a while.
New goal: Make sure I know the 5,000 most common Portuguese words by this fall.
Why don’t you join me?
This book is also great because it has thematic vocabulary lists.
That is – the authors grouped common words into specific themes.
- Animals
- Colors
- Adverbs
- Adjectives
- Verbs
The book is a steal at the price.
Master The Word Mesmo
And finally, I had to add Master The Word Mesmo because it’s extremely useful. Mesmo is a powerful word in Portuguese. It can be used in many ways so it’s difficult to understand exactly what it means.
I’m not sure I fully understand every way mesmo can be used but when I hear it, I get it now. And a big reason I understand mesmo better is because of this book.
Inside, you’ll find real-life conversations using mesmo in 12 different ways with an English translation.
If you want to sound more Brazilian, add mesmo to your vocabulary.
That’s it. Honestly, the books you choose won’t make or break your progress if you are really motivated to learn Portuguese.
If you are serious, I recommend checking out the #1 Brazilian Portuguese Online Course – Semantica Portuguese.
Time is ticking. Start learning Portuguese today.