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Portuguese · Starter pack
Portuguese is a Romance language, so much of it is recognisable on the page — but European Portuguese clips its unstressed vowels, which is what makes the listening the harder half.
Hear how Portuguese says its own name
First words
The middle column is an approximation built from English sounds — close enough to be understood, not a strict transcription.
| Portuguese | Say it like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olá | o-LAH | Hello | |
| Bom dia | bong DEE-a | Good morning | |
| Boa tarde | BOH-a TARD | Good afternoon | |
| Boa noite | BOH-a NOYT | Good evening / good night | |
| Como está? | KOH-moo shtah | How are you? (polite) | |
| Estou bem, obrigado / obrigada | shtoh bayng, o-bree-GAH-doo | I am well, thank you (man / woman speaking) | |
| Até logo | a-TEH LOH-goo | See you later | |
| Adeus | a-DEH-oosh | Goodbye |
The polite basics
Ten phrases that carry a beginner through a shop, a station and an introduction.
| Portuguese | Say it like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Por favor | poor fa-VOR | Please | |
| Muito obrigado / obrigada | MOOY-too o-bree-GAH-doo | Thank you very much (man / woman speaking) | |
| Desculpe | dshh-KOOL-puh | Excuse me / sorry | |
| Chamo-me… | SHA-moo-muh | My name is… | |
| Fala inglês? | FA-la eeng-GLESH | Do you speak English? | |
| Não percebo | nowng per-SEH-boo | I do not understand | |
| Quanto custa? | KWAN-too KOOSH-ta | How much does it cost? | |
| Onde é a estação? | ONG-duh eh a shta-SOWNG | Where is the station? | |
| Queria água, por favor | kuh-REE-a AH-gwa, poor fa-VOR | I would like water, please | |
| Pode ajudar-me? | POH-duh a-zhoo-DAR-muh | Can you help me? |
Counting
Prices, platforms, dates and phone numbers all start here.
Good to know
This is the ten-minute version: the greetings, phrases and numbers a beginner can use this afternoon, held on the page rather than fetched. The full Portuguese tutorial — a thousand words, three hundred phrases and five hundred conversations, with your progress kept — is the language’s main page.