Is speaking Portuguese useful in Macau today?

8/20/2016 6:45:20 AM

Not really. Only around 0.6% of Macanese speak Portuguese as a first language, and perhaps 5% of the population can speak it at all, most of them elderly and unlikely to be encountered by the casual visitor. Any of Cantonese, English or Mandarin is far more useful in practice.

Portuguese is primarily spoken by those of Portuguese descent. The colonial administration did not teach Portuguese in schools or encourage social mobility, so most local Chinese did not learn it and saw no benefit to learning it.

The one benefit of knowing Portuguese is that some official signage is written only in Chinese and Portuguese. However, the airport and ferry terminals have signage in English as well, while private businesses use Chinese and English or, most commonly, Chinese only.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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