While they are both Romance languages and share a common ancestor in Latin, they have evolved independently for centuries, resulting in significant differences in:
* Pronunciation: Portuguese has a much broader range of vowel sounds and a more complex system of consonant clusters.
* Vocabulary: Many words are different or have slightly different meanings.
* Grammar: While there are some similarities, there are key differences in verb conjugations, noun genders, and sentence structure.
Think of it like English and German: they are both Germanic languages but are not mutually intelligible.
While Spanish and Portuguese speakers might understand a few words or phrases, they generally cannot fully understand a conversation in the other language.