Portuguese Language Basics
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Quick - what language is spoken in Brazil? If you answered "Spanish," you would have answered like most people and unfortunately, you would be wrong. Thanks to Pope Alexander VI’s decree in 1493, all lands west of a certain line were deemed to belong exclusively to Spain and the land east of the line was to belong to Portugal. The pope drew the line down through the Atlantic (300 miles) west of the Cape Verde islands, Portugal's most westerly possession. The Portuguese complained and had the line moved a bit more west resulting in their control of the eastern half or so of the continent which later was to become the nation of Brazil. Brazil was led by Portugal, and thus the language spoken was to become Portuguese.
The Portuguese language is a major language spoken by about 240 to 280 million people on four different continents. It ranks as the fifth or sixth most spoken language worldwide." (Source: Herles Matos, 2009). The Brazilians have added their own regional dialect and words to the language and are by far, the largest nation with Portuguese speakers. You don’t need to speak Portuguese to enjoy Rio, but it will certainly be helpful to be familiar with some common Brazilian phrases. English is spoken by many, but not nearly as often as you would find in Western Europe. If you speak one of the other "Latin or Romance" languages, you will also find yourself recognizing many of the words and the rhythm of the language.
Familiarizing yourself with the phrases below will go along way to enjoying your trip and becoming a Carioca! Click on the links below:
- Common Greetings
- Polite Expressions
- Asking and Providing Information – Asking for additional Assistance
- Getting around at the Airport, Bus Station or Subway
- Getting around in a Taxi
- At the Hotel
- At the Restaurant
- Shopping – Dealing with Money
- Numbers
Want to practice? You can also get online translations of just about any Portuguese word, expression or text by visiting Google Translate.
Common Greetings:
| English | Portuguese |
| Hello Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening/Good night. How are you? (formal) Fine, thank you. (male / female person) Hi. Hi, how are you? (informal) Fine, and you? Bye. (informal) Good bye. (formal) See you then. See you later. See you tomorrow. | Olá Bom dia! Boa tarde! Boa noite! Como vai? Bem, obrigado / obrigada. Oi! Oi, tudo bem? Tudo bem, e você? Tchau! Adeus! Até mais! Até mais tarde! Até amanhã! |
Polite Expressions:
| English | Portuguese |
| Thank you. (male / female person) You are welcome. Please/Excuse me (asking for information) Sorry. (by apologizing) Excuse me. (by making way/coming in) No problem / It doesn't matter. No problem / It doesn't matter. | Obrigado / Obrigada. De nada. Por favor. Desculpe. Dá licença. Não tem problema. Não faz mal. |
Asking and Providing Information – Asking for additional Assistance:
| English | Portuguese |
| What´s your name? My name is… Nice to meet you Excuse me, where is the Copacabana Hotel? It is there on the corner. How much does it cost? Where is the toilet/rest room? It is there on the left. Where is there a pharmacy? a bakery? On the next street. Can you tell me where the post office is? Pardon? I did not understand. Speak more slowly, please. Say it again, please. Say it again, please. Repeat, please. | Qual é o seu nome? Meu nome é... Prazer em conhecê-lo(la) Por favor, onde fica o Hotel Copacabana? É ali na esquina. Quanto custa? Onde é o banheiro? É ali à esquerda Onde tem uma farmácia? uma padaria? Na próxima rua. Você pode me informar onde fica o correio? Como? Não entendi direito. Fale mais devagar, por favor. Fala de novo, por favor. Fala mais uma vez, por favor. Repita, por favor. |
Getting around at the Airport, Bus station or Subway:
| English | Portuguese |
| Where can I catch a bus to Leblon? Where is the bus station? Where is the bus stop? Where is the taxi stand? Where is the subway station? A round trip ticket to ..... I would like a one-way ticket to ..... What time does the bus/plane leave? What is the platform number? What is the gate number? How long the trip will take? | Onde eu pego um ônibus para Leblon? Onde é a rodoviária? Onde é o ponto de ônibus? Onde é o ponto de táxi? Onde é a estação do metrô? Uma passagem de ida e volta para .... Quero uma passagem de ida para ..... Que horas sai o ônibus/avião? Qual é o número da plataforma? Qual é o número do portão de embarque? Quantas horas são de viagem? |
Getting around in a Taxi:
| English | Portuguese |
| Please take me to the beach. Turn on the meter, please Stop here Wait please Wait here Left / Right Turn off the music please Open the window / Close the window Please turn on the Air Conditioner | Por favor me leve para a praia. Ligue o taximetro, por favor Pare aqui Aguarde por favor Espere aqui Esquerda / Direita Desligue a música, por favor Abra a janela / Feche a janela Por favor ligue o Ar Condicionado |
At the Hotel:
| English | Portuguese |
| I have a reservation in this hotel. I have no reservation. Do you still have rooms? How much is the daily rate? I am going to stay three nights. Is the breakfast included? Can I take a look at the room? I am in the room number ..... Can you wake me up at eight o'clock? Do you have power adaptor? Can you please call me a taxi? I would like to pay the bill. Do you take a credit card? | Fiz uma reserva neste hotel. Não fiz reserva. Ainda tem vagas? Quanto é a diária? Vou ficar três noites. O café da manhã está incluído? Posso dar uma olhada no quarto? Estou no quarto número..... Você pode me acordar às oito horas? Vocês tem adaptador de tomada? Você pode chamar um táxi pra mim? Gostaria de pagar a conta. Vocês aceitam cartão de crédito? |
At the Restaurant:
| English | Portuguese |
| I have a reservation for four people. Is there a smoking area? I would like a table by the window. I would like a draught beer. I would like a beer. Waiter, one coke more, please. Waiter, the bill, please. I want my steak well done. (rare) I am going to order a salad. I am a vegetarian. I do not eat meat. What is the dish of the day? What do you recommend? This glass is dirty. Can you bring me more bread, please? (ice, water, tea, milk, sugar, salt) | Fiz uma reserva para quatro pessoas. Tem área de fumantes? Quero uma mesa perto da janela. Quero um chopp. Quero uma cerveja. Garçom, mais uma coca, por favor. Garçom, a conta, por favor. Quero meu bife bem passado. (mal passado) Vou pedir uma salada. Sou vegetariano/a. Não como carne. Qual é o prato do dia? O que o senhor recomenda? Este copo está sujo. O senhor pode me trazer mais pão? (gelo, água, chá, leite, açúcar, sal) |
Shopping – Dealing with Money:
| English | Portuguese |
| How much is it? How much does it cost? How much is this? Where can I change money? Where is there a Money Exchange? What is the exchange rate for the dollar? I would like to change US$ 200. Can you change US$ 100? I don't have small change. Here is the change. Can I pay with credit card? Is there any discount if I pay cash? | Quanto é? Quanto custa? Quanto custa isto? Onde eu posso trocar dinheiro? Onde tem uma Casa de Câmbio? Qual é a cotação do dólar? Quero trocar US$200 (duzentos dólares). Você pode trocar US$100 (cem dólares)? Eu não tenho trocado. Aqui está o troco. Posso pagar com cartão de crédito? Tem desconto pagando em dinheiro? |
| English | Portuguese |
| 0 Zero 1 One 2 Two 3 Three 4 Four 5 Five 6 Six 7 Seven 8 Eight 9 Nine 10 Ten 11 Eleven 12 Twelve 20 Twenty 30 Thirty 40 Forty 50 Fifty 60 Sixty 70 Seventy 80 Eighty 90 Ninety 100 Hundred 1000 Thousand | 0 Zero 1 Um 2 Dois 3 Três 4 Quatro 5 Cinco 6 Seis 7 Sete 8 Oito 9 Nove 10 Dez 11 Onze 12 Doze 20 Vinte 30 Trinta 40 Quarenta 50 Cinqüenta 60 Sessenta 70 Setenta 80 Oitenta 90 Noventa 100 Cem 1000 Mil |
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