Portugal has several traditional folk dances, each expressing the soul of the people from different regions throughout the country.

Maria and José are a couple from Porto who traveled to Coimbra on a tour organized by the parish council. After a disappointing experience, will they be bold enough to complain to the mayor?

Maria do Maria is the most important work of the filmmaker Leitão de Barros and a fundamental point in the history of Portuguese cinema. Learn more about this classic silent film from the 1930s.

Tomar is the perfect destination for those who enjoy a charming getaway in a city full of history. Every 4 years, Tomar attracts thousands of people for a lively festivity that brings colours and happiness to the streets.

Daily routines: tedious for some, but essential for others. Embrace our customs by following along with a typical Portuguese daily routine.

Learn how to order a coffee in Portugal, a task more complex than it seems! There are several types available and the lingo can vary from city to city. Don’t miss out on Portugal’s coffee culture, an essential part of daily life!

Portugal is a very special country that brings so much unique value to the world. See why “quality over quantity” is an important notion in appreciating all that this country has to offer.

A life full of profound suffering was transformed into beautiful poetry. Meet Florbela Espanca, a successful Portuguese poet who died at only 36 years of age.

Welcome to Portugal! With its interesting history, lovely climate, and amazing blend of cultures, it’s no wonder that more and more foreigners are deciding to settle down here. Get lost in this country of smiles and breathtaking landscapes!

Fernando Pessoa, one of the greatest poets of the early 20th century, was a singular man with plural artistic identities. Learn more about one of the most important literary figures in Portuguese history.

The sardine is a very important fish for Portuguese people and is highly consumed during the Popular Saints’ Festivals. Learn more about the economic and social impact of the sardine and the tasty meals that can be prepared with it.

Have you ever wondered why people from Porto and Lisbon make fun of each other? It’s not just about the accent. Learn more about the origins of their nicknames and the history behind this rivalry.

Learn about the amazing gastronomy of Portugal and its most famous pastry: the Pastel de Nata. Discover how this Portuguese custard pie came to be, its ingredients, and its popularity not only with the locals, but tourists as well!

Just like its people, the Portuguese language is very courteous. Below are just some of the ways in which to express basic, everyday courtesy in Portuguese:

Please

In Portuguese, please can be por favor or se faz favor. They’re both equally correct and used in the same situations. Example:

Poderia trazer-me água, por favor? Could you bring me some water, please?

We Portuguese tend to shorten words whenever we can. So don’t be confused if instead of se faz favor you hear ´faz favor in fast, informal speech.

Thank You

The Portuguese expression is: Obrigado Obliged

It’s said to be a leftover from an expression that went more or less like “I am obliged (obrigado) to return your favor”. In fact, the English expression “much obliged” has the exact same meaning and would be an accurate translation of muito obrigado.

Because you are the one who feels obliged to return the favour, the word obrigado must

There are many ways to say goodbye in European Portuguese, depending on who you are talking to and how long it will be until you see them again.

This holiday season, a Practice Portuguese TV reporter takes to the streets to hear directly from Portuguese natives about their family Christmas traditions… until a particularly talkative woman steals the show!

Whether you’re just visiting or planning to live in Portugal, learning some food vocabulary is going to be pretty important! 😆

Let’s start with comer fora going out to eat…

Breakfast & Coffee

There are cafés cafés, coffee shops and pastelarias bakeries, which are often part of the same establishment, for snacks and light meals. This is where you’ll go for um pequeno-almoço a breakfast or um lanche a snack.

Perhaps you’ll ask for um café a coffee and the world-famous pastel de nata custard tart. Note: A pastel is usually a small tart or cake, which can be sweet, like the pastel de nata, or savoury, like the pastel de bacalhau codfish cake.

Unfortunately for those who like protein-rich breakfasts, it’s less common to find ovos eggs on the traditional Portuguese breakfast menu.

There are many different typical coffee beverages in Portugal. If you just order um café a coffee you will receive an espresso, unless you specify otherwise. Some of the most common options are

Rui Sénior is back with an important message for all those who enjoy eating snails! Learn more about the important cause he’s standing up for, and find out how you can help…

Today we learn about one of the most important symbols of Portuguese culture, found all over the walls and buildings throughout the country – azulejos (tiles). As always, we explore new vocabulary and grammar, and correct more of Joel’s “pronúncia de estrangeiro!”

In this episode, we learn about one of Portugal’s most important symbols and main exports: cork! We explore tons of new vocabulary, and later, for your benefit, Rui humbles Joel by tearing apart his pronunciation skills!

When we launched Diálogo 24 Um Café Em Lisboa (with our special guest, Tatiana from Brazil), it understandably created some controversy with our audience, who normally looks to us for European Portuguese content! While most members loved exploring the differences between the two dialects, a few members were worried that we were losing our European […]

Grammatically, it doesn’t take too long to learn the basics of addressing someone formally versus informally. But the most challenging aspects for estrangeiros foreigners tend to be the decisions that have to be made on a social level – not only understanding when it’s best to speak to someone formally, but choosing between the subtle variations of how formal language is used.

Even the natives (like Rui! 🇵🇹) have a hard time dissecting some of these unspoken social rules, so our aim is to make this the definitive resource of how to speak formally vs. informally in European Portuguese, and all the subtleties in between.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, we’ll start with the easy pronouns first: those which don’t have formal or informal variations.

First person

There is no distinction between formal and informal for the first person pronouns.

When talking about yourself, you’ll always use Eu I first person. Piece of cake!

When talking about yourself along with others, you’ll use:

Discover the beautiful ballad that unexpectedly swept Europe off its feet in the Eurovision 2017 song contest: “Amar Pelos Dois”, by Salvador Sobral. After 53 years of competing, this marks Portugal’s first victory ever! With the help of a special guest, Rui and Joel explore the meaning behind these Portuguese lyrics as well as what set […]

We’re back with another classic Portuguese tale, this time with the story of a Moorish king after the heart of a humble, female shepherd. Will he win her heart, despite their different religious backgrounds? How will they survive when the Christians come to take over the castle and land? Listen and find out!