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People of Spain and People of Portugal - very similar or very different?
I am not Portuguese, but I have lived here for more than a decade, in a town on the SW coast that is increasingly popular as a weekend and summer vacation spot with Spanish people.
The Portuguese characterize the Spanish as superior-acting, rude and loud; the Spanish think that the Portuguese are taciturn, melancholy and unsophisticated. However, neither side seems to let these stereotypes get in the way of general good behavior.
I eat every day in a restaurant owned by a Portuguese man, and staffed by several Brazilian relatives of his. By his estimate 80% of his summer customers are Spanish, and he rolls his eyes whenever he refers to them, but always with a grin. The Brazilians get along famously with the Spanish customers, but refer to them as "as galinhas" (the chickens) because of their rapid, clipped accents and tendency to speak loudly.
I have to say that sitting there day after day, I do understand the nickname. I lived in a NYC neighborhood with many Puerto Ricans and Cubans for decades and I thought their Spanish was spoken rapidly, but these tourists from Spain leave them in the dust!
I have never travelled in Spain except for Catalunya, so I really don't know if my observation applies to Spanish or specifically to Catalans. But I found the people there more abrupt on the whole in their dealings (speaking of clerks in stores, waiters, hotel reception, etc.) than I am accustomed to in Portugal.
The Portuguese characterize the Spanish as superior-acting, rude and loud; the Spanish think that the Portuguese are taciturn, melancholy and unsophisticated. However, neither side seems to let these stereotypes get in the way of general good behavior.
I eat every day in a restaurant owned by a Portuguese man, and staffed by several Brazilian relatives of his. By his estimate 80% of his summer customers are Spanish, and he rolls his eyes whenever he refers to them, but always with a grin. The Brazilians get along famously with the Spanish customers, but refer to them as "as galinhas" (the chickens) because of their rapid, clipped accents and tendency to speak loudly.
I have to say that sitting there day after day, I do understand the nickname. I lived in a NYC neighborhood with many Puerto Ricans and Cubans for decades and I thought their Spanish was spoken rapidly, but these tourists from Spain leave them in the dust!
Gotta LOVE Brazilians! Actually when I lived in Brazil, they had quite a few stereotypes of the Portuguese as well. I can't really remember them exactly, but I recall them mostly in a way that a person might have described any typical colonizer though. Proper, reserved, etc., if I remember correctly.
Nontheless, I can't help but think I would quite like Portugal though, as I love their colonies! Brazil, Macau, Goa, etc...the two of those three that I have been to, I loved. Whereas most of the Spanish-speaking colonies, while I have liked them too, the Portuguese ones just seemed more interesting somehow.
In my experience, I have seen the Spanish as more reserved, and the Portuguese as acting more "Young". Not in a bad way, but in a way where they are more lax and carefree than the Spanish.
Thats just in My experience from visiting Alentejo and Sevilla anyways.
In my experience, I have seen the Spanish as more reserved, and the Portuguese as acting more "Young". Not in a bad way, but in a way where they are more lax and carefree than the Spanish.
Thats just in My experience from visiting Alentejo and Sevilla anyways.
this is similar to my experience though I must admit I have never been to Portugal. I don't have a very good impression of the Portuguese people I have met in Spain. Maybe I Was unlucky and only met the obnoxious ones.
In my opinion brazilians and Portuguese have very little in common Brazilians are one of the nicest people out there I would say the Portuguese are more similar to the Spanish I still find spaniards nicer and more polite than the Portuguese
I found the Spanish a bit more friendly, especially in the South
Thats not true!! Im Spaniard, and i like those who are interesting , peaceful and funny,...from everywhere, any race,any culture,...
Always generalizing,....Why you all talk about spaniards and portugueses like we were a tribe or something like that? Im very diferent than my brother and we share genes and both spaniards
Spain, is a united kingdom, we have diferent cultures here,...Basques, Galicians, Asturians, Aragonians, Catalans, Valencians,Andalucians,...etc,...with more than 5 different languages,...
Portugal and Portuguese does not have anything to do with Spain. The two countries have lived apart for centuries. Portugal is a slow-motion country where everything is complex. Last time I was there, 9 years ago, Portugal was a somewhat decaying and substandard country as compared to Spain.
Many Spanish behave in an arrogant manner because they feel superior, such bad manners are typical of Madrileños. Last time I was in Coimbra, Porto and all around Portugal and I saw a pack of Madrileños behaving like turds, also Extremeños, from a nearby community in Spain, behaving like if they were the owners and screaming like hell after drinking 100 bottles of vinho verde. Disgusting.
There's prejudice against Portuguese in the bordering communities, I guess that those regions import many workers and local don't like it, but not in Madrid or Barcelona.
I don't know if Portuguese are more friendly than Andalusians since I don't understand Portuguese. I met many friendly people in Portugal, but they spoke Portuñol, some sort of Spanish-Portuguese pidgin.
I have never travelled in Spain except for Catalunya, so I really don't know if my observation applies to Spanish or specifically to Catalans. But I found the people there more abrupt on the whole in their dealings (speaking of clerks in stores, waiters, hotel reception, etc.) than I am accustomed to in Portugal.
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Kevku
Here we are "down to business", precise, we don't use many words and we are organized. Catalonia receives from 15 to 20 million tourists and if we acted like Portuguese in Portugal, we would be broke in no time. Tourists are dispatched like chickens here, no time to chat.
When people here visit Portugal, they suffer nervous break-downs, just registering in any hotel seems like a very long process, and their language puts you to sleep.
The Spanish are simply more sophisticated than the Portuguese because Spain is much bigger and the Spanish culture is more a "first world " culture than the Portuguese :
eg : everybody knows Julio Iglesias, no one knows (save those who have a special interest in Portuguese folk music) the Portuguese equivalent of that Spanish singer!
besides, in the USA there are a lot of people -including in Hollywwood eg Antonio Banderas - of Spanish origin or having Spanish names.
And even taking Brazil into account, there are worldwide much more Spabish speakers than Portuguese speakers.
Finally, the economics talk too : Spain GDP and per capita revenue is much higher than Portugal's.
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different
Im Spaniard, and i like those who are interesting , peaceful and funny,...from everywhere, any race,any culture,... 
