ScriptLookup

Portuguese

português
pt 232M speakers

Portuguese (português) is a Indo-European language with approximately 232M speakers speakers. It is written using the Latin script. Its BCP 47 language code is pt.

Portuguese (português) is a Romance language originating in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, and East Timor — making it a truly global language with major presence on four continents.

Brazilian and European Portuguese differ significantly in pronunciation and vocabulary, though both are written with the Latin alphabet. Portuguese was spread by the Age of Discovery, during which Portugal established colonies across Africa, South America, and Asia.

Writing Systems Used for Portuguese

Latin
Primary
Hello World
LTR Latn

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Portuguese use?
Portuguese is written using the Latin script (ISO 15924 code: Latn). Latin is written left-to-right.
What direction is Portuguese written?
Portuguese is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Portuguese?
Portuguese has approximately 232M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Indo-European language family.
What language family does Portuguese belong to?
Portuguese belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is written with the Latin script.
What is the language code for Portuguese?
The BCP 47 language code for Portuguese is "pt". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
pt
ISO 639-3
por
Status
living
Speakers
232M speakers
Language Family
Indo-European
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Latin

Other Latin Languages

Acehnese Acoli Adangme Afar Afrikaans Aghem Akan Akoose Alabama Albanian Aleut Anii Ao Naga Aragonese Araona Arapaho Arawak Aromanian Arpitan Asturian

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.