Brit moving to Brazil with minimal Portuguese

Welcome to the forum !! I'm a Canadian, married to a Brasilian, who initially moved back to Canada with me for 20 years. We recently moved back to Rio permanently 5 months ago.

I'm fluent in Portuguese now however, and to the extent that even the locals are shocked, having started seriously a couple of years ago being self taught, but my experience back there and here in my new home would probably benefit you a lot. Any questions please ask. There are a few of us here who have been down this road, and you'll be just fine.

@Terri Forward

Hi Terri - my wife and I are both Brits, and we moved here over 17 years without a single word of Portuguese! Clearly we did not move in order to be with a partner, but for business opportunities.

It was a challenge, but not a really difficult one, and we did also move to an area where not a lot of English is spoken, but the locals are incredibly welcoming and patient, thankfully! Now we live on the beach of a tropical island in NE Brazil, an hour from an international airport, and have hundreds of great Brazilian friends. Life is good!

01/13/25 Hi, I am a Brit, currently living in Singapore, where i met my current boyfriend, who is Brazilian. His contract in Singapore came to an end at the start of the year and i am now looking at the possibility of moving to Brazil.
Unfortunately i dont speak Portuguese, and i am aware of the challenges and limitations that brings. But i am in the process of starting to learn. I am also aware of the visa requirements.

Im looking to connect with anyone that has been through a similar journey and has successfully relocated to brazil without speaking much Portuguese in order to be with their partner. - @Terri Forward

Welcome, Terri!  If you're getting on top of the visa requirements and learning Portuguese, you're already off to a good start.  Since your boyfriend has been working in Singapore I'm assuming that his English is quite good, so you have some solid support. 

Where are you planning to move in Brazil?  Your location will be the key factor in knowing what resources will be available to you in making the adjustment.  Best of luck to you.

@Terri Forward Congratulations! I am in the process of creating my YouTube channel on learning a new language, so that is the only thing I can speak to. I started coming to Brazil (my 2nd mothers' homeland) when I was 10yrs old and now I am a Brazil Permanent Resident. In the last 50 years I gathered these tips.

1. Learn Your Money! Not being able to say Hello is not as bad as not knowing

           your denominations etc. and having someone rob you blind when you change money etc.

1. Learn Transactional Vocabulary! It's great to know your colors and greetings,

          but the most important thing is to know vocabulary for whatever transaction

          you will be performing.... Where is my airplane gate? What bus do I take to

          Copacabana Beach? Where is the bathroom?

1. You Can Go Very Far in knowing Body Language!  If words aren't handy, you would be

           amazed how far you can get with body language.

Good Luck!

Roddie in Retirement🕵

I've been teaching English to Portuguese speakers and recently Portuguese to English speakers. It is a case of submersing yourself in the language and learning the high frequency words firstly as you can start to use them straight away. Best of luck