What Language Is Spoken in Porto? (2026)

Official Language

Portuguese

Overall8/10More English-friendly than about 70% of cities

In Porto you can get by almost entirely in English
While it is not necessary to learn Portuguese for a short trip, making the effort to learn a few basic words and phrases (such as 'bom dia' for 'good day' and 'obrigado' for 'thank you') is always appreciated by residents and seen as a polite gesture
Porto has a well-established and growing English-speaking community and has become an international metropolis and one of the best places in Portugal to move to for English speakers

Portuguese

General City: Very minimal; English widely understood
Specific Sectors: The only potential difficulty may be with some older taxi drivers, but this can be resolved by having the address of your hotel clearly written down or on a business card

Overview: English is so widely spoken within the tourism industry that there is effectively no language barrier, with communication in English standard in hotels, restaurants, and with tour operators

Signs in the airport and major train stations are bilingual, transport ticket machines have English language options, and restaurants in popular areas almost always provide an English menu
The airport is fully bilingual and very easy to navigate

Very High

Ranking: Portugal retained its 6th position among non-native English-speaking countries in 2025, meaning the Portuguese have a very high level of English proficiency
Description: Porto is classified as a city with English speakers at a "very high" level of proficiency

High English proficiency is partly due to Portugal's education system and the common practice of showing English-language films and television with Portuguese subtitles
English as a second language classes begin to be taught as early as the third or fourth grade when children are between the ages of 8 to 9

AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026

These are the sources cited in this language & english friendliness research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.

More About Porto

Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.