Calculator · with sources
How long does it take to learn Portuguese?
For an English speaker, Portuguese is one of the quickest languages to learn: the U.S. Foreign Service Institute puts it at 24–30 weeks of full-time classes (552–690 class hours, plus self-study) to reach professional working proficiency. A conversational level (B1) takes around 350–400 hours of guided study, roughly a year at an hour a day.
From zero to B1
About 12–13 months
350–400 hours of study, at 1 hour a day: around October 2027 to November 2027.
Your plan
- 1
Foundations · to A2 · about 7 months
The first 1,000 words, the present tense, ser and estar, and short graded stories you can follow.
Anki deck of the top 1,000 wordsThe most common wordsThe conjugator
- 2
Conversation · to B1 · about 7 months
Words 1,000–3,000, the two past tenses and the future with ir, and reading and listening every day.
How we calculate this
The hours come from two sources. Cambridge English's guided learning hours give about 200 hours a level: around 180–200 to A2, 350–400 to B1, 500–600 to B2 and 700–800 to C1. The Foreign Service Institute puts Portuguese among the quickest languages for English speakers, at 552–690 hours of intensive class to professional working proficiency.
The calculator takes the hours between your level and your goal and divides them by your daily time, counting a month as 30 days. Knowing Spanish, Italian or French cuts the hours by roughly a third to a half: a rough guide, since it helps far more with reading than with listening.
It is always a range, because people learn at different speeds. Classroom hours are intensive and guided; self-study varies; and regular reading and listening outside study time speeds everything up, which is why the plan below leans on them.
Questions
Can I learn Portuguese in 3 months?
You can reach a basic level (A1 to A2) in three months with an hour or two a day: enough to get by when travelling. A conversational level (B1) needs around 350–400 hours, which is about three months only at four hours a day, every day.
Can I learn Portuguese in a year?
Yes, to a conversational level: B1 takes around 350–400 hours of study, about a year at an hour a day. Two hours a day, or a lot of reading and listening besides, gets you towards B2 in the same year.
How quickly can I become fluent in Portuguese?
It depends on what you call fluent. The FSI's professional working proficiency takes 552–690 hours of full-time class, or 24–30 weeks. On your own, B2 (comfortable in most situations) takes around 500–600 hours: about a year and a half at an hour a day.
Is B1 or B2 considered fluent?
B1 is conversational: you can talk about familiar things and get by in most everyday situations. B2 is what most people mean by fluent: you can follow native speakers, read most things and talk about almost anything without much strain. C1 is near-fluent.
How many hours a day should I study Portuguese?
Whatever you can keep up every day. Thirty minutes to an hour daily works better than a few long sessions a week, and reading or listening to Portuguese you enjoy counts too: it's how the hours add up without feeling like study.
How fast can I learn Portuguese if I speak Spanish?
Much faster, especially at first: the grammar and much of the vocabulary are close, so reading comes quickly. The calculator cuts the hours by roughly a third to a half. Pronunciation and listening take longer than reading, since Brazilian Portuguese sounds very different from Spanish.
How long does it take to learn Portuguese with Duolingo?
There's no reliable figure for how far the app on its own gets you, and we won't invent one. It's a good start for the first words; see our review of Duolingo for Portuguese and what to do after Duolingo.
Is Portuguese harder than Spanish?
A little, for an English speaker. The grammar is about as hard, but Portuguese has nasal vowels and more vowel sounds, and Brazilian speech runs words together, so listening and pronunciation take longer. The FSI puts both in the same, quickest group.