Renting in Portugal: 25 Portuguese words for flats, contracts and landlords

🇵🇹 PortugueseA2–B125 words

Rental adverts in Portugal use their own shorthand: a T1 has one bedroom, "despesas incluídas" means bills are included and the "caução" is your deposit. This list explains the terms you will meet in adverts, viewings and contracts, so you know what you are signing.

Where you will use it: Flat hunting, viewings, rental contracts and bills.

Portuguese words for renting a home — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Portuguese	Meaning and example
o senhorio / a senhoria	Landlord / landlady.“A senhoria vem cá amanhã.”The landlady is coming here tomorrow.
o inquilino / a inquilina	Tenant (male / female).“Sou o novo inquilino deste apartamento.”I'm the new tenant of this flat.
a renda	Rent.“A renda inclui a água?”Does the rent include water?
a caução	Security deposit.“Quando devolve a caução?”When will you return the deposit?
o fiador / a fiadora	Guarantor (male / female).“É preciso ter fiador?”Is a guarantor required?
o contrato de arrendamento	Tenancy agreement.“Posso ler o contrato de arrendamento?”Can I read the tenancy agreement?
o recibo de renda	Rent receipt.“Pode enviar-me o recibo de renda?”Could you send me the rent receipt?
um T1	One-bedroom flat or house.“Procuro um T1 perto do metro.”I'm looking for a one-bedroom flat near the underground.
um T2	Two-bedroom flat or house.“Este T2 tem dois quartos luminosos.”This two-bedroom flat has two bright bedrooms.
despesas incluídas	Bills included.“O anúncio diz «despesas incluídas».”The advert says ‘bills included’.
mobilado / mobilada	Furnished.“O apartamento está mobilado?”Is the flat furnished?
o apartamento	Flat; apartment.“O apartamento fica no segundo andar.”The flat is on the second floor.
a visita	Viewing; visit.“Podemos combinar uma visita ao apartamento?”Can we arrange a viewing of the flat?
a imobiliária	Estate agency.“A imobiliária tem as chaves.”The estate agency has the keys.
o anúncio	Advert; listing.“Vi o anúncio do apartamento ontem.”I saw the advert for the flat yesterday.
arrendar	To rent; to let.“Quero arrendar uma casa nesta zona.”I want to rent a house in this area.
o condomínio	Building management; shared building charges.“Quem paga o condomínio?”Who pays the building charges?
o rés do chão	Ground floor.“O apartamento fica no rés do chão.”The flat is on the ground floor.
o andar	Floor; storey.“Em que andar fica o apartamento?”Which floor is the flat on?
o elevador	Lift.“O prédio tem elevador?”Does the building have a lift?
a varanda	Balcony.“A varanda dá para o jardim.”The balcony overlooks the garden.
o aquecimento	Heating.“O aquecimento funciona bem?”Does the heating work well?
a humidade	Damp; humidity.“Há humidade nesta parede.”There's damp on this wall.
a reparação	Repair.“Quem trata da reparação da janela?”Who will arrange the window repair?
a entrega das chaves	Handover of the keys.“Quando é a entrega das chaves?”When is the handover of the keys?

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 Portuguese words for renting a home?

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

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