Learn Spanish Language with Free Lessons & Tips

Brazilians generally view the Spanish language positively and often appreciate its cultural richness and the opportunities it offers for communication with Spanish-speaking countries. Due to geographical proximity and shared Latin American heritage, many Brazilians may even understand some Spanish or find it relatively easy to learn. However, Portuguese remains the dominant and official language in Brazil, which can shape attitudes toward Spanish as a secondary language of interest or necessity rather than competition.

Spanish is generally considered more similar to Italian than to French. This similarity is primarily due to their shared Latin roots and many common vocabulary words, as well as similar grammatical structures and phonetic characteristics. While French and Spanish also share Latin origins and some similarities, such as certain grammatical features, the lexical and phonetic similarities between Spanish and Italian tend to be more pronounced.

Mexican and Spain Spanish share the same linguistic roots, but there are some differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and influences from other languages and cultures. People from Spain and Mexico generally understand one another, although a few distinct words, syntaxes, and facts of speech show their diversity.

So if the “h” is silent, why do we write it? Well… for several reasons. First, it represents an “f” that existed in Latin and was lost as Spanish evolved: filius>hijo; facere>hacer; formica>hormiga. Second, it was inherited from Latin where it was apparently pronounced: hora>hora; historia>historia.