Portuguese is the sole official language of Brazil at the national level.
Brazil became Portuguese-speaking because Portugal established a colony there after Pedro Álvares Cabral’s arrival in 1500. Portuguese gradually became dominant through settlement, administration, trade and the expansion of colonial institutions. Brazil is now the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world by population.
Brazilian Portuguese has distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary and grammatical features that differ from European Portuguese. Indigenous languages and African languages also influenced Brazilian Portuguese, especially in place names, food terms and regional vocabulary.
Brazil recognizes Portuguese nationally, but the country is linguistically diverse. Hundreds of Indigenous languages continue to be spoken, although many face severe pressure. Some municipalities have granted co-official status to local Indigenous languages, and Brazilian Sign Language, Libras, has legal recognition. Spanish is widely understood in some border and tourism contexts, but it is not Brazil’s national official language.