One hour a day, for 90 days. You start with your first sounds and finish able to hold real conversations, tell stories about the past, and say what you'd do if. Everything is free, and there's no sign-up: your progress is saved in your browser.
Phase 1: Foundations
From your first sounds to simple conversations in the present: who you are, what you do, what you like, what you want and where you’re going.
Week 1: First words
The sounds of Brazilian Portuguese, greetings, introducing yourself, and the two verbs for “to be”.
- Day 1Sounds and first wordsThe sounds that make Portuguese sound Brazilian, plus hello, goodbye, please and thank you.
- Day 2Who are you?Introduce yourself and others with ser: your name, where you’re from and what you do.
- Day 3Things and peopleName the things around you: masculine and feminine words, the, a and some, and how to make plurals.
- Day 4Numbers and terCount from 0 to 20, say what you have with ter, give your age and your phone number.
- Day 5How are you? Where are you?Say how you feel and where you are with estar, and meet the difference between ser and estar.
- Day 6 · ReviewEmma’s first weekA longer story and mixed practice with everything from days 1 to 5. No new grammar.
- Day 7 · CheckpointCheckpoint 1Test yourself on week 1: greetings, ser, articles and plurals, numbers and ter, and estar.
Week 2: Everyday actions
Your first regular verbs, questions, likes and dislikes, numbers, prices and telling the time.
- Day 8What do you do?Your first regular verbs: say where you live and work, what you study and which languages you speak.
- Day 9Asking questionsThe question words (what, who, where, when, how, why, which, how many), short yes and no answers, and also, but, or.
- Day 10What do you like?Say what you like, love and prefer with gostar de, and learn how de joins up with o and a.
- Day 11Numbers and pricesCount to 100 and beyond, ask what things cost, and order and pay at the bakery.
- Day 12Days and timeThe days of the week, parts of the day, telling the time, and saying when things start, end, open and close.
- Day 13 · ReviewA working weekReview of week 2: -ar verbs, questions, likes, prices and time, all in one Saturday morning story.
- Day 14 · CheckpointCheckpoint 2Test yourself on week 2: -ar verbs and a gente, questions, gostar de, numbers and prices, days and time.
Week 3: People and places
Family, describing people and things, your home, and going places.
- Day 15Eating, drinking, understandingThe other two verb families: regular -er and -ir verbs in the present, with eat, drink, understand, learn, write, open and watch.
- Day 16My familyTalk about your family with my, your, our, his and her: meu, seu, nosso, dele and dela.
- Day 17What’s it like?Describe people and things: adjectives that match the noun, colors, hair and eyes, and when to use ser and when estar.
- Day 18At homeRooms and furniture, tem for "there is" and "there are", and saying where things are: on, under, next to, near, far.
- Day 19Where are you going?The verb ir: going to places, how you get there, and your first future with ir + infinitive.
- Day 20 · ReviewSunday lunchEmma meets Lucas’s family. A longer story and a mixed practice of everything from week 3.
- Day 21 · CheckpointCheckpoint 3Test yourself on week 3: -er and -ir verbs, family and possessives, describing, the home, and ir.
Week 4: Getting things done
Wanting, needing and being able to; ordering food, shopping, finding your way and your daily routine.
- Day 22Want, can, needSay what you want, what you can do and what you have to do with querer, poder, precisar and ter que.
- Day 23At the restaurantGet a table, order food and drinks, ask for the check, and say what you do and make with fazer.
- Day 24ShoppingPoint at things with this and that, shop for clothes, and count from a hundred to a million.
- Day 25Finding your wayAsk where something is, follow directions, take the bus and the subway, and say how long it takes.
- Day 26A normal dayDescribe your daily routine, say how often you do things, and learn five everyday verbs with an irregular eu form.
- Day 27 · Reviewone month in BrazilA Saturday at the street market with Dona Marta brings together wanting, ordering, shopping, directions and routines.
- Day 28 · TestPhase 1 testFifty-nine questions on everything from days 1 to 27: the present tense from first words to daily routines.
Phase 2: Building
Out of the present: what happened, how things used to be, what’s happening now and what you’ll do next. By the end you can tell a story.
Week 5: Yesterday
The simple past, regular and irregular: what you did, where you went and when.
- Day 29What did you do?Your first past tense: say what you did yesterday with -ar verbs like falei, cheguei and fiquei.
- Day 30What did you eat?The simple past of -er and -ir verbs (comi, bebeu, abrimos), and já for "already" and "yet".
- Day 31Where did you go?The past of ir and ser (fui, foi), ter (tive) and estar (estive): where you went, how it was, and words for a trip.
- Day 32What did you see and do?Eight more irregular pasts (fiz, vi, vim, dei, disse, pude, quis, trouxe) for telling what you did, saw and brought back.
- Day 33When? How long ago?Já, ainda não and nunca with the past, "ago" with há and faz, and how to say how long you’ve been doing something.
- Day 34 · Reviewthe weekend in RioThe whole trip from Friday night to Sunday night, told with every past form of the week. No new grammar.
- Day 35 · CheckpointCheckpoint 5Test yourself on the simple past, regular and irregular, and on já, há, faz and desde.
Week 6: Right now and every day
What’s happening now, reflexive verbs, comparing, and the little pronouns that replace people and things.
- Day 36What’s happening?Say what’s going on right now with estar + -ando, -endo, -indo, and talk about the weather.
- Day 37Reflexive verbsVerbs that come with me, se and nos: getting up, getting dressed, feeling, having fun, remembering and worrying.
- Day 38Knowing and being ableTwo verbs for "to know" (saber, conhecer) and three ways to say "can" (saber, poder, conseguir).
- Day 39ComparingMore than, less than, as much as, the best and the worst: comparing São Paulo, Rio and Toronto.
- Day 40Me, you, him, herObject pronouns the way Brazilians really use them: me, te and nos before the verb, and ele and ela after it.
- Day 41 · Reviewa rainy weekThe whole week in one story: what’s happening now, reflexive verbs, knowing and managing, comparing, and who did what for whom.
- Day 42 · CheckpointCheckpoint 6Test yourself on week 6: the present continuous and the weather, reflexive verbs, saber and conhecer, comparing, and object pronouns.
Week 7: How things used to be
The second past tense, choosing between the two, por and para, and telling a story.
- Day 43When I was a childA second past tense, the imperfect: how to form it, and how to say where you lived and what life was like when you were a child.
- Day 44Used to, was …ingWhat the imperfect is for: past habits, descriptions, age, time and weather, what was going on, and polite requests.
- Day 45Which past?Choosing between the simple past and the imperfect: what happened against what was going on, and four verbs that change meaning.
- Day 46Por and paraTwo words for "for": para for where something is headed, por for what’s behind it or along the way, plus the verbs that bring their own preposition.
- Day 47Telling what happenedPut a story in order with primeiro, depois, de repente and por isso, say what has just happened, and say what hurts.
- Day 48 · Reviewthen and nowNo new grammar: Sunday lunch at Dona Marta’s, with the imperfect, the two pasts together, por and para, and a story told in order.
- Day 49 · CheckpointCheckpoint 7Test yourself on week 7: the imperfect, choosing between the two pasts, por and para, and telling what happened.
Week 8: Plans, requests and advice
Commands, the future, “would”, “have done”, and words like something, nothing and nobody.
- Day 50Do this, don’t do thatGive instructions and advice with the imperative, and follow a doctor’s orders and one of Dona Marta’s recipes.
- Day 51The futureTalk about plans three ways: vou viajar, viajo amanhã and the written viajarei, plus será que for wondering.
- Day 52Would and couldThe conditional for polite requests and advice: você poderia, eu gostaria, você deveria, eu no seu lugar.
- Day 53Done and have been doingPast participles, tenho trabalhado for what you’ve been doing lately, and tinha feito for what had already happened.
- Day 54Something, nothing, nobodyAlguém and ninguém, algum and nenhum, tudo and todo, and why Portuguese says “I don’t want nothing”.
- Day 55 · Reviewgetting ready for SalvadorA longer story and mixed practice on commands, the future, would and could, participles and words like nobody and nothing.
- Day 56 · TestPhase 2 testFifty-six questions on everything from days 29 to 55: the two past tenses, right now, pronouns, comparing, commands, the future and would.
Phase 3: Intermediate
The grammar that separates beginners from real speakers: wishes, doubts, “if” and “when”, plus the natural, connected Portuguese Brazilians actually use.
Week 9: Wishes, doubts and opinions
The present subjunctive: what you want others to do, how you feel about things, and what may or may not be true.
- Day 57I want you to…Meet the subjunctive: how to build it from the eu form, and how to say what you want, hope or prefer that someone else does.
- Day 58Glad, sorry, afraidThe seven irregular subjunctives (seja, esteja, vá, dê, saiba, queira, haja) and how to say you’re glad, sorry or afraid that something is so.
- Day 59Maybe, I doubt itSure or not sure? Talvez, tomara que and expressions of doubt take the subjunctive; acho que and tenho certeza que don’t.
- Day 60So that, unless, althoughÉ importante que…, and nine linking words that always take the subjunctive (para que, embora, antes que, caso…), plus the easier infinitive when the person is the same.
- Day 61In my opinionGive and react to opinions, describe someone or something you haven’t found yet (alguém que fale inglês), and wish people well with Que…!
- Day 62 · Reviewbefore the tripThe presentation is over and the bags are packed: a longer story and mixed practice on the whole present subjunctive.
- Day 63 · CheckpointCheckpoint 9Test the present subjunctive: wishes, feelings, doubt, linking words and opinions.
Week 10: If and when
The future and past subjunctive: plans that depend on something, imagined situations, and reporting what people said.
- Day 64When you arrive, if you wantThe future subjunctive: what you’ll do when, if or as soon as something else happens.
- Day 65I wanted you to…The past subjunctive: what someone wanted, asked, hoped or doubted, and maybes about the past.
- Day 66What if?Imagined situations: if I had time, I would…, if I were you, what if we…, and as if.
- Day 67Looking backWhat would have happened: if I had known, I would have gone, plus should have, could have and wish I had.
- Day 68He said that…Reported speech: telling someone what another person said, asked and asked you to do.
- Day 69 · ReviewSalvadorA birthday party on the last night in Salvador, and the whole week again: when, if, what if, if only and he said.
- Day 70 · CheckpointCheckpoint 10Test yourself on week 10: when and if, the past subjunctive, what-ifs, looking back and reported speech.
Week 11: Sounding natural
The personal infinitive, the passive, relative clauses, spoken Brazilian shortcuts and everyday expressions.
- Day 71For us to doThe personal infinitive: an infinitive with its own subject (para eu fazer, para nós fazermos, para eles fazerem), and the words for housework.
- Day 72It was built, they sayThe passive (foi construído), states with estar (está aberto), signs with se (aluga-se), and what Brazilians say instead in conversation.
- Day 73The person who, the place whereRelative clauses with que, quem, onde and o que, where the preposition goes (a pessoa com quem eu trabalho), and cujo and o qual for reading.
- Day 74How people really talkThe short forms of everyday speech (tô, tá, tava, pra, cê, né), fillers and reactions, cadê, and what -inho and -ão add to a word.
- Day 75Verbs that do everythingThe everyday expressions built on ficar, dar, acabar, deixar, levar, trazer, andar, continuar and passar.
- Day 76 · Reviewthe partyDona Marta’s surprise party, and the whole week again: personal infinitive, passive, relative clauses, spoken forms and everyday verb expressions.
- Day 77 · CheckpointCheckpoint 11Test yourself on week 11: the personal infinitive, the passive, relative clauses, spoken Brazilian and everyday verb expressions.
Week 12: Portuguese in the real world
Work and formal language, solving problems, following the news, telling stories and understanding Brazil.
- Day 78At work, formallyFormal Portuguese: o senhor and a senhora, a proper work email, and polite formulas for meetings and interviews.
- Day 79Sorting things outPhone calls, the bank, the rent and the internet: explain a problem and ask for a solution.
- Day 80Following the newsRead a news article in full: the connectors of written Portuguese and the special grammar of headlines.
- Day 81Telling a good storyTell a story the way Brazilians do: all the past tenses together, aí and daí, the present for drama, and the right reactions.
- Day 82Understanding BrazilRegions and accents, where people say tu, ten false friends, a first look at European Portuguese, and everyday culture.
- Day 83 · Reviewthe decisionA review of week 12: formal Portuguese, solving problems, the news, storytelling and Brazil’s regions, as Emma faces her contract.
- Day 84 · TestPhase 3 testThe test for days 57 to 83: the three subjunctives, what-ifs, natural spoken Portuguese and Portuguese in the real world.
Week 13: Final week
Everything pulled together: four review days, a skills day and the final test.
- Day 85 · ReviewThe present and the basicsWeeks 1 to 4 at full speed: ser and estar, gender and agreement, the present tense, contractions, possessives, demonstratives and questions.
- Day 86 · ReviewAll the pastsWeeks 5 to 8 in one day: the simple past and the imperfect, tinha + participle, time expressions, object pronouns, por and para, commands, the future and the conditional.
- Day 87 · ReviewSubjunctive and what-ifsWeeks 9 and 10 in one day: the three subjunctives and what triggers each one, real and unreal conditions, and reporting what people said.
- Day 88 · ReviewNatural, connected PortugueseWeeks 11 and 12 in one day: the personal infinitive, the passive, relative clauses, spoken forms, the verbs that do everything, formal and informal language, and connectors.
- Day 89 · ReviewSkills dayNo grammar tables today: a long letter to read, a long dictation, speaking tasks that need several sentences, and two pieces of writing.
- Day 90 · TestFinal test, and what comes nextThe final test of the whole course, the end of Emma’s story, and how to keep your Portuguese growing from here.
How each day works
Every day follows the same order, so you always know what to do next.
1. Warm up
A few questions from earlier days, some from yesterday and some from weeks ago. Remembering just before you forget is what makes words stay.
2. Listen and learn
A dialogue to hear and read, then the day’s new language explained in plain English with examples you can tap to hear.
3. Practice
Type your answers and get them checked on the spot: fill the gap, translate, put the words in order, and write down what you hear.
4. Speak, then drill
Say your own sentences out loud, then finish with a verb workout and ten minutes of flashcards.
How to move through the course
- One day at a time, in order. Each day uses what came before it. When you finish, press "Mark day as done" and the course page shows where to pick up tomorrow.
- Days 6 and 7 of each week are different. Day 6 is a review with a longer story and no new grammar. Day 7 is a checkpoint: score 80% or more on the first try and you're ready for the next week. If you score less, go back over the days that gave you trouble and try again. Nothing is locked, so you decide.
- Use your review list. Every item you get wrong is saved to My review. Clear it whenever it has a few items in it.
- Missed a day? Just carry on where you stopped. Two shorter sessions also work better than skipping.
- Already know some Portuguese? Try the Day 7 checkpoint of a week. If you pass it, start with the following week.
What you'll be able to do
| After | You can | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (day 28) | Introduce yourself, ask and answer everyday questions, order food, shop and get around | A1 |
| Phase 2 (day 56) | Talk about the past and your plans, describe people and places, and handle most travel situations | A2 |
| Phase 3 (day 90) | Give opinions, talk about wishes and "what if", follow everyday Brazilian speech and tell a good story | B1 |
The levels are the European framework's (CEFR). B1 is a solid intermediate: enough to live day to day in Portuguese, and the starting point for an advanced course.
About the hour. A day is about 60 minutes if you say everything out loud and do the flashcards. If you only have 30 minutes, do the day's lesson and practice, and save the verb workout and flashcards for later in the day.