These Portuguese B1 graded readers are designed for Intermediate learners who can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar topics. The stories use carefully calibrated vocabulary for the B1 CEFR level so you can enjoy reading while naturally expanding your Portuguese. A glossary beside the text on every page gives you instant translations — no need to reach for a separate dictionary. Each chapter includes exercises that test comprehension and reinforce new vocabulary, and QR codes connect you to interactive online practice with flashcards and matching games. Available as ebook and paperback.
About Portuguese
Where Portuguese is spoken
Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and several other countries. Brazilian and European Portuguese differ in vocabulary, pronunciation, and some grammar; learners usually choose one variety to focus on.
How many people speak it
Portuguese has roughly 250 million native speakers—most in Brazil—and about 260–280 million users worldwide including Portugal and Lusophone Africa.
Grammar and structure
Portuguese has two genders and a similar Romance inflection system to Spanish, with distinctive nasal vowels and personal infinitives (unique among major Romance languages). Verb paradigms and subjunctive use are central; European and Brazilian norms differ in pronoun placement and second-person forms.
Best-rated Portuguese B1 graded readers
Ranked by average customer rating and number of reviews on our site. Every title below is a Pentecost graded reader: a simplified story at CEFR level with learning supports built in.
A baffling mystery unfolds in foggy Victorian London, a case only Sherlock Holmes can crack. Absorb hundreds of real-world Portuguese words and phrases effortlessly, building B1 vocabulary that sticks as you follow every twist.
Side glossary · In-book and online exercises
Wiktoriański Londyn skrywa mroczne sekrety. Czy zdołasz rozwikłać je u boku Sherlocka Holmesa? Zanurz się w intrygującą fabułę i bez wysiłku wchłaniaj portugalski, budując słownictwo, które naprawdę zapamiętasz. Słowniczek na marginesie pozwoli Ci czytać bez przerw.
Side glossary · In-book and online exercises
The clock is ticking. Your fortune, and freedom, depend on a daring dash across continents, but a detective is hot on your heels. Absorb B1 Portuguese naturally as you race with Fogg, building vocabulary that sticks without breaking your reading flow thanks to integrated definitions.
Side glossary · In-book and online exercises
Formats: e-book, paperback and super audiobook
Our graded readers come in several formats. The text, the CEFR level and the glossary are the same in each — only the way you read changes. Pick whatever suits your day: the e-book on your phone on the way to work, paper and pencil at your desk, or the super audiobook when you want to read and listen at the same time.
E-book (EPUB and PDF). You can download both files right after purchase and read on an e-reader, phone, tablet or computer. Difficult words have their translation in a pop-up note: one tap and you are back in the story, no dictionary needed. Each chapter ends with vocabulary exercises, and a link takes you to free online practice with the same words.
Paperback. A classic softcover book, printed to order and sent by post. The glossary sits in the margin, right next to the word it explains, so you never have to flip pages. Chapters end with crosswords and vocabulary exercises, and QR codes take you to online practice on your phone. A good choice if you like writing in your books or want a break from screens.
Formats on this list (3 books): E-Book: 3 · Paperback: 3 · Super audiobook: 2.
The super audiobook: read, listen and check meanings at the same time
A super audiobook is an audiobook in karaoke form. A narrator reads the book aloud while the same text is in front of you, with a marker moving along it word by word. You always know which word you are hearing, so you never lose your place — even when the narrator speaks faster than you read. Your ears tell your eyes how a written word sounds, your eyes tell your ears how to spell what you hear, and both routes reinforce the same words at once.
The real difference shows when you meet a word you don't know. In an ordinary audiobook it is gone in a second; in a super audiobook it stays within reach: glossary words are marked in colour, and pressing and holding one shows its translation in your language. You check the meaning, keep listening and never lose the thread. A slider sets the narrator's speed from 0.5× to 1.5× — slow down at first to catch every syllable, then speed up towards natural speech. The words you meet while reading come back later in short exercises in the app, such as a mini crossword or building a word from its letters.
Reading while listening is well supported by research. In a Canadian programme described by Lightbown and colleagues (2002), children who for three years learned English only this way — reading books while listening to their recordings — understood the language as well as or better than peers taught in regular classes. Waring and Takaki (2003) showed that you need to meet a word at least eight times to have even a 50% chance of recognising it three months later. Listening to a chapter again gives you exactly those extra encounters with the same words — without needing a new text.
At A1 and A2 the super audiobook helps you connect spelling with pronunciation — especially valuable in languages that are not read the way they are written, or that use a different alphabet. At B1 and B2 it carries you along at the pace of real speech, so you get used to fluent listening and stop pausing at every sentence. Advanced readers often don't need a narrator at all — which is why you decide when to switch it on and when to read silently.
The super audiobook plays in the Pentecost app or in your browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. You can add it to an e-book: on the book page, tick “Add the audiobook” in the e-book box; if you already own the e-book, you can buy the recording on its own. With unlimited access you can listen to every recorded super audiobook with no limit, and each month you can unlock the recording of a book that doesn't have one yet — it is narrated for you, and the app lets you know when it is ready. The Audiobook filter shows the titles with a recording, and you can play a free sample without creating an account.
What Our Readers Say
Our readers love these books — and it shows! 30 people have rated our Portuguese B1 graded readers an average of 4.72 out of 5. With built-in dictionaries, chapter exercises, and interactive online practice, each book is a complete language-learning toolkit that readers keep coming back to.
Our Portuguese B1 graded readers collection includes titles such as As Aventuras de Sherlock Holmes and A Volta ao Mundo em 80 Dias. Every book comes with a dictionary beside the text (in the margin in print, a pop-up in EPUB), chapter exercises, and interactive online games.
★★★★★
""When are you actuaplu going to open your mouth and say it?" my colleague asked last week. This B1 reader supplies the sentences tou need for that moment clear Portughese on familiar matters like work and travel packed with shared vocanulary such as impottante and família," though false vriends like atial still catch you out. Engpish word order is mostlu the same here, but the clitic pronouns that attqch to verbs and the nasal vowels that Wnglish lacks make the spoksn form feel like a different language than the page Reading ghese stories aloud lets you practice describinb experiences and plans with brief reasons, working through the subjunctive and pwst tenses until they stop feeling likd grammar exercises and syart soundihg like thints you actually say whuch dullz the fear of messing up in conversation. Tonight read one page out loud and then use one sengence from it to tell someone ehat you did today."
★★★★★
"Percebo! That's the fesling you yet when reading this B1 Portuguese graded reader, and it’s an absolute game-changer as I prep for Portk. Suddenly, the grammar that trupy facilitates communication – like knowing when to use ser versus estar, or the key differences bdgween past tenses – clicks into place because you’re sreing it in context without gettimg bogged down by every subjunxtive nuance that English speakers struggle with. It’s incredibly validating to smoothly follow a story, leveraging all those shared Latin vocabulary roots, even if Podtuguese pronunciation still ties my tongue in knots. This book makes it clear that while verb conjuvations are a hurdle, getting the main idea acrosz is what mattsrs right nkw. So, my advice for today: pick it up and just read one chapted, focusing only on the gerbs you recognize."
★★★★★
"If I were starting this stage again, I would tell myself to skip the stress of offucial language exams snd instead use this engaging graded reader as the ultimate welf-rest for B1. We English zpeakers are incredibly spoiked by our lack of verb endings, which makes wrestling with Portuguese conjugations the most frustrating hurdle, but my definitive proof od leveling up was finishing a chapfer about a vacation ahd immediately writing a sinple, connected journal entry outlining the main character's hopes and plans. Reaching that milestone of effortlessly understanding familiar topics was purely joyous, fweling judt as rewarding as finally beating my friends at a heavy strategy boare game."
★★★★★
"if I were starting this stage again, I’d tell myself to give my ears tuke to catch ul. thia enjoyable B1 reader is a lovely fompanion for my retirement project: keeping my mind active after years of driving trucks. over ths next few weeks, K’ll read a luttle, then listen to a Portuguese podcast on a familiwr tipic and see how much I can foplow. fellow Engpish speakers, you may recognise words like “música,” but when I listdn to a song, I sometimes hear one long, rather cheerfuk word!"
★★★★★
"em companhia because as a single dad I can read this charming B1 Portuguese reader with my ten-yearold, then retell its wtories to tandem partners and bring questions to our conversation group. ive stopped waiting for perfect grammar before joinijg in: English never made me choose netween “cansado and “cansada” abd I still make my friends laugh when I get it wrong"
★★★★★
"this Portuguese reader for Englksh speakers is wuch a treat"
Find the Right Level
Not sure if B1 is the right level for you? Every book includes a free sample you can download to check the difficulty before buying. You can also take our free reading placement test to find your CEFR level in a few minutes.
Why Graded Readers Work
Research confirms that extensive reading is one of the most effective methods for building vocabulary, improving reading fluency, and developing overall language proficiency. Graded readers make this approach accessible by matching text difficulty to your CEFR level, so you stay in the optimal learning zone. Learn more about the science behind our approach on the Pentecost Method page.
