Portuguese supermarket words: 25 terms for grocery shopping in Portugal

🇵🇹 PortugueseA1–A225 words

A weekly shop is great listening practice. Learn the names of the counters, the questions cashiers ask ("Quer fatura com contribuinte?") and the words on price labels, and grocery shopping in Portugal becomes a five-minute routine instead of a guessing game.

Where you will use it: Supermarkets, markets, counters and checkouts.

Portuguese supermarket words — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

Portuguese	Meaning and example
a peixaria	Fish counter; fishmonger's.“A peixaria fica ao fundo.”The fish counter is at the back.
a charcutaria	Deli counter; cold meats section.“Peça o fiambre na charcutaria.”Ask for the ham at the deli counter.
a padaria	Bakery; bread counter.“O pão vem da padaria.”The bread comes from the bakery.
a caixa	Checkout; till.“Esta caixa está aberta?”Is this checkout open?
o carrinho de compras	Shopping trolley.“Deixei o carrinho de compras à entrada.”I left the shopping trolley at the entrance.
o cesto	Basket.“Só preciso de um cesto.”I only need a basket.
o corredor	Aisle; corridor.“O arroz está no próximo corredor.”The rice is in the next aisle.
a prateleira	Shelf.“O leite está naquela prateleira.”The milk is on that shelf.
a etiqueta	Label.“Não consigo ler a etiqueta.”I can't read the label.
o preço por quilo	Price per kilogram.“Qual é o preço por quilo?”What is the price per kilogram?
a promoção	Special offer; promotion.“Este produto está em promoção?”Is this product on special offer?
o desconto	Discount.“O desconto aparece no talão.”The discount appears on the receipt.
o talão	Receipt; till receipt.“Pode dar-me o talão?”Could you give me the receipt?
o saco	Bag.“Trouxe um saco de casa.”I've brought a bag from home.
o troco	Change (money returned after payment).“Falta uma moeda no troco.”There's a coin missing from the change.
Quer fatura com contribuinte?	Would you like an invoice with your tax number (checkout question).“Quer fatura com contribuinte? Diga-me o número.”Would you like an invoice with your tax number? Tell me the number.
a balança	Scales.“Ponha as maçãs na balança.”Put the apples on the scales.
pesar	To weigh.“Preciso de pesar estes tomates?”Do I need to weigh these tomatoes?
a embalagem	Packaging; pack.“Esta embalagem está aberta.”This pack is open.
a validade	Expiry date; shelf life.“Vou verificar a validade do iogurte.”I'm going to check the yoghurt's expiry date.
os congelados	Frozen foods.“Os congelados ficam ao fundo.”The frozen foods are at the back.
os legumes	Vegetables.“Preciso de legumes para a sopa.”I need vegetables for the soup.
os ovos	Eggs.“Onde estão os ovos?”Where are the eggs?
o arroz	Rice.“Vou levar um pacote de arroz.”I'll take a packet of rice.
o detergente	Detergent.“Preciso de detergente para a roupa.”I need laundry detergent.

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 supermarket words?

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.