Formality

At the hospital, Mário consults with Lisa about a patient with recurrent gastrointestinal issues, seeking advice on further testing.

Rui and his neighbour Dona Benilde discuss some frustrating problems in their apartment building.

Augusto’s forgetfulness leads to an encounter with Dona Irene, the porteira. They go on to discuss some problems in the apartment building. Note: A porteira is similar to a concierge / janitor / caretaker for an entire building, but nowadays this is a dying profession. The role was often filled by older Portuguese women.

Mafalda has a pleasant chat with her neighbour.

Coworkers João and Camila chat about family responsibilities and routines on their way into the office.

D. Maria and Catarina have a pleasant chat in the supermarket. Language focus: formal and informal “you” Cultural note: D. is an abbreviation for Dona, which is an honorific, similar to Ms. or Mrs. You may hear some Portuguese speakers use Dona to respectfully address a middle-aged or older woman who is a homemaker, or […]

We often get asked about how to say sorry and excuse me in Portuguese. Is there a difference between Com licença and Desculpe? What about Sinto muito? Lamento? Perdão? With so many options that have similar translations, it’s important to take context and cultural norms into account. In this Learning Note, we’ll cover which phrase(s) […]

Paulo hasn’t received his order yet, so he writes an email to customer service.

Fernando meets with his real estate agent, Eduarda, to tour a house that’s for sale. Notice how they navigate formal/informal treatments in Portuguese.

A woman goes shopping for new eyeglasses. Follow along to learn some new vocabulary you could use in this situation.

Jan visits the Câmara Municipal to get his certificado de registo (registration certificate).

Clara gets a lot of packages delivered, all by the same delivery man!