English is widely spoken in most of Lisbon’s hotels and tourist restaurants, but you will find a few words of Portuguese extremely useful. Written Portuguese is similar to Spanish, though pronunciation is very different. Vowels are often nasal or ignored altogether. The consonants are, at least, consistent:
c is soft before e and i, hard otherwise unless it has a cedilla – açucar (sugar) is pronounced “assookar”.
ch is somewhat softer than in English; chá (tea) sounds like Shah.
j is like the “s” in pleasure, as is g except when it comes before a “hard” vowel (a, o and u).
lh sounds like “lyuh”.
q is always pronounced as a “k”.
s before a consonant or at the end of a word becomes “sh”, otherwise it’s as in English – Cascais is pronounced “Kashkaish”.
x is also pronounced “sh”– Baixa is pronounced “Baisha”.
e/é: e at the end of a word is silent unless it has an accent, so that carne (meat) is pronounced “karn”, while café is “caf-ay”.
ã or õ: the tilde renders the pronunciation much like the French -an and -on endings, only more nasal.
ão: this sounds something like a strangled “Ow!” cut off in midstream (as in pão, bread – são, saint – limão, lemon).
ei: this sounds like “ay” (as in feito – finished)
ou: this sounds like “oh” (as in roupa – clothes)
Basics
sim yes
não no
olá hello
bom dia good morning
boa tarde/noite good afternoon/night
adeus goodbye
até logo see you later
hoje today
amanhã tomorrow
por favor/se faz favor please
tudo bem? everything all right?
está bem it’s all right/OK
obrigado/a thank you (male/ female speaker)
onde where
que what
quando when
porquê why
como how
quanto how much
não sei I don’t know
sabe…? do you know…?
pode…? could you…?
há…? (silent “h”) is there…? there is
tem…? (pron. “taying”) do you have…?
queria… I’d like…
desculpe sorry
com licença excuse me
fala Inglês? do you speak English?
não compreendo I don’t understand
este/a this
esse/a that
agora now
mais tarde later
mais more
menos less
grande big
pequeno little
aberto open
fechado closed
senhoras women
homens men
lavabo/quarto de banho toilet/bathroom
Getting around
esquerda left
direita right
sempre em frente straight ahead
aqui here
ali there
perto near
longe far
Onde é… Where is …
a estação de camionetas? the bus station?
a paragem de autocarro para… the bus stop for…
Donde parte o autocarro para…? Where does thebus to…leave from?
A que horas parte? (chega a…?) What time does it leave? (arrive at…?)
Pare aqui por favor Stop here please
bilhete (para) ticket (to)
ida e volta round trip
Common signs
aberto open
fechado closed
entrada entrance
saída exit
puxe pull
empurre push
elevador lift
pré-pagamento pay in advance
perigo/perigoso danger/ous
proibido estacionar no parking
obras (road) works
Accommodation
Queria um quarto I’d like a room
É para uma noite (semana) It’s for one night (week)
É para uma pessoa (duas pessoas) It’s for one person/two people
Quanto custa? How much is it?
Posso ver? May I see/ look?
Há um quarto mais barato? Is there a cheaper room?
com duche with a shower
Shopping
Quanto é? How much is it?
banco; câmbio bank; change
correios post office
(dois) selos (two) stamps
Como se diz isto em Português? What’s this called in Portuguese?
O que é isso? What’s that?
saldo sale
esgotado sold out
Days of the week
Domingo Sunday
Segunda-feira Monday
Terça-feira Tuesday
Quarta-feira Wednesday
Quinta-feira Thursday
Sexta-feira Friday
Sábado Saturday
Months
Janeiro January
Fevereiro February
Março March
Abril April
Maio May
Junho June
Julho July
Agosto August
Aetembro September
Outubro October
Novembro November
Dezembro December
Useful words
azulejo glazed, painted tile
cais quay
capela chapel
casa house
centro comercial shopping centre
estação station
estrada/rua street/road
feira fair or market
igreja church
jardim garden
miradouro viewpoint/belvedere
praça/largo square
Numbers
um/uma 1
dois/duas 2
três 3
quatro 4
cinco 5
seis 6
sete 7
oito 8
nove 9
dez 10
onze 11
doze 12
treze 13
catorze 14
quinze 15
dezasseis 16
dezassete 17
dezoito 18
dezanove 19
vinte 20
vinte e um 21
trinta 30
quarenta 40
cinquenta 50
sessenta 60
setenta 70
oitenta 80
noventa 90
cem 100
cento e um 101
duzentos 200
quinhentos 500
mil 1000
Basics
assado roasted
colher spoon
conta bill
copo glass
cozido boiled
ementa menu
estrelado/frito fried
faca knife
garfo fork
garrafa bottle
grelhado grilled
mexido scrambled
Menu terms
pequeno almoço breakfast
almoço lunch
jantar dinner
ementa turística set menu
prato do dia dish of the day
especialidades speciality
lista de vinhos wine list
entradas starters
petiscos snacks
sobremesa dessert
Soups, salad and staples
açucár sugar
arroz rice
azeitonas olives
batatas fritas chips/french fries
caldo verde cabbage soup
fruta fruit
legumes vegetables
manteiga butter
massa pasta
molho (de tomate/piri-piri) tomato/chilli sauce
omeleta omelette
ovos eggs
pão bread
pimenta pepper
piri-piri chilli sauce
queijo cheese
sal salt
salada salad
sopa de legumes vegetable soup
sopa de marisco shellfish soup
sopa de peixe fish soup
Fish and shellfish
atum tuna
camarões shrimp
carapau mackerel
cherne stone bass
dourada bream
espada scabbard fish
espadarte swordfish
gambas prawns
lagosta lobster
lulas (grelhadas) squid (grilled)
mexilhões mussels
pescada hake
polvo octopus
robalo sea bass
salmão salmon
salmonete red mullet
santola spider crab
sapateira crab
sardinhas sardines
tamboril monkfish
truta trout
viera scallop
Meat
alheira chicken sausage
borrego lamb
chanfana lamb or goat casserole
chouriço spicy sausage
coelho rabbit
cordeiro lamb
dobrada/tripa tripe
espetada mista mixed meat kebab
febras pork steaks
fiambre ham
fígado liver
frango no churrasco barbecued chicken
leitão roast suckling pig
pato duck
perdiz partridge
perú turkey
picanha strips of beef in garlic sauce
presunto smoked ham
rim kidney
rodizio barbecued meats
rojões cubed pork cooked in blood with potatoes
vitela veal
portuguese specialities
açorda bread-based stew (often seafood)
arroz de marisco seafood rice
bacalhau à brás salted cod with egg and potatoes
bacalhau a Gomes Sá dried cod baked with potatoes,
bacalhau na brasa dried cod roasted with potatoes egg and olives
bife à portuguesa thin beef steak with a fried egg on top
caldeirada fish stew
cataplana fish, shellfish or meat stewed in a circular metal dish
cozido à portuguesa boiled casserole of meat and beans, served with rice and vegetables
feijoada bean stew with meat and vegetables
migas meat or fish in a bready garlic sauce
porco à alentejana pork cooked withclams
snacks and desserts
arroz doce rice pudding
bifana steak sandwich
bolo cake
gelado ice cream
pastéis de bacalhau dried cod cakes
pastel de nata custard tart
prego steak sandwich
pudim crème caramel
Drinks
um copo/uma garrafa de/da... a glass/bottle of...
vinho branco/tinto white/red wine
cerveja beer
água (sem/com gás) mineral water (without/with gas)
fresca/natural chilled/room temperature
sumo de laranja/maçã orange/apple juice
chá tea
café coffee
sem/com leite without/with milk
sem/com açúcar without/with sugar