Portuguese phrasebook

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Introduction

Up to school

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Portuguese, is a language originated in Portugal and it is similar to the official Spanish language named Castellano as that county become the administrative one of the peninsula except for Portugal, in fact, portuguese language has born as the same as the one of Galiza / Spain and so named as well as Galaico - Duriense (Duriense as the Portuguese region was Douro, aproximatively the same World Wide most celebrated area known as the producer of the Port Wine - PORTO is the town, DOURO is the Landscape and region were the vinyard are) .

The following countries have Portuguese as an official or co-official language:

• Angola
• Brazil
• Cape Verde
• East Timor
• Guinea-Bissau
• Portugal
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Mozambique

It is also spoken by many people in the following countries/regions:

• Equatorial Guinea
• Macau

There are a few differences between the dialects spoken in Portugal and Brazil as the same as the English of England or the English of America being usually this last one the most common accent in a non born speaker.

Alphabet

The Portuguese alphabet has 23 letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, x, z.
A new orographic agreement will add k, w, y to the Portuguese alphabet.

Basic Grammar

Pronunciation

Verb conjugation

Portuguese uses a different conjugation of the verb depending on who performed the action (you, I, she, they) and when it was done (future, past, present). For English speakers, this can make life quite complicated. Included below are the basic conjugation rules for regular verbs.

Gender

Nouns are gender specific. The basic rule of thumb is that a word ending in a is feminine, while a word ending in o is masculine.
Pronouns, adjectives and adverbs change according to the gender of the noun as well.
Examples:
His (male) cat is beautiful. Seu gato é bonito.
The house is fantastic. A casa é fantástica.

Plural

Plurals are generally created by adding an s or ães/ões to the end of a noun. Note that if a noun is plural, the accompanying pronoun and any adjectives or adverbs are also plural.

Useful Portuguese words and phrases

Coconut discussion

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Basic words

• This - este, esta
• That - aquele, aquela,
• Am/Is/Are - sou/é/são, estou/está/estão --- The former implies permanence (ie. he is a father - ele é um pai), whereas the latter refers to something which can change (ie. I am sick - estou doente)
• And - e
• Or - ou
• If - se
• Now - agora
• Later - mais tarde
• Like (similarity) - como
• I like/ I dislike - eu gosto/eu não gosto
• Many/Few - muitos/poucos
• More/Less - mais/menos
• Big/Small - grande/pequeno
• Long/Short - longo/curto
• Fat/Thin - gordo/magro
• Fast - rápido
• Slow - lento
• Early/Late - cedo/tarde

Prepositions and directions

• At - em/a/por/de
• By (me) - por
• With - com
• From - de/desde
• To - a/até
• For - por
• Here/There - aqui/ali
• Inside/Outside - dentro de/fora de
• Front/Back - frente/atrás
• Next to - ao lado de
• Opposite - em frente
• Up/Down - acima/abaixo
• Left/Right - esquerdo/direito
• Middle - meio
• North/South/East/West - norte/sul/leste/oeste
• Centre - centro

Greetings and parting

• Hello - oi
• How are you? - Como você está?
• Welcome - bem-vindo
• Good morning - bom dia
• Good afternoon - (after lunch) boa tarde
• Good evening/night (after 6pm/when night falls/after dinner) - boa noite
• Goodbye - tchau/adeus
• Have a safe trip/journey (Bon voyage) - boa viagem!
• See you again - até logo

Terms of address

• I/Me - eu/me
• You – você/vocês (singular/plural) tu/vós (singular/plural) (você is used more often in Brazil, and tu is used in Portugal and other countries)
• He/She/Him/Her - ele/ela
• They/Them - eles/elas
• Person - pessoa
• Male/Man - homem
• Female/Woman - mulher
• Child - criança
• Children - crianças
• Mr – senhor
• Mrs – senhora
• Miss – senhorita
• Father - pai
• Mother - mãe
• Brother - irmão
• Sister - irmã
• Cousin - primo
• Grandfather - avô
• Grandmother - avó
• Uncle - tio
• Aunt - tia
• Foreigner - estrangeiro

Thanks and apology

• Thank you - obrigado
• You are welcome - de nada!
• Sorry - desculpe
• Excuse me - com licença

Actions

Streetsign

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• Do - fazer
• Give - dar
• Take - tomar
• Get - conseguir
• Want - querer
• Talk/Say - falar/dizer
• Sell - vender
• Buy - comprar
• Help - ajudar
• Walk - andar/caminhar
• Run - correr
• Go in/out - entrar/sair
• Stay - ficar
• Go (there) - ir
• Leave/return - sair/voltar

Questions, answers and request

• Who/Whom - quem
• What – quê
• When - quando
• Where - onde
• Why - por quê
• How - como
• Yes/No - sim/não
• Can(not) - (não) pode
• Right/Wrong - certo/errado
• What is your name? My name is John. - Qual o seu nome? Meu nome é John.
• Where is the hotel? - Onde fica o hotel?
• Where is the toilet? - Onde fica o banheiro?
• Where can I find a telephone? - Onde posso encontrar um telefone?
• I don't understand - Eu não entendo
• Do you speak English? - Você fala inglês?
• Can you speak a bit slower? - Você pode falar mais devagar?
• Which one? - Qual?
• What is the price for this? – Quanto custa isso?
• How many? - Quantos/Quantas?
• I want this/that - Quero este/a / esse/a
• This/that one - Este/a / esse/a
• I (don't) want - (Não) quero
• Give me this/that – Me dê isso/a / esse/a
• Wait - esperar
• What time is it? - Que horas são?

Food

• Eat - comer
• Food - comida
• Drink (verb) - beber
• Drinks (noun) - bebida
• Water - água
• Fruit - fruta
• Vegetable - verdura
• Egg - ovo
• Meat - carne
• Fish - peixe/pescado
• Chicken - frango
• Cow - vaca
• Goat - cabra
• Pig - porco

Traffic and transportation

• Road/Street - rua
• Lane - travessa
• One-way street – rua de mão única/sentido único
• Highway/Expressway - estrada
• Stop/Go - pare
• Caution - cuidado
• Keep right/left - mantenha a direita/esquerda
• Yield/Give way -
• Traffic light - semáforo
• Pedestrian crossing - passagem de peões (Portugal) or faixa de pedestres (Brazil)
• Parking lot or car park - parque de estacionamento (Portugal) or only estacionamento (Brazil)
• Bridge - ponte
• Tunnel - túnel
• Train - comboio (Portugal) trem (Brazil)
• Bus - autocarro (Portugal), ônibus (Brazil) , machimbombo (Angola and Mozambique), toca-toca or otocaro (Guinea-Bissau)
• Subway - metro
• Ferry - balsa
• Taxi - taxi
• Car - carro
• Motorcycle - motocicleta/moto
• Bicycle - bicicleta
• Air/Land/Sea - ar/terra/mar
• Aeroplane - avião
• Airport - aeroporto
• Boat/Ship - barco
• Seaport - porto

Public places

moz_ilha_fortvrouwen

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• Town/City Centre - cidade/centro da cidade
• Town square/square - praça central/praça
• Town Hall - paços do concelho (Portugal) prefeitura (Brazil)
• Police Station - delegacia de polícia
• Hospital - hospital
• Clinic - clínica
• Fire station - quartel de bombeiros
• Post office - estação de correio (Portugal) agência de correio (Brazil)
• Toilet – casa-de-banho (Portugal) banheiro (Brazil) toalete/wc (in Brazil, toalete could be polite and wc could be a fancy expression)
• Street market - feira
• Shop - loja
• Bank - banco
• Bureau de change or Exchange - casa de câmbio
• Hotel - hotel
• Restaurant - restaurante
• Food court - praça de alimentação

• Church - igreja
• Mosque - mesquita
• Synagogue - sinagoga
• Temple - templo
• Beach - praia
• Park - parque
• Stadium - estádio
• Museum - museu
• Tourist Information Center - centro de informações turisticas

Numbers, Dates and Time

Numbers

• 1. um, 2. dois, 3. três, 4. quatro, 5. cinco, 6. seis, 7. sete, 8. oito, 9. nove, 10. dez
• 11. onze, 12. doze, 13. treze, 14. catorze, 15. quinze, 16. dezesseis, 17. dezessete, 18. dezoito, 19. dezenove
• 20. vinte, 21. vinte e um, 22. vinte e dois, ...
• 30. trinta, 31. trinta e um, 32. trinta y dois, ...
• 40. quarenta, 41. quarenta e um, 42. quarenta e dois, ...
• 50. cinqüenta, 60. sessenta, 70. setenta, 80. oitenta, 90. noventa
• 100. cem, 101. cento e um, 102. cento e dois, 103. cento e três, 110. cento e dez, 199. cento e noventa e nove
• 200. duzentos, 201. duzentos e um, 202. duzentos e dois, 203. duzentos e três, 251. duzentos e cinqüenta e um, 252. duzentos e cinqüenta e dois, ...
• 300. trezentos, 400. quatrocentos, 500. quinhentos, 600. seiscentos, 700. setecentos, 800. oitocentos, 900. novecentos
• 1000. mil, 2000. dois mil, 3000. três mil, ...
• 1 million. um milhão

Dates

• Day/Month/Year - dia/mês/ano
• Day of week (M,T,W,T,F,S,S) – segunda-feira, terça-feira, quarta-feira, quinta-feira, sexta-feira, sábado, domingo (you can also say weekdays without "-feira": segunda, terça, quarta, quinta and sexta)
• Month – janeiro, fevereiro, março, abril, maio, junho, julho, agosto, setembro, outubro, novembro, dezembro
• Day before yesterday/Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow/Day after tomorrow - antes de ontem, ontem, hoje, amanhã, depois de amanhã
• Last/Next year - ano passado/próximo ano or ano que vem

Time

• Morning - manhã
• Afternoon - tarde
• Evening/night - noite
• Hour - hora
• Minute - minuto
• Second - segundo
• Time: 1:00 = é uma hora; 11:30 = são onze e meia; 2:13 = são duas e treze

Colours

• White - branco
• Black - preto
• Red - vermelho
• Orange - laranja
• Yellow - amarelo
• Green - verde
• Blue - azul
• Purple - púrpura
• Brown - marrom

Learn More

• BBC has an interesting section about Portuguese language.