How do you say “Hi!” in Portuguese? What about “Thank you”? And how do you introduce yourself to others?

If you’re an absolute beginner or planning a trip to a Portuguese-speaking country, you’re in the right place. In this guide, you’ll learn essential Portuguese phrases for daily conversations. Let’s dive in!

Note that you say Obrigado or Obrigada depending on whether you identify with a man or a woman, respectively.

Also, you will often hear Viva! or Então? instead of Olá! Most of the time people will combine different expressions into one greeting such as Viva, tudo bem?

Boa noite is used to greet both “Good evening” and “Good night” – the context tells you which one it is.

Learn more Portuguese greetings: Saying Hello! in Portuguese: A Comprehensive Rundown on Portuguese Greetings.

Instead of saying Chamo-me Sofia you may as well say Sou a Sofia (with the verb Ser), just as you’d say in English My name is … or I am …. You will also hear Moro em Lisboa instead of Vivo em Lisboa since the verbs Morar and Viver can be used interchangeably in this context.

In Portugal, it’s commonplace to address people using the 3-person (você, o senhor, a senhora), especially when you don’t know them well. Among friends and relatives, though, we usually use the 2-person (tu). The verb endings change accordingly.

Get your feet wet in Portuguese grammar: Dabbling in Portuguese Grammar – First Impressions for Beginners.

We often swallow consonant and vowel sounds when we speak, and the word Obrigado is a good example. So, don’t be surprised if you hear ~brigado instead.

You’ve probably noticed that Portuguese sounds are quite nasal. For instance, words that end in -ão or -m such as Não and Sim produce nasal sounds.

Dive deeper into Portuguese pronunciation: Portuguese Pronunciation: A Helpful Guide to Portuguese Basic Sounds and Spelling Patterns.

The expressions above are useful when you are interacting with native speakers. People will be happy to talk to you, but they might as well forget that they need to slow it down for you to understand. So, never shy away from asking, Pode falar mais devagar?

The verbs Perceber, Entender, Compreender are all synonyms. If someone says Não percebi/entendi/compreendi to you, that means that they didn’t understand you.

Speaking of clarity, sometimes you may need to spell out a word or others may do it for you. Here’s something you may find helpful: The Portuguese Alphabet: Spelling in Portuguese from A to Z.

Portuguese Numerals

Notice that the first two numbers have their endings changed according to gender: um carro but uma mesa; dois carros but duas mesas.

Become a pro with counting in Portuguese: Numbers in Portuguese: counting from 1 to infinity

Last but not least. If you are serious about learning Portuguese, click on the link below. See, there’s nothing more practical than a solid learning strategy: Mindsets and Strategies to Learn Portuguese the Best.