Learn Portuguese the way you learned your first language

The natural method, without translation: short lessons written entirely in Portuguese, with a picture or context for every new word.

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Your first lesson is free
No account needed to start

9:41

Click, drag or scroll on the phone to try it

How the course goes

Every Portuguese lesson is written in Portuguese, and every course is built the same way: one step at a time, with a choice of route as you go.

Start where you are
Begin from the first lesson, or tell us what you already know and start further in.
One card at a time
A lesson is a short run of cards: sentences, pictures, exercises and speaking, all in Portuguese.
A checkpoint closes each lesson
If some words have not stuck yet, it adds a little practice. Then you choose where to go next.

Lesson 1 is done. Pick what comes next – and see where it takes you.

Lesson 1
Greetings
Checkpoint – what next?

Hear the lesson

Every sentence in every Portuguese lesson is read aloud. Press play, or point at a word to hear it on its own and see what it means.

Read in the app's voice.UnknownEncounteredFamiliar

The natural method

You did not learn your first language from a dictionary. You worked it out from what you saw and heard, always a little beyond what you already knew. Loquelo teaches Portuguese the same way.

More about the method

Stephen Krashen on how we acquire language

With translation

a dogum cão

A word is a copy of one you already know, and you go back to your own language every time.

A little beyond what you know
Each lesson is mostly words you know, with a few new ones you can work out. Linguists call it comprehensible input.
Pictures, not translations
A new word comes with a picture or a short definition in the language itself, never with a translation.
Words that come back
What you learn returns in later lessons, right before you would forget it.

Questions

Last updated October 30, 2026

Can I learn Portuguese without translation?

Yes. Every Loquelo lesson is written entirely in Portuguese. New words come with a picture or a short definition in Portuguese, and you can tap any word to see how Loquelo explains it.

Is Loquelo good for complete beginners in Portuguese?

Yes. The first Portuguese lesson starts from zero: every new word comes with a picture, in sentences so simple you understand them straight away.

Do I have to follow one fixed path?

No. From the first lesson on, a checkpoint can offer a choice: one of the lessons for the next step, each with its own topic and words where the course has more than one, a round of practice, or a change of level.

Is the first lesson free?

Yes. Your first lesson is free, and you need no account for it – after the first cards we ask you to save your progress. To keep going you choose a subscription, and one subscription unlocks every lesson in every language.

Can I learn Portuguese on my phone?

Yes, on iPhone and iPad and on Android, and in your browser at www.loquelo.com. Your progress follows you to every device where you sign in.

Supported by

Loquelo originated in the vibrant Cambridge startup ecosystem and is supported by many initiatives connected to the University of Cambridge and beyond.