You may find this shocking, but Brazilians do not speak Spanish (or Brazilian).
The Brazilian people of Brazil speak (Brazilian) Portuguese.
The following is a very rough guide to the Portuguese language. My phonetic spellings are crude, and my explanations are basic, but it should be adequate to get your gringo ass in working order come caipirinha time.
FOR THE BASICS
- Hello – Oi/Olá (oh-LAH)
- Goodbye – Tchau (chow)
- Yes – Sim (seem)
- No – Não (now)
- Foreigner (non-Brazilian person) – Gringo
- The bathroom – O banheiro (ooh ban-yeh-rho)
- Fuck! – Porra! (poe-ha)
- Shit! – Caralho! (caw-raw-lho)
- Good morning – Bom dia (bome gee-ah)
- Good afternoon – Boa tarde (bo-ah tar-gee)
- Good evening – Boa noite (bo-ah noi-chee)
- Please – Por favor (pour fah-vor)
- Thank you – Obrigado/a (oh-bree-gah-doh/dah) – “o” if the speaker is male, “a” if female
- You’re welcome – De nada (gee nah-dah)
- Excuse me – Com licença (lee-sen-sah)
- Sorry – Desculpa (des-cool-pa)
- Brazil – O Brasil
- Restaurant – Restaurante (res-tau-rantch-ee)
- Menu – Cardápio (car-dap-e-oh)
- The check – A conta (ah con-ta)
- Recommendation – Recomendação (heh-co-men-da-sow)
- A beer – Uma cerveja
- Water – Água (ah-gua)
- Chicken – Frango (frahn-go)
- Beef – Carne (car-knee)
- Kitten – Gatinho (gah-cheen-yo)
- Pork – Porco (por-ko)
- Fish – Peixe (pay-she)
- Vegetarian – Vegetariano
- Cheers! – Saúde! (sow-OOH-gee)
FOR THE EATING
FOR THE USEFUL PHRASES
- I don’t understand. – Não entendo.
- I don’t speak Portuguese. – Não falo português.
- I don’t know. – Não sei.
- I prefer to be naked. – Eu prefiro estar nu.
- Your hair is ugly today. – Seu cabelo está feio hoje.
- It’s a trap! – É uma armadilha!
FOR THE TRANSPORTATION
- The hotel – O hotel
- The hostel – O hostel
- Car – Carro (car-hoe)
- Taxi – Táxi
- Bus – Ônibus (oon-nee-boos)
- Subway – Metrô
- Donkey – Burro (boo-ho)
- Bus station – Rodoviária (hoe-doe-vee-ARE-ee-uh)
- Airport – Aeroporto
- Left – Esquerda
- Right – Direita (gee-ray-tah)
FOR THE QUESTIONS
- Who? – Quem?
- What? – O que?
- Where? – Onde? (own-gee)
- Where is…? – Onde está…?
- When? – Quando?
- Why? – Por quê?
- How? – Como?
- Do you speak English? – Fala inglês? (fah-la in-glays?)
- Did you fart? – Você peidou? (pay-dey-oo)
- How are you? – Tudo bem?
- How much is…? – Quanto é…?
- Where is…? – Onde fica…?
- I want… – Eu quero (eh-yo que-ro)
FOR THE NUMBERS
- One – Um/uma
- Two – Dois/duas
- Three – Três
- Four – Quatro
- Five – Cinco (sink-o)
- Six – Seis
- Seven – Sete (seh-chee)
- Eight – Oito (oi-toe)
- Nine – Nove (no-vee)
- Ten – Dez
- Twenty – Vinte (vin-chee)
- Thirty – Trinta
- Forty – Quarenta
- Fifty – Cinquenta (sink-en-tah)
- One hundred – Cem (sen)
Going to be needing some Brazilian Portuguese in the future? Don’t know how to say something? Think something else should be added to this list?
Leave a comment below and let me know!
Nice guide! Be sure to get it worked before the first caipirinha as Mac mentioned!!! I am a Brazilian who will be doing half of the PCT next year and hopefully will have the USA “trail behavior” guide down, to conquer an acceptable “gringo” status. LOL. Cheers Mac
Thanks, Walter! Good luck on the PCT. Didn’t meet any Brazilians out there. Do you know of any others?
I know of a couple who are considering, but far from being set in stone. I have a feeling they will eventually be around. Hollywood is a strong influence down here!!! Really enjoyed many of your posts on the PCT, especially the one on how to get rid of unwanted people. I could just picture it happening. Laughed really hard! Cheers
And if you do come to Brazil, let me know, I will hook you up with some OK people in Florianopolis, Sao Paulo, Rio or Salvador.
I’ll for sure be returning to Brazil soon! This blog actually started with me writing about Brazil and my year living there. Check out the posts if you haven’t yet: https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/south-america/