Jun 01 2004
Bonus
Brazilian Portuguese
Here is a brief introduction along with a few key phrases in Brazilian Portuguese. It is not intended to be a be all and end all, but rather just enough to help you to get by in case your travel plans take you on a detour to Brazil (or Portugal, the Azores, the Madeira Islands or Portuguese speaking Africa).
It should be noted that speaking “Portuñol” (Portu-Spanish) is entirely acceptable for tourists. If you don’t know the right word in Portuguese, just substitute the Spanish word. Portuñol is actually spoken by many in regions of Paraguay and Bolivia that border Brazil.
Grammar Notes
Portuguese cognates can be formed from English by changing nouns ending with ‘tion’ to ‘cão’ pronounced like the beginning of “sound”, ‘ty’ endings to ‘dade’, ‘ly’ endings to ‘mente‘, ‘ment’ endings to ‘mento‘, ‘ent’ endings to ‘ente‘ and ‘ous’ endings to ‘oso’ much like Spanish.
Personal pronouns include: eu (I), tu (You, informal), você (You, formal), ele/ela (He/She), nós (We), vocês (You all), and eles/elas (They).
Verb conjugation and tenses closely mirror Spanish, including the two verbs “to be” Ser and Estar.
Unlike Spanish the definite articles are ‘o’ (masc.) and ‘a‘ (fem.). The indefinite articles are um and uma.
Basic Phrases
*Note – In Brazilian Portuguese, the letter ‘d’ is pronounced like a ‘j’, and like in French the ‘j’ is softer almost like a ‘z’. Also, the ‘s’ is more like a ‘sh’, and the ão is pronounced like “ow”.
Bom-dia/Boa-tarde/Boa-noite – Good day/Good afternoon/Good night
Olá, como está – Hello, how are you?
Muito bem, obrigado – Very well, thanks
Tudo bem?/Si, tudo bem – Everything ok?/Yes, everything is fine
Muito prazer – Much pleasure
Como se chama?/Meu nome é Gilberto – What’s your name?/My name is Gilberto
Sou de os Estados Unidos – I am from the United States
Você entende ingles? – Do you understand English?
Eu não entendo/compreendo bem – I don’t understand well
Fala ingles/portugues? – Do you speak English/Portugues?
Eu falo um poco de portugues – I speak a little Portuguese
Pode ajudar-me? – Can you help me?
Onde é o centro da cidade? – Where is the center of town?
Voce tem/Eu tenho – You have/I have
Qual é o preco? – What is the price?
O que é isto/aquilo – What is this/that?
Por favor/Se faz favor… – Please/Please will you….
Quando parte o prosimo tren/onibus por Rio de Janeiro? – When is the next train/bus for Rio?
Muito obrigado por tudo – Thank you for everything (Very colloquial)
Sim/Não/talvez – Yes/No/Maybe
Quem? – Who?
Por que? – Why?
Eu quero uma otra, por favor – I want another one, please
Desculpe – Excuse me
Ha um bom restaurante perto de aqui? – Is there a good restaurant close by?
Fica longe de aqui? – Is it far from here?
É muito facil/dificil – It’s very easy/difficult
Esquerda/Direita – Left/Right
Queria reservar uma mesa por dois pessoas – I’d like to reserve a table for two persons.
Tem quartos vagos? – Do you have rooms available (vacant)?
Que horas são? – What time is it?
Está quente/frio – It is hot/cold
Mais/Menos – More/Less
Grande/Pequeno – Big/Small
Bom/Mau – Good/Bad
Vamos agora – Let’s go now
Até logo/Adeus – Until later/Goodbye
Key Prepositions
e (and), ou (or), á (at), mas (but), para (for/to), de (of/from), em (in)
Numbers
Um, dois, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, dez… (Continues like Spanish).
General Vocabulary
*Note – Only vocabulary vastly different from the Spanish is listed. See Spanish
section for more words that can be used in Portuguese.
Places: Loja (store), Porto (port), and Rua (road).
Family: Pai/Mãe (Father/ Mother) Irmão/Irmã (Brother/Sister), & Filho/Filha (son/daughter).
Food & Drink: Pão (bread), Queijo (cheese), Frango (chicken), Feijoada, Fogo, & Sobremesa (dessert), Cachasa (exotic tropical drink).
Days of the week: Domingo (Sunday), segunda feira, terca feira, quarta feira, quinta feira, sexta feira, & sabado.
Colors: Prato (black), Branco (white), Vermelho (red), & Cinzento (grey).
Misc: Ave (bird), Macaco (monkey) & Macumba (rites of religion).
Special Vocabulary!
Carnaval, Samba, Bossa Nova, Fados (), Guitarista, Danca (Dance), Arte (Art), Vinho (Wine), Praia (beach), Bahia (bay), Espectaculo (show), Cabaré (Cabaret), Festa (Party), Arte Nova (), Cabana (), Veranda (), and Cerveja (Beer).