Tap through 15 Portuguese words sampled from A1 to B1 level. You'll get an instant estimate of your vocabulary size and CEFR level. Free, no signup, ~3 minutes.
How many words are there in Portuguese? The Houaiss dictionary documents around 228,000 entries across European and Brazilian Portuguese. You need a tiny fraction of that: roughly 500 words covers A1 basics and about 4,000 puts you at B2 fluency. This test estimates how many you already know.
15 words · 2–3 minutes · be honest — only count words you could actually translate
Tip: use ← (don't know) and → (know) on a keyboard
| Score | CEFR | What you can actually do |
|---|---|---|
| ~500 | A1 | Introduce yourself, order food, survive as a tourist |
| ~1,200 | A2 | Handle routine daily exchanges and simple messages |
| ~2,500 | B1 | Hold real conversations and understand most everyday texts |
| ~4,000 | B2 | Work in Portuguese, follow films and news comfortably |
| ~6,000–8,000 | C1 | Study at university level, read novels without a dictionary |
| 8,000+ | C2 | Near-native range: nuance, idiom, and register |
There is no single official count, but the reference points are useful: the Dicionário Houaiss documents around 228,000 entries across European and Brazilian Portuguese, and the living language keeps growing on both sides of the Atlantic. For learners the practical numbers are far smaller: the 3,000 to 5,000 most frequent words cover the bulk of everyday Portuguese, which is why frequency-ordered decks are the fastest way in. For how word counts map to CEFR levels across languages, see how many words you need to speak a language.
Vocabulary research maps CEFR levels to approximate word counts: ~500 words for A1, ~1,200 for A2, ~2,500 for B1, ~4,000 for B2, and 6,000–8,000+ for C1/C2. The test shows you a random sample of words from each level's decks; the share you recognize at each level estimates how much of that level's vocabulary you own. Curious how we schedule reviews after the test? See the interactive forgetting-curve simulator.
A few of the Portuguese words the test draws on at each level:
| A1 | olá, oi, tchau, bom dia |
| A2 | concordar, discordar, a opinião, achar que |
| B1 | o líder, a negociação, o aumento, o benefício |
The test samples words from CEFR-leveled decks (A1, A2, B1) and estimates your vocabulary size from how many you recognize at each level. It's a directional estimate, good for choosing where to start studying, not a certified assessment. Retaking it gives you a fresh random sample.
Take this free test: you tap through a sample of Portuguese words from A1 to C2, marking each as known or unknown, and it estimates your total vocabulary size and CEFR level in about 3 minutes. No signup is needed, and you can retake it any time for a fresh sample.
Roughly 500 words covers A1 basics, 1,200 gets you to A2, 2,500 to B1 independence, 4,000 to B2 fluency in most conversations, and 6,000 to 8,000+ to C1/C2 mastery. Frequency matters more than raw count; the most common words do most of the work.
An educated native speaker typically knows tens of thousands of words, but you need far fewer to communicate well. Around 3,000 to 5,000 well-chosen words cover most everyday conversation, which is why frequency-based study is so efficient.
Start studying at the level where you stopped recognizing words. All our Portuguese decks are free, so copy one to your library and review with FSRS spaced repetition, which schedules each word right before you'd forget it.
The Dicionário Houaiss, the most comprehensive Portuguese dictionary, documents around 228,000 entries spanning European and Brazilian Portuguese. For learners the practical number is much smaller: the 3,000 to 5,000 most frequent Portuguese words cover most everyday conversation, which is why frequency-ordered study works so well.
Educated native Portuguese speakers know tens of thousands of words, but learners need far fewer: about 500 words covers A1 basics, 1,200 reaches A2, 2,500 gives you B1 independence, and around 4,000 frequency-ordered words puts you at B2, where you can follow Portuguese media and hold real conversations. This test estimates where you currently sit on that scale.
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