Click on the highlighted words to hear them pronounced.
| English | Portuguese | Pronunciation/Notes |
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My name is…
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Shamu-me… – lit. ‘I call myself…’
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| O meu nome é… |
oo mayu nome eh – lit. ‘the my name is…’
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What is your name?
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Como se chama? |
Komu se-shama? – lit. ‘How do you call yourself?’
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| Qual é o seu nome? |
Kwal eh oo sayu nome? – lit. ‘What is the your name?’
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This is…
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Eshte eh… (when introducing a male)
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| Esta é… |
Eshta eh… (when introducing a female)
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my husband
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oo mayu mareedu – lit. ‘the my husband’
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my wife
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a minya eshpoza – lit. ‘the my spouse’
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a minya mulyair – lit. ‘the my woman’ – ‘mulher’ is usually used to refer to your own wife, whereas ‘esposa’ can be used for your own, or someone elses wife.
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my boyfriend
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oo mayu namorahdu – lit. ‘the my boyfriend’
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my girlfriend
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a minya namorahda – lit. ‘the my girlfriend’ – when used by a male referring to his female partner
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a minya ameega – lit. ‘the my friend’ – when used by a female referring to a female friend
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a friend
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oom[ng] ameegu – a male friend
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oom[ng]a ameega – a female friend
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Do you speak English?
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Fahla Ingle[a]ysh? – Although the ‘ê’ sometimes sounds more open (‘ay’), the circumflex still denotes that it should be a closed pronunciation. Listen carefully to a native speaker – the sound is like a cross between the ‘ea’ of ‘ear’ and the ‘ai’ of ‘air’. The same is true of the words ‘Inglesa’; ‘Português’; and ‘Portuguesa’.
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I am learning Portuguese
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Eu estou a aprender Português |
Ayoo eshtoh a aprender Portooge[a]ysh
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I am English
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Soh Ingle[a]ysh – only said by males
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Soh Ingle[a]yza – only said by females
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I am Portuguese
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Soh Portooge[a]ysh – only said by males
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Soh Portooge[a]yza – only said by females
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I am from England
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Sou da Inglaterra |
Soh da Inglaterrrra – lit. ‘I am from the England’
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I am from Portugal
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Sou de Portugal |
Soh de Portugal– they don’t say ‘from the Portugal’ (like they do with England), just ‘from Portugal’ (like we do). Most other countries of the world require ‘from the’ (‘do’ or ‘da’ depending on the gender of the country – see section on nouns below)
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Where are you from?
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De onde é? |
Di-yondi-yeh?
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in England
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na Inglaterra |
na Inglaterrrra – lit. ‘in the England’
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| in Portugal | em Portugal | aym[ng] Portugal |
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I am from London
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Soh de Londresh
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Sorry!
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Deshculpe!
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I am sorry
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Lamentu – lit. ‘I lament’ (use this to sympathise with someone who has had some bad news).
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Pessu Deshculpash – lit. ‘I ask for excuses’.
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| Excuse me | Com licença |
Com[ng] lissensa – lit. ‘with permission’.
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I don't understand
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não entendo/não percebo
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now[ng] entendu / now[ng] perssebu – lit. ‘not I understand’.
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so then
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entow[ng] – lit. ‘then’, but used frequently in places where English would say ‘so’, or ‘right then’.
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you (singular)
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vosseh – A formal way of addressing someone (in Brazil they use você informally as well).
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oo senyor – lit. ‘the gentleman’
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a senyora – lit. ‘the lady’
Note, the Portuguese generally speak more formally than the English, so although referring to someone as ‘the lady’ or ‘the gentleman’ would sound rather pompous to us, it is quite common in Portuguese. Senhor/Senhora can also mean sir/madam, Mr/Mrs (‘Miss’ would be ‘a menina’, or ‘Senhorita’), or Lord/Lady.
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| I | eu | ayu |
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he
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ele - the first ‘e’ is very closed, almost like an English ‘i’, whereas the second ‘e’ is barely audible (so it sounds almost like you are saying ‘ill’).
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she
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ela
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Now we are ready to start tackling grammar!
