Chapter 11

Chatting About Business

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Talking about your job

Bullet Discussing business by phone

Bullet Setting up a meeting

If you bought this book because you’re going to Brazil on a viagem de negócios (vee-ah-zhang jee neh-goh-see-ooz) (business trip), then you must already know that the economia (eh-koh-no-mee-ah) (economy) there is one of the world’s largest. São Paulo is the best known among Brazil’s business-oriented cities — no doubt because it’s the country’s headquarters for bancos (bahn-koos) (banks) and other indústrias (een-doo-stree-ahs) (industries). Yet other parts of Brazil are vital to the country’s economy, too. Brazil’s recursos naturais (heh-koo-sohs nah-too-rah-ees) (natural resources), for instance, are concentrated in the Amazon region, whereas the nation’s rapidly growing setor de petróleo e gás (seh-toh jee peh-troh-lee-ooh e gah-eez) (oil and gas sector) is located in Rio.

Brazil boasts the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America, and a big part of this economy is the nation’s considerable financial services sector. The country’s main bolsa de valores (bohl-sah jee vah-loh-reez) (stock market), the Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa), is located in São Paulo, which is the trading center for stock in the country’s banks as well as its oil and gas sector. The Índice Bovespa (een-jee-see boh-veh-spah) is Brazil’s equivalent to Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index of major companies.

Qual a sua profissão? What Do You Do?

Whether you’re going to Brazil for negócios (neh-goh-see-ooz) (business) or prazer (prah-zeh) (pleasure), you may want to explain to someone what type of trabalho (trah-bahl-yoo) (work) you do.

Here’s a list of some common profissões (proh-fee-soh-eez) (professions). Remember to change the last -o to an -a if you’re a female:

  • advogado/a (ahj-voh-gah-doo/dah) (lawyer)
  • arquiteto/a (ah-kee-teh-too/tah) (architect)
  • artista (ah-chees-tah) (artist)
  • designer de interiores (dee-zah-een-eh jee een-teh-ree-oh-reez) (interior designer)
  • estudante (es-too-dahn-chee) (student)
  • especialista em TI (es-peh-see-ah-ooh-lee-stah ang tay ee) (IT specialist)
  • engenheiro/a (en-zhen-yeh-roo/rah) (engineer)
  • jornalista (zho-nah-lees-tah) (journalist)
  • médico/a (meh-jee-koo/kah) (doctor)
  • professor/a (proh-feh-soh/soh-rah) (teacher)
  • psicólogo/a (psee-koh-loh-goo/gah) (psychologist)
  • voluntário/a (voh-loon-tah-ree-oh/ah) (volunteer)

If you work for a not-for-profit, you can say Eu trabalho para uma organização sem fins lucrativos (eh-oo trah-bahl-yoo pah-rah ooh-mah oh-gah-nee-zah-sah-ooh sang feengs loo-krah-chee-vohz) (I work for a not-for-profit). Brazilians also refer to non-profits as ONGs (ong-geez, short for organização não governamental or non-governmental organization — what we call NGOs).

Businesspeople can start off by saying Eu sou da área de negógios (eh-oo soh dah ah-ree-ah jee neh-goh-see-ooz) (I work in business). Then they may add their posição (poh-zee-sah-oo) (position) within the empresa (em-preh-zah) (company):

  • analista (ah-nah-lee-stah) (analyst)
  • assistente (ah-sees-tang-chee) (assistant)
  • chefe (sheh-fee) (head)
  • consultor/a (kohn-sool-toh/toh-rah) (consultant)
  • contador (kohn-tah-doh) (accountant)
  • diretor/a (jee-rek-toh/jee-rek-toh-rah) (director)
  • dono/a (doh-noo/doh-nah) (owner)
  • gerente (zheh-ren-chee) (manager)
  • gerente de contas (zheh-ren-chee jee kohn-tahs) (account manager)
  • porta-voz (poh-tah vohz) (spokesperson)
  • presidente (preh-zee-dang-chee) (president)
  • sócio/a (soh-see-oh/ah) (partner)
  • sócio/a fundador/a (soh-see-oh/ah foon-dah-doh/doh-rah) (founding partner)
  • vendedor/a (ven-deh-doh/doh-rah) (salesperson)

Applying the doing verb: Fazer

After you disclose what your basic trabalho is, you may want to explain a little more about what your company faz (fahz) (makes/does). The verb fazer (fah-zeh) (to do/make) is one that Brazilians use often to talk about work and many other things, too.

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu faço

eh-ooh fah-soo

você faz

voh-seh fahz

ele/ela faz

eh-lee/eh-lah fahz

nós fazemos

nos fah-zeh-moos

eles/elas fazem

eh-leez/eh-lahs fah-zang

vocês fazem

voh-sehz fah-zang

Here’s how to use the past tense of fazer. (See Chapter 6 for more on using the past tense.)

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu fiz

eh-ooh fis

você fez

voh-seh fehz

ele/ela fez

eh-lee/eh-lah fehz

nós fizemos

nos fih-zeh-moos

eles/elas fizeram

eh-leez/eh-lahs fee-zeh-rahm

vocês fizeram

voh-sehz fee-zeh-rah-rahm

Check out some example sentences that use both the present and past tenses of fazer:

  • O que você faz? (ooh kee voh-seh fahz?) (What do you do?)
  • A minha empresa faz relatórios para a indústria de telecomunicações. (ah meen-yah em-preh-zah fahz heh-lah-toh-ree-ooz pah-rah ah een-doos-tree-ah jee teh-leh-koh-moo-nee-kah-soy-eez.) (My company does reports for the telecommunications industry.)
  • Nós fizemos um anúncio para a Coca-Cola aqui no Brasil. (nos fih-zeh-moos oong ah-noon-see-oh pah-rah ah koh-kah koh-lah ah-kee noo brah-zee-ooh.) (We did an ad for Coca-Cola here in Brazil.)
  • Vou fazer uma apresentação amanhã; estou nervosa! (voh fah-zeh ooh-mah ah-preh-zen-tah-sah-ooh ah-mahn-yah; eh-stow neh-voh-zah!) (I’m doing a presentation tomorrow; I’m nervous!)
  • Eu faço esculturas feitas de metal. (eh-ooh fah-soo eh-skool-too-rahs fay-tahs jee meh-tah-ooh.) (I make sculptures made of metal.)

And now, some non-work-related ways you can use fazer:

  • Vou fazer uma salada. (voh fah-zeh ooh-mah sah-lah-dah.) (I’m going to make a salad.)
  • Como as ostras fazem pérolas? (koh-moo ahz ohs-trahs fah-zang peh-roh-lahs?) (How do oysters make pearls?)
  • O quê vocês fizeram ontem no Rio? (ooh kee voh-sehz fee-zeh-rahm ohn-tang noo hee-ooh?) (What did you guys do yesterday in Rio?)
  • O que posso fazer? (ooh kee poh-soo fah-zeh?) (What can I do?)

Soundnative Sometimes, fazer is used to mean something besides to make/do.Fazer uma festa (fah-zeh ooh-mah fes-tah), for example, means to throw a party.Using the working verb: Trabalhar

Similar to the word trabalho, the verb trabalhar (trah-bahl-yah) (to work) can help you explain your responsibilities.

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu trabalho

eh-ooh trah-bahl-yoo

você trabalha

voh-seh trah-bahl-yah

ele/ela trabalha

eh-lee/eh-lah trah-bahl-yah

nós trabalhamos

nos trah-bahl-yah-moos

eles/elas trabalham

eh-leez/eh-lahs trah-bahl-yah-ooh

vocês trabalham

voh-sehz trah-bahl-yah-ooh

Here’s how to use the past tense of trabalhar. (See Chapter 6 for more on using the past tense.)

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu trabalhei

eh-ooh trah-bahl-yay

você trabalhou

voh-seh trah-bahl-yoh

ele/ela trabalhou

eh-lee/eh-lah trah-bahl-yoh

nós trabalhamos

nos trah-bahl-yah-moos

eles/elas trabalharam

eh-leez/eh-lahs trah-bahl-yah-

rah-oong

vocês trabalham

voh-sehz trah-bahl-yah-ooh

Here are some example sentences:

  • Em que você trabalha? (ang kee voh-seh trah-bahl-yah?) (What kind of work do you do?)
  • Eu trabalho na área de marketing. (eh-ooh trah-bahl-yoo nah ah-ree-ah jee mah-keh-ching.) (I work in marketing. Literally: I work in the area of marketing.)
  • Você trabalha muito! (voh-seh trah-bahl-yah moo-ee-too!) (You work a lot!)
  • Eu preciso trabalhar este fim de semana; que saco! (eh-ooh preh-see-zoo trah-bahl-yah es-chee fing jee seh-mah-nah; kee sah-koo!) (I have to work this weekend; what a drag!)

Mailing Things the Old-Fashioned Way

Even though email (ee-may-oh) (email) is how people most often communicate these days, occasionally, when it comes to business and other practical matters, enviar uma carta (en-vee-ah ooh-mah kah-tah) (sending/to send a letter) is the most profissional (proh-fee-see-ooh-nah-ooh) (professional) or oficial (oh-fee-see-ah-ooh) (official) way to send a resposta (hes-pohs-tah) (response), mensagem (men-sah-zhang) (message), or pergunta (peh-goon-tah) (inquiry; Literally: question).

Here are some useful terms when it comes to sending a formal letter:

  • Atenciosamente (ah-ten-see-ooh-zah-men-chee) (Sincerely)
  • CEP (seh-pee) (zip code) (CEP is an acronym for Código de Endereçamento Postal or Postal Address Code.)
  • correio (koh-hay-ooh) (post office)
  • data (dah-tah) (date)
  • endereço (en-deh-res-ooh) (address)
  • Prezado/a senhor/senhora (preh-zah-doo/dah sen-yoh/sen-yoh-rah) (Dear Sir/Madame)
  • Querido/a + friend’s name (keh-ree-doo/dah) (Dear + friend’s name; informal)
  • selo do correio (seh-loo doo koh-hay-ooh) (postal stamp)

When you start a formal letter, you may want to address a specific person. In that case, you can use abbreviations for Senhor and Senhora: Prezado Sr. (fill in the name) if the addressee is a man or Prezada Sra. (fill in the name) if you’re writing to a woman.

Check out some polite terms you may consider using to begin your letter:

  • Eu estou escrevendo esta carta porque … (eh-ooh es-toh es-kreh-ven-doh eh-stah kah-tah poh-keh …) (I’m writing this letter because …)
  • Eu gostaria de solicitar … (eh-ooh goh-sta-ree-ah jee soh-lee-see-tah …) (I’d like to ask for …)
  • Eu gostaria de saber … (eh-ooh goh-sta-ree-ah jee sah-beh …) (I’d like to know …)
  • Muito obrigado/a por … (moh-ee-too oh-bree-gah-doo/dah poh …) (Thank you very much for …)

Tip Try to use the term por gentileza (poh zhen-chee-lay-zah) (would you be so kind as to) at some point to express your gratitude. It’s just an extra-polite way of saying please. You can also use por gentileza over the phone or in a retail store when you want to say please and sound extra cortês (kor-tes) (polite).

Placing a Business Call

When you’re making a business call, be sure to use senhor/senhora (seen-yoh/seen-yoh-rah) (Mr./Mrs.) followed by the person’s name when you’re asking to speak to someone you don’t know well or at all.

Here are some common phrases you may want to know during a business phone call:

  • Olá, meu nome é (insert your name). (oh-lah, meh-ooh noh-mee eh [insert your name].) (Hello, this is [insert your name].)
  • O Senhor/Senhora (fill in name) está? (ooh sen-yoh/sen-yoh-rah [fill in name] eh-stah?) (Is Mr./Mrs. [fill in name] there?)
  • Estou procurando alguém da área de… . (eh-stoh proh-koo-rahn-doh ah-ooh-gang dah ah-ree-ah jee… .) (I’m looking for someone in the [fill in the blank] department.)
  • Eu gostaria de deixar um recado para ele/ela. (eh-ooh gohs-tah-ree-ah jee day-shah oong hay-kah-doo pah-rah eh-lee/eh-lah.) (I’d like to leave him/her a message.)
  • Eu agradeço (eh-ooh ah-grah-deh-soo) (I thank you very much; extra polite)

You can end the phone conversation with a polite Até logo (ah-teh loh-goo) (Goodbye; Literally: Until later).

Making Appointments and Conducting Meetings

When it comes time for a face-to-face business reunião (hay-oo-nee-ah-ooh) (meeting), you need to schedule an hora (oh-rah) (time), a lugar (loo-gah) (place), and the estimated duração (doo-rah-sah-ooh) (length/duration).

Here are some questions and statements you can use to set up the meeting:

  • Podemos marcar uma reunião? (poh-deh-mooz mah-kah ooh-mah hay-oon-ee-ah-ooh?) (Shall we schedule a meeting?)
  • Onde? (ohn-jee?) (Where?)
  • A que horas? (ah kee oh-rahs?) (What time?)
  • Por quanto tempo? (poh kwahn-toh tem-poh?) (For how long?)

Soundnative You can end the conversation with an enthusiastic Até lá! (ah-tay lah!) (See you; Literally: Until then!)

Hopefully, you and your meeting partner will be pontuais (pohn-too-ah-eez) (on time/punctual) and not adiantado (ah-jee-ahn-tah-doo) (early) or atrasado (ah-trah-zah-doo) (late)!

Expressing profit, loss, revenue, and expenses

At your business meeting, you may need to talk about the nitty-gritty details of finance. Here are some basic business terms to know:

  • balanço (bah-lahn-soo) (expense report)
  • custos (koos-tohs) (costs)
  • gastos (gas-tohs) (expenses)
  • impostos (eem-pohs-tooz) (taxes)
  • lucro (loo-kroh) (profit)
  • perdas (peh-dahs) (losses)
  • receita (heh-say-tah) (revenue)
  • relatório anual (heh-lah-toh-ree-ooh ahn-ooh-ah-ooh) (annual report)
  • resultados financeiros (heh-zool-tah-dooz fee-nahn-say-rohs) (financial results)

Here are some questions and a statement you may want to use when asking about the desempenho (des-em-pen-yoh) (performance) of a company:

  • Quando sai o relatório anual? (kwahn-doh sah-ee ooh heh-lah-toh-ree-ooh ahn-oo-ah-ooh?) (When does the annual report come out?)

    É possível aumentar as receitas? (eh poh-see-veh-ooh ah-ooh-men-tah ahz heh-say-tahs?) (Is it possible to increase revenue?)

  • Os gastos da empresa são muito altos? (ooz gahs-toos dah em-preh-zah sah-ooh moh-ee-toh ah-ooh-tohs?) (Are the company’s costs really high?)
  • Os impostos municipais são bastante baixos. (oohz eem-pohs-tooz moon-ee-see-pah-eez sah-ooh bah-stahn-chee bah-ee-shos.) (The city taxes are pretty low.)

Cultural wisdom Luckily, in Brazil, lots of people in the business sector speak English very well. Because Portuguese isn’t as commonly known around the world as, say, English, Spanish, or French, many Brazilians learn English at an early age.

In fact, when I first moved to Brazil as a business journalist, I did all my entrevistas (en-treh-vees-tahs) (interviews) in English for the first several months, before I started to get the hang of Portuguese. But don’t let that discourage you from learning this beautiful language. It’s always more fun and respectful to speak the native language when traveling for business or leisure.

Asking about business goals

When talking shop in Brazil, you may want to ask someone about the future of a company, or what the objetivos (ohb-zheh-chee-voos) (goals) of the company are. You may already know whether the company is grande (grahn-jee) (big) or pequena (peh-keh-nah) (small), how many empregados (em-preh-gah-doos) (employees) it has, and where its sede (seh-jee) (headquarters) is located.

Try using these questions to ask about a company’s upcoming planos (plah-noos) (plans) and expectativas em geral (es-pek-tah-chee-vahs ang zheh-rah-ooh) (outlook in general):

  • Qual é a previsão de lucro da empresa para este ano? (kwah-ooh eh a preh-vee-zah-ooh jee loo-kroh dah em-preh-zah pah-rah es-chee ah-noo?) (What is the company’s estimated profit for this year?)
  • Quando esperam atingir fluxo de caixa positivo? (kwahn-doh es-peh-rah-oong ah-teen-zheeh floo-shoh jee kah-eeh-shah poh-zee-chee-voh?) (When do you expect to reach positive cash flow?)
  • Vocês têm planos para comprar outra empresa? (voh-say-eez tang plah-nooz pah-rah kom-prah oh-trah em-preh-zah?) (Do you guys have plans to buy another company?)
  • Quais são as maiores dificultades da empresa hoje e no futuro? (kwah-eez sah-ooh ahz my-oh-reez jee-fee-kool-dah-jeez dah em-preh-zah oh-zhee ee no foo-too-roo?) (What are the biggest challenges for the company today and in the future?)

Working from Home

Here’s an easy one: In Brazil, they call a home office … home office (hoh-mee oh-fee-see)! The pronunciation is different, but they just lift our phrase from English, which makes things easier! Office is technically escritório (es-kree-toh-ree-ooh). Work from home is trabalhar de casa (trah-bahl-yah jee kah-zah). For more vocabulary about features of a home, see Chapter 5.

If you trabalhar de casa, what are some of the vantagens (ven-tah-zhangz) (advantages), na sua opinião (nah soo-ah oh-pee-nee-ah-ooh) (in your opinion)? Many people say their qualidade de vida (kah-lee-dah-jee jee vee-dah) (quality of life) is better. It may be easier to fazer exercício (fah-zeh eh-zeh-see-see-ooh) (do exercise) or to eat an alimentação saudável (ah-lee-men-tah-sah-ooh sah-ooh-dah-veh-ooh) (healthy diet).

Here are some handy phrases you can use to talk about where you work:

  • Eu trabalho em casa. (eh-ooh trah-bahl-yoh ang kah-zah.) (I work from home.)
  • Eu trabalho num escritório. (eh-ooh trah-bahl-yoh noong es-kree-toh-ree-ooh.) (I work at an office.)
  • Posso trabalhar em casa? (poh-soo trah-bahl-yah ang kah-zah?) (Can I work from home?)
  • Você trabalha em casa, ou num escritório? (voh-seh trah-bahl-yah ang kah-zah oh noong es-kree-toh-ree-ooh?) (Do you work from home, or in an office?)
  • Eu tenho um home office. (eh-ooh tang-yoh oong oh-mee oh-fee-see.) (I have an office in my house.)
  • A minha empresa tem escritório. (ah ming-yah em-preh-zah tang es-kree-toh-ree-ooh.) (My company has an office.)
  • Nos fazemos reuniões no escritório. (nohz fah-zeh-mooz hay-ooh-nee-oh-eez noo es-kree-toh-ree-ooh.) (We do meetings at the office.)
  • Eu trabalho em casa a maioria dos dias. (eh-ooh trah-bahl-yoh ang kah-zah ah my-oh-ree-ah dohz jee-ahz.) (I work at home most days.)

Here are some words you may need to use when talking about your home office:

  • caneta (kah-neh-tah) (pen)
  • computador (kohm-poo-tah-doh) (computer)
  • laptop (lah-pee-toh-pee) (laptop)
  • tela (teh-lah) (screen)
  • impressora (eem-preh-soh-rah) (printer)
  • copiadora (koh-pee-ah-doh-rah) (copier)
  • escrivaninha (es-kree-vah-neen-yah) (desk)
  • cadeira ergonômica (kah-day-rah ehr-goh-noh-mee-kah) (ergonomic chair)

And finally, here’s what to say during a virtual reunião (hay-ooh-nee-ah-ooh) (meeting) over a video conferencing platform, potential bloopers included:

  • Eu volto já. (eh-ooh voh-ooh-toh zhah.) (I’ll be right back.)
  • Estou desligando a webcam para almoçar. (es-toh des-lee-gahn-doh ah veh-bee-kah-mee pah-rah ah-ooh-moh-sah.) (I’m turning off the camera to eat lunch.)
  • Desculpe, eu estava em mute. (jees-kool-pee, eh-ooh es-tah-vah ang mee-oot (Sorry, I was on mute.)
  • Todo mundo, vamos silenciar, por favor. (toh-doo moon-doh, vah-mohz see-len-see-ahr, poh fah-voh.) (Everyone, let’s go on mute.)
  • Pode ativar o som? (poh-jee ah-chee-vah ooh soh-oong?) (Can you unmute yourself? Literally, Can you activate the sound?)
  • Você está silenciado. (voh-seh es-tah see-len-see-ah-doo.) (You’re on mute.)
  • Fica/Fique à vontade para fazer perguntas no chat. (fee-kah/fee-kee ah vohn-tah-jee pah-rah fah-zeh pehr-goon-tuz noo shah-chee.) (Feel free to ask questions in the chat.) (Fica is informal; Fique is formal)
  • Não posso te ouvir. (nah-ooh poh-soo chee ooh-vee.) (I can’t hear you.)
  • Ligue seu vídeo. (lee-gee seh-ooh vee-joh.) (Turn on your video.)
  • Está travando. (es-tah trah-vahn-doh.) (It’s glitchy.)
  • Vou aumentar o meu volume. (voh ah-ooh-men-tah ooh meh-ooh voh-loo-mee.) (I will turn up my volume.)
  • Você congelou. (voh-seh kohn-zheh-loh) (You’re frozen.)
  • Desculpe, os meus meninos estão fazendo barulho. (jees-kool-pee, ooz meh-ooz men-nee-nooz es-tah-ooh fah-zen-doh bah-rool-yoh.) (Sorry, my kids are making noise.)
  • Você pode ouvir o meu cachorro latindo? (voh-seh poh-jee ooh-veeh ooh meh-ooh kah-shoh-hoh lah-cheen-doh?) (Can you hear my dog barking?)

To discover what you can do when you have férias (feh-ree-uz) (vacation), see Chapter 13. Or, if a regular weekend is coming up, Chapter 9 can help you talk about deciding what to do.