The 1,000 Most Common Portuguese Words

Ranked by real-world frequency. Study all of them free with spaced repetition.

More Portuguese lists: Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs About learning Portuguese

The 1,000 Most Common Portuguese Words: the list

Tips for learning Portuguese words

• Prioritise the irregular high-frequency verbs: ser, ter, ir, estar, dar, ver, dizer, ouvir, vir and querer appear constantly and don't follow the regular patterns, so drilling their present-tense forms early pays off fast.
• Ser and estar both translate as 'to be' here, but they aren't interchangeable; learn them as a contrasting pair so you get into the habit of asking which one fits before you type an answer.
• Ir ('to go') and vir ('to come') point in opposite directions, so when they come up as flashcard answers, say the full idea in your head first (going where versus coming from where) to keep the two apart.
• Watch words that do double duty: mesmo means 'same' but is also used for emphasis, and bem ('well') turns up in many everyday expressions, so notice them in real sentences, not just on the card.
• Use noun endings as a memory hook where they're reliable: tempo is masculine, coisa is feminine. Say or write the article alongside the noun in your own practice, even though the flashcard only asks for the word itself.
• Don't skip short function words like bem, mais, onde, quando and nunca because they look simple; they appear in almost every sentence, so fast typed recall of them matters as much as learning longer verbs.