European Portuguese: 18 Common Phrases From Portugal and What They Mean

Portugal and Brazil share one language. Still, a learner who studied Brazilian Portuguese will hit new words on day one in Lisbon or Porto. This page lists the ones you meet first, with the Brazilian word next to each.

How Portugal's Portuguese Differs From Brazil's

These grammar changes show up in almost every conversation in Portugal. The table shows each one beside the Brazilian sentence.

In a sentence with não, both countries put the pronoun first: não me chamo Ana.

Everyday Words

Each of these is the everyday word in Portugal, and Brazil uses a different one.

pequeno-almoço

BreakfastBrazilian Portuguese: café da manhãWord for word, it means "little lunch".

autocarro

BusBrazilian Portuguese: ônibusFootball fans use it too: to park the bus, estacionar o autocarro, means to play only defense.

comboio

TrainBrazilian Portuguese: tremIn Brazil, comboio means a line of vehicles traveling together.

telemóvel

Mobile phoneBrazilian Portuguese: celular

casa de banho

Bathroom, toiletBrazilian Portuguese: banheiroTo ask for it, say: onde é a casa de banho?

sumo

JuiceBrazilian Portuguese: sucoBrazil also has the word sumo, but there it means the pure liquid pressed from fruit.

gelado

Ice creamBrazilian Portuguese: sorvete

frigorífico

FridgeBrazilian Portuguese: geladeiraIn Brazil, a frigorífico is a cold store where meat is kept.

ecrã

ScreenBrazilian Portuguese: telaFor a computer screen, people in Portugal also say monitor.

talho

Butcher's shopBrazilian Portuguese: açougueIn Portugal, açougue now sounds old-fashioned.

Phrases You Hear in Conversation

Order at a café or meet new people in Portugal, and these come up fast. Fixe and giro are casual words for friends.

fixe

Cool, nice, greatBrazilian Portuguese: legalIt can describe a thing or a person, and on its own it means "Great!" Que fixe! means "How cool!"

giro / gira

Pretty, cute, niceBrazilian Portuguese: bonito / bonitaSay giro for a man or a masculine word and gira for a woman or a feminine word, as in uma saia gira, "a pretty skirt". It is informal.

uma bica

An espressoBrazilian Portuguese: um expressoIt is used in some parts of Portugal. Lisbon's Café A Brasileira was the first to sell it, and in most of the country people just ask for um café.

um galão

A milky coffee in a tall glassBrazilian Portuguese: um café com leiteIt is mostly milk, with about a quarter coffee.

dar boleia

To give someone a liftBrazilian Portuguese: dar caronaQueres boleia? means "Do you want a lift?"

Chamo-me…

My name is…Brazilian Portuguese: Me chamo…It follows the pronoun rule from the table.

Estou a cozinhar.

I'm cooking.Brazilian Portuguese: Estou cozinhando.Any action in progress works this way: estou a ler means "I'm reading".

Como estás?

How are you?Brazilian Portuguese: Como você está?This is the tu form for friends. In Portugal, você can sound a little formal.

How European Portuguese Sounds

Listen to the vowels first. Speakers in Portugal shorten or drop many vowels that are not stressed, so setembro can sound like two syllables. Brazilian speech keeps those vowels open and clear.

A few consonants differ too. Most Brazilians say the t in presidente like the "ch" in "cheese", but Portugal keeps a plain t. A final e is often silent in Portugal, so tarde sounds close to "tard".

Practice Portuguese's video Ordering Coffee in Portugal lets you hear these sounds and the café words above.

Practice European Portuguese in Lessons

Poppy, your AI tutor, writes your Bubblegum lessons in Portugal's Portuguese at your level, with tu, pequeno-almoço, and estou a fazer where they belong. European Portuguese has its own track, so you don't get Brazilian lessons by mistake.

Our best ways to learn European Portuguese guide lists courses and tutors.

Common Questions