In this unit, we’ll learn about Portuguese numbers, known as or . Números are just one type of , but they are so important that we thought they deserved their own unit. We’ll explore some of the other quantifiers in the How Much? How Many? unit. But for now, let’s go over the números, which […]
Introduction to Numbers in Portuguese
A Portuguese Kitchen
Enjoying food is an important part of the culture of Portugal. Whether you’re buying groceries, ordering at a restaurant, or just talking about food, you’ll need to be comfortable with the basics of Portuguese cooking vocabulary. To start, let’s focus on some of the things you might find in a Portuguese kitchen. Food Storage There […]
Food Groups
Exploring food groups is a convenient way to help us learn European Portuguese food vocabulary in a more organized way. Dairy Products First let’s look at some Leite, iogurte, and queijo are a part of many Portuguese people’s breakfasts and snacks. Queijo, in particular, is very important and there are several tasty varieties. As for leite, […]
Talking About Food
Portugal is a country of food lovers, so we use a lot of different expressions to describe the food we eat and how we feel about eating it. The 2 ways to say “I’m hungry” in Portuguese are: | Hunger and Satisfaction I’m Hungry! For starters, instead of saying I am hungry, in Portugal we […]
Adverbs of Time
In this lesson, we’ll look at more examples of Remember: adverbs of time are always invariable, meaning they do not change form to match the gender or number of the word they reference. Cedo Tarde
Polite Expressions
Just like its people, the Portuguese language is very courteous. Below are just some of the many polite phrases used to express basic, everyday courtesy in Portuguese. A little kindness goes a long way, especially when you’re struggling to communicate in a new language! This guide covers the most important phrases, but there are also […]
As Chaves Perdidas
The Lost Keys
Sara loses her keys and counts on her husband Fernando’s help to find them.
Os Amigos e os Falsos Amigos
Friends and Fake Friends
Two friends get together for a conversation and run into some “false friends” (false cognates), leading to a nice teaching moment!
Dining Out In Portugal
Whether you’re just visiting or planning to live in Portugal, learning some food vocabulary is going to be pretty important! 😆 As part of our Cooking and Eating unit, this guide should give you a good introduction to dining out in Portugal, or, in other words: Breakfast & Coffee There are and , which are […]
Cabelos, Tesouras e Desilusões
Hair, Scissors, and Disappointments
Salvador and Mariana (– no, Adriana! –) visit a hair salon to freshen up their looks, but quickly find themselves in a hairy situation! In this episode, you’ll learn lots of new vocabulary and expressions that should come in handy the next time you find yourself going under the scissors…
BONUS: Palavras Japonesas Inspiradas na Língua Portuguesa
BONUS: Japanese Words Inspired by the Portuguese Language
After listening to our last podcast on foreign words derived from Portuguese, a Japanese member, Ryoko, came to our rescue with recordings of every Japanese word we mentioned, plus a bunch of new ones for good measure. Join us as we explore surprising similarities between Japanese and Portuguese in this bonus episode!
(“Arigato” once again to Ryoko Kawaoka for her generous time in preparing the list and recordings for this episode!)
Palavras Inspiradas na Língua Portuguesa
Words Inspired by the Portuguese Language
In this unscripted dialogue between Rui and Joel, we discover words in English, Spanish, French and Japanese that apparently derived from Portuguese vocabulary… Come for the comprehension practice, stay for the butchered non-Portuguese pronunciations!
As Sardinhas Que Fumavam
The Sardines That Smoked
Hoping for a calm, vegetarian dining experience at a local Portuguese restaurant, Sr. John gets thrown off guard by unprofessional service and a problem with his order! Find out how he deals with these challenges, and learn lots of vocabulary and expressions to use the next time you’re dining out.
O Azulejo Português
The Portuguese Tile
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!”
A Tartaruga Ninja
The Ninja Turtle
Our fabulously fictional Portuguese family is back (with peculiarly different voices 😂) and this time, they’re considering adding a new member. We explore new vocabulary surrounding food, animals and more, and also run into some new usage examples of the conjunctive and conditional moods. And just like in the last episode, Rui continues to help Joel identify some more of his “estrangeiro” pronunciation habits!
Update (April 12, 2018): After launching this episode, it was helpfully pointed out to us that keeping a turtle as a pet is irresponsible: They die earlier in captivity and live a miserable, unnatural life. They’re part of our wildlife heritage and need their protected, natural habitat to thrive. Instead, consider adopting a cat or dog from a shelter – surprisingly, they’re less work, and you’ll be doing some good! More details here and here. (Obrigado, Joanna!)
A Rota da Cortiça
The Cork Route
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!
Common Household Items
The average home is full of all kinds of objects, pieces of furniture, and appliances. In this unit, we’ll explore the most common objects you’ll find in each room of your house. The Living Room – Sala de Estar The room where you’ll likely spend lots of time relaxing with your family and friends is […]
Types of Homes and Rooms
If you plan to or a home in Portugal, here are some of the main types of housing you have to choose from: Types of Housing – A private bedroom for yourself in a house shared with other people. – A complete, unshared home, but in shared with others. You could also categorize this as apartment which […]
Um Café em Lisboa
A Coffee in Lisbon
This episode is a collaboration featuring Tatiana Ribeiro, a Portuguese teacher (and fan of the project) from Brazil, currently living Italy! She recorded with us and also wrote the dialogue, which takes place in a café in Portugal.
Since we all know jokes are funnier after they’re explained in exhaustive detail, Rui and Joel discuss the key vocabulary and expressions used throughout. But rather than making it easy on you by switching to English, we decided to keep the entire conversation in Portuguese!
But don’t worry – For the first time ever, members using the podcast player on our website can now enable English translations at any point in this episode, to make sure you don’t miss a single “palavra”.
We’re excited to hear what you think!
Update, August 11, 2017: Shortly after launching this episode, we were invited on Tatiana’s radio show for an interview. We’ve released an edited version of this interview with transcript if you’d like to have a listen!
Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow
Here’s how we refer to the present day, the day before, and the next day: Now let’s put them into context: By combining the terms and with ontem and amanhã, you can also form expressions to refer to
Relationships of Time
Let’s explore some examples of the most common words used to talk about the order and relationships among different events in time. It’s important to be able to talk about now, later, earlier, before, and after in Portuguese. Current Time is the term we use to refer to the present. Past and Future We use […]
Seasons of the Year
The seasons of the year are called in Portuguese. Their names have Latin origins, which by now you may have noticed is very common in Portuguese. (Don’t you wish you had paid more attention to Latin in school? 😜 ) Just like English, the seasons of the year are not capitalized in Portuguese.
Portuguese Holidays
The Portuguese calendar has several holidays and holiday periods throughout the year. Holiday can have two meanings in Portuguese: – A public holiday, or day to celebrate something of specific cultural or religious importance at a local or national level. – A planned period of time off work or school. Férias are often scheduled around […]
Months of the Year
As you saw in previous lessons, the days of the week are very different from other languages. But as luck would have it, the names of in Portuguese are quite similar to other languages, since we all use the same Gregorian calendar. All the names share common roots in Roman culture.