🇧🇷 Stuff Every Traveler Should Say in Portuguese: Training Guide

Greetings by time of day

Bom dia means good morning. Dia means day, so the words literally mean good day. Use this greeting in the morning.

Boa tarde means good afternoon. Tarde is the Portuguese word for afternoon. Use boa tarde in the afternoon.

Boa noite covers both good evening and good night. After dark, this is the right greeting to use when you enter a restaurant or hotel.

Casual and polite greetings

Oi, tudo bem? is a casual way to ask if everything is okay. Tudo bem? literally asks all good. It is very common in Brazil and also heard in Portugal.

A simple answer to Tudo bem? is Tudo bem, e você? This returns the question and means everything is okay, and you?

If a host says Que prazer em vê-lo!, a polite reply is O prazer é meu. This means the pleasure is mine.

Ways to say goodbye

Até amanhã means see you tomorrow. Amanhã means tomorrow, and até means until, so the phrase literally says until tomorrow.

Até logo is a common goodbye that means so long or see you soon. You can use it when you expect to see the person again.

In Brazil, tchau is a very casual bye. The word adeus has different feels: in Brazil it suggests a long or permanent goodbye, but in Portugal it is an everyday goodbye.

Thank you and you are welcome

Men say obrigado and women say obrigada. Both mean thank you. This is true in Brazil and Portugal.

De nada is the most common reply when someone says thank you. It means you are welcome, literally of nothing.

Não há de quê is a more formal way to say you are welcome. It is like there is nothing to thank me for.

Please, excuse me, and asking for attention

Por favor means please everywhere. In Portugal you may also hear se faz favor, which also means please.

Com licença means excuse me. Use it when you need to pass by someone or before you ask for something.

A Brazilian clerk may say Às suas ordens, which means at your orders. It is a polite way to offer help, like may I help you?

Pois não sounds like no but means certainly in Brazil. It is a polite way to say yes or of course to a request. Do not expect this use in Portugal.

Good wishes and asking someone to repeat

Saúde means health. You say it when someone sneezes or when you raise a glass as a cheers.

Feliz aniversário means happy birthday. Feliz means happy.

If you did not catch what was said, say Repita, por favor. This means repeat, please. Pode repetir, por favor? is an even softer way to ask.

How to address people

In Brazil, você is the informal word for you. Use it with friends.

O senhor is the formal way to address a man, and a senhora is the formal way to address a woman. In Portugal, use these with strangers.

In Portugal, você can sound distant or even rude with strangers. Portuguese speakers use o senhor or a senhora instead.

Asking where something is

Onde fica o banco? means where is the bank. Onde fica asks where something is located.

In Portugal, ask Onde fica a casa de banho? to find the bathroom. Casa de banho is the usual Portugal term.

If a place is not far, you may hear Não é nada longe. Nada longe means not far at all.

Following directions

Vire à esquerda means turn left. Esquerda is left, and direita is right.

Vai reto means go straight. In Portugal people usually say siga em frente.

In Brazil, umas três quadras means about three blocks when giving directions. Quadra is a city block in Brazil, while Portugal uses quarteirão.

Public transport and signs

In Portugal, a bus is an autocarro. In Brazil the word is ônibus.

A bus stop in Brazil is a ponto de ônibus. In Portugal it is a paragem de autocarro.

In Portugal, a train is a comboio. In Brazil the word is trem.

A door sign that says SAÍDA means exit. The opposite is ENTRADA, entrance.

A door sign that says PUXE means pull. The opposite word is EMPURRE, push.

Meals and menus

Bom apetite means enjoy your meal. You say it when the food arrives, in Brazil and Portugal.

In Brazil, café da manhã means breakfast. It literally means morning coffee. In Portugal the usual word is pequeno-almoço.

In Portugal, ask for a ementa to see the menu. Ementa is the list of dishes. Menu and carta are also used there.

In Brazil, the menu is called cardápio. The word menu is also understood.

Ordering and asking for service

To get a waiter's attention in Brazil, say Garçom, por favor. Garçom means waiter, and por favor makes it polite.

To ask for a table for two, say Uma mesa para dois, por favor. Mesa is table and para dois means for two.

When you finish eating, ask for the bill in Brazil with A conta, por favor. A conta means the bill.

Paying and prices

To ask if a place accepts credit cards, say Vocês aceitam cartão de crédito. Aceitam means accept.

Use Quanto é tudo? to find the total price of everything together. Quanto é asks how much it is, and tudo means all of it.

Hotel words

In Brazil, say Eu queria um quarto com banheiro to ask for a room with a bathroom. Eu queria means I would like, and sounds polite.

A hotel clerk may ask O senhor tem uma reserva? That means do you have a reservation? Reserva means reservation.

Quanto é a diária? asks about the daily rate of a room. Diária is the daily rate.

A hotel sign that says Favor não incomodar means please do not disturb. In Portugal the sign usually says Não incomodar.

In Portugal, banheiro can mean a lifeguard at the beach. In Brazil, banheiro means bathroom. Today nadador-salvador is the usual Portugal word for lifeguard.

Time and days

Que horas são? means what time is it? The words literally ask what hours are they.

Domingo is Portuguese for Sunday. Days of the week are written with lowercase letters.

To say yesterday morning, put ontem before de manhã. Ontem means yesterday, and de manhã tells you it happened in the early part of the day.

Emergencies and useful services

Socorro! is a shout for help right away. It is used to ask for defense or aid.

Eu preciso de uma ambulância means I need an ambulance. Preciso de means I need.

Achados e Perdidos is the sign for lost and found. Achados means found and perdidos means lost.