Greetings

In this episode, Joel and Rui talk about how people greet each other in Portugal — cheek kisses, handshakes, that sort of thing — and the tricky business of actually leaving a party without it turning into a whole thing. They cover vocabulary like “está a ficar tarde,” “tenho que ir embora,” and “até à […]

Gabriel and Violeta meet in the park and bond over their love for animals and the outdoors.

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 […]

Senhor Esteves stops by to say hello to Dona Graça and her daughter, Carla. Since it’s almost lunchtime, they invite him to stay for a meal. Notice the different levels of formality used among the different speakers.

Olívia and Alberto are tourists who meet at a café in Porto. They are both learning Portuguese, so they decide to practice speaking.

In this Learning Note we’ll cover 3 main topics: 🗺 Countries in Portuguese (so you can say where you’re from!) 🤓 Whether to use a definite article (o or a) before the name of your country 🗣 How to state which language(s) you speak and your nationality (both male and female forms) You may have […]

Follow along as Daniela and João greet each other and introduce themselves. 👋 If this is your first “Shorty” and you’re feeling lost, read more here: How to Use Shorties to Learn Portuguese

👋 Adeus looks similar to adiós, so you can pronounce them the same way, right? (Spoiler alert: NO) We’ll cover the simplest ways to say goodbye in Portuguese, including a more informal option. Stay tuned until the end for bonus tips on riding that “urgency wave” when you arrive in Portugal! 🌊

Is the pronunciation of “sim” (yes) the same as “si” in Spanish? How do you pronounce that “m” at the end of the word? You’ll also learn how to pronounce the nasal sound in “não”, and how to avoid wasting time when time studying Portuguese!

There’s a pretty good chance that, unless you’re already speaking with a perfect Portuguese accent, you’ll be asked where you’re from. This episode will make sure you’re armed and ready with the right answer so you can keep the conversation flowing!

In this episode, Rui and Joel show you how to introduce yourself to someone and ask them what their name is.

Rui and Joel show you how to ask how someone is doing, and how to correctly say “thank you”, (something that even natives sometimes get wrong!)