A friend once told me “Portuguese is just drunk Spanish.”  I have never heard a more accurate statement in my life (only partially joking).  Getting around Mexico with my level of Spanish is easy, but I was definitely not prepared for Brazil.  For any of you heading to Brazil, or just curious about the Portuguese language, I decided to compile this list of phrases / words based on ones I ended up googling a LOT during my time in this beautiful country.  By no means is this a complete or “need to know before you go” list. Just a helpful Brazilian Portuguese starter guide.

Also, before you begin reading, I will leave this here : hardly any word is pronounced as it is spelled (drunk Spanish, remember?).  So a lot of Ds sound like Gs, Rs like Hs, and most words contain a “juh” or sound like the “ge” in “mirage.”  A translator app that talks to you (like this one) might be helpful with this.  Nonetheless, here we go!

Greetings :

Hi – Oi

Hi how are you? – Oi tudo bem?

Hello (more formal) – Olá

Good morning – Bom dia

—— afternoon – Boa tarde

——— evening – Boa noite

Thank you (if you’re a dude) – Obrigado

Thank you (if you’re a chick) – Obrigada

Signage :

Enter – Entrar

Exit – Saída

Open – Aberto

Closed – Fechado

Push – Empurre

Pull – Puxe

Ladies – Damas / Senhoras / Mulheres

Gentlemen – Cavalheiros / Senhores / Homens

Bathroom – Banheiros / banos

Foods :

Fruits – Frutas

Fruit salad – Salada de fruta

Lemon – Limão (you’ll hardly ever see them though, too expensive)

Lime – Limão (same same, it’s confusing)

Strawberry – Morango

Mango – Manga

Meat – Carne

Beef – Carne (also, same)

Chicken – Frango

Rice – Arroz

Shrimp – Camarão

Fish – Peixe / Pescado

Mushrooms – Cogumelos

Drinks :

Water – Água

Coke – Coca

Beer – Cerveja

Swiss Lemonade – Limonada Suíça

Check out my post coming soon on Top Foods Recommended by Locals!

Also, learn How to Find and Order Food in Brazil, instead of learning the hard way like me!

Questions :

What do you recommend? – O sue você recomendaria?

How many? – Quantos?

How much? – Quanto?

 

I know most of the time we just use our fingers but…

Numbers :

One – Um

Two – Dois

Three – Três

Four – Quatro

Five – Cinco

Six – Seis

Seven – Sete

Eight – Oito

Nine – Nove

Ten – Dez

Eleven – Onze

Twelve – Doze

Thirteen – Treze

Fourteen – Quatorze

Fifteen – Quinze

Sixteen – Dezesseis

Seventeen – Dezessete

Eighteen – Dezoito

Nineteen – Dezenove

Twenty – Vinte

Thirty – Trinta

Forty – Quarenta

Fifty – Cinqüenta

Sixty – Sessenta

Seventy – Setenta

Eighty – Oitenta

Ninety – Noventa

One Hundred – Cem

 

Check out more Brazil posts, and pin this one for later!