Over the years, Brazilians have built a reputation of being very friendly and receptive to people from different places. Whether they are tourists or immigrants moving to Brazil. But is it true? Are Brazilian people really friendly? You’re about to find out.
Brazilians are very friendly, especially with tourists and people from different cultures. There are exceptions, but in general, Brazilians are gentle and tend to make new friends fast. Brazil is an amazing place and its best part is most definitely its warm and friendly people.
Brazilians Are Very Friendly
Brazilian people are very friendly. It is something that is part of our people, our culture. Despite the difficulties and problems we have and face almost daily in our country, this hardly affects our ability to empathize and want to party and make new friends (even when there is not much to celebrate). I particularly love this fact about my country and our people.
Of course, there are exceptions. Unfortunately, you may have already experienced (or read) the opposite of what is listed in this article. But we cannot judge an entire society as a whole by the attitude of a few. I live in a small town in Brazil, and although there are problems and not very good people around here, in general, the people are very friendly and supportive.
A famous saying between Brazilians (that kinda became a meme) is “o melhor do Brasil é o Brasileiro”. A direct translation would be “the best part of Brazil is the Brazilian”, referring to its people. It’s funny but is also true. The best part of Brazil is most definitely its passionate and affectionate people.
Brazilians Love Tourists And Foreigners
If you’re visiting Brazil from the US, UK, Australia, or pretty much any other English-speaking country that is not located in South America, you’ll probably feel like a celebrity here. Excluding tourist hotspots, Brazilians are not used to having a lot of tourists visiting or foreigners moving to smaller cities. When it happens, man, it surely is an attraction for us.
The first contact may be slow, but after you make at least one Brazilian contact, be prepared: you’ll make a lot of new “amigos”. Get ready to receive invitations for parties or to try some traditional Brazilian food in their homes made with a lot of love. I have seen it happen multiple times over the years with exchange students, a former soccer player from Switzerland that came to coach a kids team, and even a veteran from the American air force who started training Jiu-Jitsu at the same school as I do.
The Language Can Be A Barrier
One real problem that any tourist/immigrant will face in Brazil is the language barrier. Brazil is nothing like Europe in terms of the percentage of people that speak English as a second language. Where in European countries pretty much everyone speaks English, in Brazil, the fluent speakers are limited to only 1% of the entire population (about 2 million fluent speakers in the entire country).
I know it sounds like a lot of people, but it’s not. The vast majority of those fluent speakers are located in four cities with higher levels of English proficiency in Brazil, being them: Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo. In that sense, is fair enough to say that any English speaker will face a language barrier to make friends while traveling when traveling to a city other than the top four in terms of English language proficiency (excluding tourist hotspots that are usually prepared to receive travelers).
Out of these cities, it’s difficult to find someone for you to talk to in English. However, Brazilians are not only very friendly, but they are also very comprehensive. I guarantee that they’ll try hard to find a way to communicate with you if you show interest. The pro tip for people from the US and Europe is trying to remember some Spanish lessons because If you know some, it’ll definitely help. Spanish it’s not the same as Portuguese, but there are similarities between the languages that will make it easier for a Brazilian to understand what you are saying.
Is Brazil Friendly To Foreigners?
Brazil is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. A rich culture, amazing food, and jaw-dropping views are part of our routine around here. Of course, there are problems as well (especially with safety and political tension). Even so, a lot of people dream about moving to Brazil. But is Brazil friendly to foreigners?
As a general rule, Brazilians are very friendly to foreigners from all places. There are exceptions, but most of the Brazilian people are very receptive to foreigners from all countries. Brazil is a very miscegenated country and therefore open to receiving people from different cultures.
Are Brazilians Affectionate People?
Brazilian people are friendly and welcoming. As we are very miscegenated people, we love to receive travelers and immigrants from pretty much anywhere. But there’s another question that I receive very frequently here in the blog: are Brazilians affectionate people?
Brazilians are affectionate people and not ashamed to demonstrate that in public. They are very friendly people and use to show their affection by touching and hugging friends and colleagues. In their relationships, Brazilians have no shame on kissing their partners in front of friends and family.
Is Brazil A Happy Country?
Brazil is often shown in movies and news as a place where everyone is happy and is always smiling. It’s crazy, but it’s true. Of course not everyone is happy and we have bad days as anywhere else. Also, it doesn’t mean we don’t have problems in Brazil (trust me, around here we have millions of reasons to be sad, we just have the ability not to get affected by them).
Brazil is considered a very happy country. Despite its structural problems, Brazilian people are super friendly and they are always trying to laugh (even at our problems). Despite the recent political tension, Brazil still has this remarkable characteristic of being a happy people.
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