Is Portuguese more similar to Italian or Spanish?

Where lexical similarity of Italian and Spanish is around 80\%, Spanish and Portuguese is around 90\%. In other words, these Latin languages are cousins. If you are passively listening to the three languages being spoken, they are similar enough to realize that they belong to the same language group.

Is Portugal similar to Spain?

Since Portugal and Spain share the same peninsula, their landscapes and climate are similar. Geographically, Portugal is defined by its long coastline, making it abound with beaches. The biggest geographic difference between Portugal and Spain is the size; Spain is around five times larger than Portugal.

What country is the most similar to Spain?

Italy is just across the Balearic Sea from Spain. The two countries have similar climate, demographics, and culture. In addition, both are parliamentary multi-party democracies with similar laws.

How similar are Portuguese and Spanish?

Interestingly Spanish and Portuguese share about 89\% lexical similarity. Meaning that 89\% of words have a cognate (equivalent) in the other language. On paper, the two language does look very similar. The conjugation system follows the same logic and declinations.

Why is Portugal so different from Spain?

Originally Answered: Why are Portugal and Spain so different? Portugal was never part of a wider European empire. ‘Spain’ was also an old name for the entire Iberian Peninsula. Used for the union of Castille and Aragon, but there was a long struggle to impose Castilian standards on the rest of the kingdom.

Can Portuguese speakers understand Spanish?

Originally Answered: Can Portuguese speakers naturally understand Spanish? Yes, they can. The Portuguese understand Spanish quite well, even if they have not studied it. When I had not yet learned Portuguese, when I visited this country I spoke Spanish and I had no problem.