Portuguese refers to the people, language, and culture of Portugal, a small country on the western edge of Europe bordered by Spain and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Portuguese language is spoken by over 250 million people worldwide, making it one of the most widely spoken languages on Earth. While Portugal itself is relatively small, Portuguese became a global language because of Portugal's age of exploration in the 1400s and 1500s. Portuguese sailors and explorers like Vasco da Gama were among the first Europeans to navigate around Africa to reach Asia and to explore the coast of South America. Portugal established colonies and trading posts around the world, which is why Portuguese is the official language of Brazil (the largest country in South America) and is also spoken in parts of Africa and Asia.

The language has a distinctive sound, often described as musical or melodic. Portuguese shares similarities with Spanish because both evolved from Latin, but they're different enough that speakers of one language can't automatically understand the other. Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese also sound quite different from each other, almost like different accents of English.

When someone says they're Portuguese, they mean they're from Portugal or have Portuguese heritage. Portuguese culture is known for fado music, beautiful tile work called azulejos, and delicious pastries like pastéis de nata.