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How to Type in Portuguese — PT vs Brazilian Portuguese Keyboards

How to Type in Portuguese — PT vs Brazilian Portuguese Keyboards

· 4 min read · by Robin Érsek-Obádovics

Portuguese is spoken by ~260 million people across Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and other Lusophone countries. But the two main variants — European Portuguese (used in Portugal) and Brazilian Portuguese — have different keyboard standards: QWERTY-PT for Portugal, QWERTY-BR (ABNT2) for Brazil. This guide explains both, where the special characters live, and how to type fluently in either variant.

Portuguese has more accents than English

Portuguese uses:

  • á (acute)
  • à (grave)
  • â (circumflex)
  • ã (tilde — uniquely Portuguese)
  • é (acute)
  • ê (circumflex)
  • í (acute)
  • ó (acute)
  • ô (circumflex)
  • õ (tilde — uniquely Portuguese)
  • ú (acute)
  • ç (cedilla)
  • ü (rare, in some loanwords)

That's 13 special characters to learn. The good news: most are produced via dead keys (combine accent + vowel), so the actual keyboard has only ~3-4 dead-key positions to memorize.

QWERTY-PT (Portugal) layout

The Portuguese keyboard standard used in Portugal. Differs from QWERTY-US in:

  1. ç has its own dedicated key — right of L (where ; is on US)
  2. Dead keys for accents — ´ (acute), ~ (tilde), ^ (circumflex), \` (grave)
  3. Most accents on the right side — combines with right pinky workload
  4. Different punctuation positions

Practice QWERTY-PT at /qwerty_pt/.

QWERTY-BR / ABNT2 (Brazil) layout

Brazil uses a unique national standard called ABNT2 (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards). It differs from QWERTY-PT in:

  1. ç in a slightly different position
  2. Different accent dead-key locations
  3. / placement — Brazilians have / on a dedicated key (US has it shifted)
  4. More keys overall (105 keys vs the standard 102)
  5. Different symbol distribution

Practice QWERTY-BR/ABNT2 at /qwerty_br/.

How to type accented characters

The dead-key system works the same for Portuguese as for Spanish and French:

  1. Press the accent dead key (´, ~, ^, \`)
  2. Press the vowel that takes the accent

Examples on QWERTY-PT:

  • á: ´ then a
  • ã: ~ then a
  • â: ^ then a
  • à: \ then a`
  • é: ´ then e
  • ê: ^ then e
  • ç: direct key (right of L)

The patterns are consistent: ~ + a/o = ã/õ, ´ + vowel = vowel with acute, ^ + vowel = vowel with circumflex, \ + a/e/o = grave-accented vowel`.

Common Portuguese typing words

Frequent Portuguese words to drill:

  • não, são, mão, pão, cão — common -ão (tilde) words
  • coração, atenção, situação, organização — words ending in -ção (very common)
  • avô, avó — grandfather vs grandmother (only difference is circumflex vs acute)
  • café, pé, também, fé — words ending in stressed -é
  • fácil, último, número, próximo — common acute words
  • águia, língua, frequência (older spelling — newer reform dropped ü)
  • família, várias, página — -ia words with acute

The tilde on a and o (ã, õ) is uniquely Portuguese — Spanish has ñ, but no ã or õ.

Portugal vs Brazil spelling differences

The 1990 Orthographic Agreement standardized many spellings between Portugal and Brazil, but some differences remain:

  • Portugal: acção, óptimo, facto — kept silent letters
  • Brazil: ação, ótimo, fato — dropped silent letters
  • Portugal: António, fenómeno — uses circumflex (â, ó)
  • Brazil: Antônio, fenômeno — uses different accent on some words

These differences affect what text you'll type, but not the keyboard mechanics.

A 30-day Portuguese touch typing plan

Same structure as the 30-day plan, Portuguese-specific:

  • Week 1: Home row + ç (the home pinky right position).
  • Week 2: Top + bottom rows. Drill não (the most common tilde word).
  • Week 3: Dead-key accents (~, ´, ^, \`). Drill -ção word endings.
  • Week 4: Real Portuguese text. Focus on ã/õ and circumflex words.

Target after 30 days: 45-55 WPM in real Portuguese. Portuguese typists average ~10% slower than English typists due to dead-key overhead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I learn QWERTY-PT or QWERTY-BR?

Whichever matches where you live. Portugal: QWERTY-PT. Brazil: QWERTY-BR/ABNT2. The differences are real but minor — switching between them is easy after you've mastered one.

How is ç typed?

On QWERTY-PT/BR: dedicated direct key (right of L on PT, similar position on BR). On QWERTY-US with US-International: AltGr+, or use Alt codes.

Can I type Portuguese on QWERTY-US?

Yes — use US-International layout, which adds dead-key accents. Or use Alt codes (Alt+0231 = ç on Windows). Long-term, switching to QWERTY-PT or BR is more efficient.

What's the difference between á and à in Portuguese?

á is acute accent (stressed vowel). à is grave accent (used rarely, mainly in word combinations like "à" = "to the"). Both are required by Portuguese spelling rules.

Is the tilde (~) hard to type?

Not really — it's a dead key, so press ~ then a to get ã. After a few days of practice, it flows naturally.

What about typing in Brazilian Portuguese vs European?

Same keyboard mechanics; just different spelling rules. If you're learning either, pick the layout matching your region and practice typing real text from that region's newspapers/books.

Are there accent shortcuts I should know?

If your software supports it: most modern OS allow long-press on the on-screen keyboard for accents (mobile especially). On desktop, the dead-key system is the standard.

Start Portuguese touch typing today

Start Lesson 1 on Typing Hero App for European Portuguese, or /pt-BR/ for Brazilian Portuguese. Both feature 19 progressive lessons designed for their respective standard layouts.

For more: QWERTY-PT layout details, QWERTY-BR ABNT2 details, Portugal vs Brazil keyboard comparison.