Hi, guys! Today I will help you with my language: Portuguese! No we Brazilians don’t speak Spanish, we get mad when you start to speak Spanish with us, but we always try to understand it because it is similar to Portuguese.

Unlike the other Latin American countries, that were colonized by Spain, we were colonized by Portugual. They arrived here in 1500 because they missed the route to India (hahaha it’s true). There were many indigenous people here and, like all the stories about colonization, you already know the end: something to do with slavery, killing and extortion of natural resources.Because of the influence of indigenous people and African who were enslaved, our language is actually different from Portugal’s Portuguese. So, if you speak Portuguese but learned it in Portugal, be patient because we will probably have problems understanding your message. The Portuguese I find easier to understand is the one from Angola.

When you get here, you will find out that most of the population don’t speak English so my first advice is: always ask something in English to young people. The reason is very simple: in the last few years, learn English at school became a rule in Brazil, so the probability of finding a young person who can understand you is higher than find an old person who can do the same.

This said, I love to learn words from the country I am going to visit, it helps me to feel safer. So I thought about teach you some Portuguese-BR words/sentences. Let’s do it?

Hello – Oi

Good morning – Bom dia

Good afternoon – Boa tarde

Good night – Boa noite

Please – Por favor

Thanks – Obrigado (or Obrigada if you are a girl)

Food – comida

Water – água

Bread – pão

Cheese – queijo

Ham – presunto

Milk – leite

Beer – cerveja

Tea – chá

Coffee – café

Street – rua

Avenue – avenida

Road – estrada

Square – praça

Simcard – chip de celular

Bus – ônibus

Subway/Tube – metrô

Plane – avião

Taxi – taxi

Station – estação

Restroom/toilet – banheiro

Mall – shopping

Emergency – emergência

Help – socorro

Police – polícia

Right/left – direita/esquerda

Corner – esquina

Blocks – quadras (but we don’t use that a lot to give instructions)

Hospital – hospital (but forget the H, speak considering “ospital”)

I need help – Preciso de ajuda

I’m lost – Estou perdido

I’m allergic to… – Sou alérgico a…

Can I have the bill, please? – Pode trazer a conta, por favor?

How can I get to… – Como posso chegar em…

Please, I want to go to… – Por favor, quero ir para…

Could you lend me your phone? – Poderia me emprestar seu telefone?

Which bus/subway do I have to take to go to…? – Qual ônibus/metrô tenho que pegar para ir para…?

I want… – Eu quero

I would like one/two/three/four/five, please – Eu gostaria de um/dois/três/quatro/cinco, por favor

Cash – dinheiro

Credit card – cartão de crédito

Cash machine – caixa eletrônico

Do you accept credit card? – Você aceita cartão de crédito?

Where should I go to… – Onde eu deveria ir para…

I think that with this basic material you will have a good experience in Brazil.

Would you like to know specific words or sentences? Leave a comment below so I can help you :)