Thalita Alves
Last updated:
Magazines: The Coolest Way to Learn Brazilian and European Portuguese
Print, online or on a tablet—everyone loves a good magazine.
This type of media continues to be very popular and widely accessible for news junkies, current affairs fiends and all kinds of lifestyle enthusiasts.
And for Portuguese learners, that can only mean one thing—more reading practice!
Because, when you’re studying another language, you need to cover all bases: your spelling, vocab, the works.
Getting your hands on a magazine from Brazil or Portugal is very much as easy as clicking your mouse, so there’s no excuse not to make use of this compelling medium.
If you’re sitting there wondering how this can help Portuguese learners, don’t worry. We’ll shed some light onto the subject matter before we show you some of our top magazine picks.
So, keep on reading this post and get ready to flick through some great Brazilian and European Portuguese articles and features.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How magazines will enhance your leaning experience
What’s the point of memorizing all that Portuguese vocabulary if you’re not going to use it?
Reading will help you make the right associations between the words that you’ve learned and how they’re used in an everyday setting.
The great thing about magazines is that their content is very scannable. Articles range from short snippets to long features—ideal for taking in the text in smaller, more manageable doses as needed. What’s more, magazines can help Portuguese learners to ease into other media, like newspapers and books. Before you know it, reading in this beautiful, but sometimes complicated, language will simply become part of your everyday routine.
You might be thinking, “How do I get started?”. Pick a genre of interest and select a few magazines to read based on that. We would actually recommend starting with a lighter subject matter, like lifestyle or general interests, and then move into more serious topics after you’ve got the hang of reading the language—but that depends entirely on your current level of learning, of course.
It’s always a good idea to keep a dictionary nearby in case you need to look up any words—there are plenty of apps around, so you won’t have to lug around a physical copy on you all the time. If possible, get in the habit of reading once a day: You might pick up a magazine while you’re commuting on the train, or you could try to do a bit of reading in your down time, whether that’s lunch time, before going to bed or whenever else feels convenient.
Now that we’ve given you a bit of inspiration, here are some magazines from Brazil and Portugal worth checking out.
8 Magnificent Magazines from Brazil and Portugal
Instead of bombarding you with publications, we’re going to give you a few options across various genres to play with. If you’re currently learning the Brazilian variety of the language, try to get the ball rolling with these:
Superinteressante
Dedicated to all things interesting (hence the name) this magazine has a collection of features, listicles, newsy items and general knowledge pieces. It covers a large variety of topics, including science, technology, culture, politics, society and health.
Saúde
Website
Another magazine staying true to its name, Saúde focuses on health, well-being and medicine. Along with articles, you’ll also find videos, quizzes and regular op-eds. And it’s not limited to human health either—there’s actually an entire section dedicated to taking care of pets too.
Isto É
Website | iOS App | Android App
For a well-rounded view of Brazilian society at large, you can’t go wrong with Isto É magazine. The weekly publication focuses on independent journalism, covering a wide scope of issues spanning across politics, culture, education, technology, the environment and the economy.
Elle Brasil
Website
Brazil is globally renowned for its fashion and beauty industry, so it wouldn’t be fair not to include at least one magazine of this kind. Elle’s Brazilian edition is filled with news items from the country and abroad, along with your standard lifestyle and beauty features.
Revista Placar
Website | iOS App
If you know a thing or two about Brazilian culture, you’ll be fully aware that football is very much viewed as a way of life. Revista Placar appeals to all the soccer fanatics—for those unfamiliar with the word, placar actually means scoreboard in Portuguese. If your dream is to watch a Brazilian team up close, then a magazine like this will definitely prepare you for it.
Best magazines for European Portuguese learners
Once again, we’re bringing you a selected few from various genres.
Visão
Website
With a name that literally translates to “vision,” Visão provides a large scope of pieces for its readers. From global affairs to local politics and literature, there’s something about every single facet of society in this publication. Some of their regular series include the Ler Faz Bem (“reading is good for you”) articles and the Nós Lá Fora (“Us Outside”—all about expat living) features.
O Jogo
Website
Sports fanatics learning European Portuguese will love this magazine. Their primary focus is on soccer, but there’s some coverage of motor sports as well. The occasional sports celebrity news seems to sneak up every once in a while, but their loyalty to football is what stands out from the outset.
Vogue Portugal
Website
We’ve given you the Brazilian Elle, now we’re bringing you the Portuguese Vogue. Once again, you’ll find all your fashion magazine essentials, in European Portuguese: the latest industry news, style guides, lifestyle blogs, and up-and-coming trends. You might bump into the occasional English word on occasion—it’s kinda the “cool” thing to do in publications of the sort.
So, what’s next?
To really get some practice going, we would recommend reading some passages out loud. Not only will it help you retain those words a little bit better, you’ll also be fitting some much-needed Portuguese pronunciation practice into it.
So, get reading. These Portuguese language magazines are bound to help you learn the language much quicker than you realize.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
