Common Portuguese phrases: 25 everyday expressions from Portugal

🇵🇹 PortugueseA1–A225 words

A handful of fixed phrases carries most small conversations: saying hello, introducing yourself, asking someone to repeat. This list uses the expressions you actually hear in Portugal, such as "não percebo", "se calhar" and "pronto", rather than their Brazilian equivalents.

Where you will use it: Greetings, introductions and polite everyday conversation.

Common Portuguese phrases — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Portuguese	Meaning and example
Tudo bem?	How are you? Is everything OK? (informal)“Olá, Marta! Tudo bem?”Hi, Marta! How are you?
Como está?	How are you? (polite)“Bom dia, senhor Silva, como está?”Good morning, Mr Silva, how are you?
Muito prazer.	Nice to meet you.“Chamo-me Ana. Muito prazer.”My name is Ana. Nice to meet you.
Como se chama?	What is your name? (polite)“Desculpe, como se chama?”Excuse me, what is your name?
Chamo-me…	My name is…“Chamo-me Pedro e sou de Braga.”My name is Pedro and I'm from Braga.
Não percebo.	I don't understand.“Desculpe, não percebo.”Sorry, I don't understand.
Pode repetir?	Could you repeat that?“Pode repetir, por favor?”Could you repeat that, please?
Fala inglês?	Do you speak English? (polite)“Desculpe, fala inglês?”Excuse me, do you speak English?
Quanto custa?	How much is it?“Quanto custa este bolo?”How much is this cake?
Onde fica…?	Where is…?“Onde fica a farmácia mais próxima?”Where is the nearest pharmacy?
Com licença.	Excuse me (to pass or interrupt).“Com licença, posso passar?”Excuse me, may I get past?
De nada.	You're welcome.“Obrigado! — De nada.”Thank you! — You're welcome.
Até logo.	See you later.“Até logo e bom trabalho!”See you later, and have a good day at work!
Até amanhã.	See you tomorrow.“Até amanhã, na escola.”See you tomorrow at school.
Está bem.	OK; all right.“Às oito? Está bem.”At eight? OK.
Não faz mal.	Never mind; it doesn't matter.“Chegaste atrasado? Não faz mal.”You're late? Never mind.
se calhar	Maybe; perhaps.“Se calhar vai chover à tarde.”Maybe it will rain in the afternoon.
Estou a aprender português.	I am learning Portuguese.“Estou a aprender português para trabalhar em Lisboa.”I'm learning Portuguese to work in Lisbon.
Já está.	Done; that's it.“Já está! O formulário foi enviado.”Done! The form has been sent.
Pronto.	Right then; OK (very common filler).“Pronto, vamos embora.”Right then, let's go.
Que horas são?	What time is it?“Desculpe, que horas são?”Excuse me, what time is it?
Tenho fome.	I'm hungry.“Tenho fome, vamos almoçar?”I'm hungry, shall we have lunch?
Boa sorte!	Good luck!“Amanhã tens o exame? Boa sorte!”You have the exam tomorrow? Good luck!
Bom fim de semana!	Have a good weekend!“Até segunda e bom fim de semana!”See you on Monday, and have a good weekend!
Pode ajudar-me?	Can you help me? (polite)“Desculpe, pode ajudar-me com a mala?”Excuse me, can you help me with the suitcase?

Tips for learning Portuguese words

Learn the article with the nounWrite o comboio or a paragem, not just the noun: the article tells you the gender, and adjectives agree with it.
Listen before you speakEuropean Portuguese swallows many unstressed vowels, so words sound shorter than they look. Play the audio and repeat each example aloud.
Type the accentsIn WordNest a missing accent counts as a mistake. Typing água, não and amanhã correctly from the start saves relearning them later.

European, not Brazilian Portuguese

Portugal and Brazil share one language but differ in everyday words, pronunciation and grammar: a train is a comboio in Portugal and a trem in Brazil, and "I am eating" is estou a comer rather than estou comendo. WordNest teaches the Portugal variety — example sentences, pronunciation and AI corrections all follow Portugal's norms.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

European vs Brazilian Portuguese: 50 everyday words that differ →How to learn European Portuguese with WordNest →

Questions about this list

Is this European or Brazilian Portuguese?

European Portuguese, as spoken in Portugal. Where Brazil uses a different word, the list gives the Portugal one — for example comboio instead of trem.

How do I practise Common Portuguese phrases?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the Portuguese word from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose Portuguese as a study language and add these words to your own deck.