Travelers visiting Portugal can learn and practice 11+ essential words and phrases here. We’ve posted the first 11 below.
Listen.
Record yourself.
Play back and compare.
(See more “Learn and Practice Tips” below!)
The First 11 Portuguese Phrases
Learn and Practice Tips
- Click the black arrow to hear the Portuguese speaker.
- Click the red dot once to record yourself, click the black square to stop recording.
- When you click the black arrow again, you’ll hear the native speaker and then yourself.
- Do it several times until you sound like the Portuguese speaker.
- Then “Choose a Study Mode” and test yourself with one of the Quizlet games! (You may need to adjust your Options with top right icon
.)
Why learn these Phrases?
Whenever you travel to a country where you don’t speak the language, you’ll encounter situations when these words will be useful.
Let’s say, you’ve ordered your first meal in a restaurant in Portugal and as the waiter serves you, you say “obrigado” (or “obrigada”, if you are a woman).
Even if the waiter knows that you don’t speak Portuguese, your effort may make him smile …
And beyond “Please” and “Thank you”, basic greetings really are the staple of first words you should know in any country you visit.
Walking in the country side…
While there’ll be many opportunities to use basic greetings in Portuguese cities, knowing them when you’re outside of a city is even more important.
Being a visitor in Portugal will make you much more welcome, when you make the effort to greet people in Portuguese.
The Next 12 Portuguese Phrases: Where is…?
In the next installment – Portuguese 2 For Travel – you’ll learn to ask where the bathroom, train and metro station, bank, pharmacy etc. are located.
Even if you have a GPS enabled smart phone, you’ll certainly find plenty of opportunities to ask “Where…?” questions!
And don’t forget: asking a polite question can often lead to an interesting conversation …