50 Fundamental Sentences in European Portuguese

These 50 fundamental sentences are your launchpad.

They’re short, useful, and cover the moments you’ll face right away—introductions, ordering food, asking for directions, and more.

Instead of drowning in grammar rules, you’ll jump straight into speaking.

Think of this list as your “first toolkit” for Portuguese conversations.

Ready to begin? Vamos!

1. Olá. (Hello.)

   
   

2. Bom dia. (Good morning.)

   
   

3. Boa tarde. (Good afternoon.)

   
   

4. Boa noite. (Good evening.)

   
   

5. Como está? (formal) (How are you?)

   Como estás? (informal) (How are you?)

   
   

6. Estou bem, obrigado/a. (I'm fine, thank you.)

   
   

7. Como se chama? (formal) (What's your name?)

   Como te chamas? (informal) (What's your name?)

   
   

8. Chamo-me ___. (My name is ___.)

   
   

9. Prazer em conhecer você. (formal) (Nice to meet you.)

   Prazer em conhecer-te (informal) (Nice to meet you.)

   
   

10. Por favor. (Please.)

    
    

11. Obrigado/a. (Thank you.)

    
    

12. De nada. (You're welcome.)

    
    

13. Com licença. (Excuse me.)

    
    

14. Desculpe (formal). (I'm sorry)

    Desculpa (informal) (I'm sorry.)

    
    

15. Sim. (Yes.)

    
    

16. Não. (No.)

    
    

17. Talvez. (Maybe.)

    
    

18. Não sei. (I don't know.)

    
    

19. Não percebo. (I don't understand.)

    
    

20. Pode repetir? (formal) (Can you repeat that?)

    Podes repetir? (informal) (Can you repeat that?)

    
    

21. Pode falar mais devagar? (Formal) (Can you speak more slowly?)

    Podes falar mais devagar? (Informal) (Can you speak more slowly?)

    
    

22. Fala inglês? (Formal) (Do you speak English?)

    Falas inglês? (Informal) (Do you speak English?)

    
    

23. Falo um pouco de Português. (I speak a little Portuguese.)

    
    

24. De onde é? (Formal) (Where are you from?)

    De onde és? (Informal) (Where are you from?)

    
    

25. Sou de ___. (I'm from ___.)

    
    

26. Quantos anos tem? (Formal) (How old are you?)

    Quantos anos tens? (Informal) (How old are you?)

    
    

27. Tenho ___ anos. (I'm ___ years old.)

    
    

28. Onde fica a casa de banho? (Where is the bathroom?)

    
    

29. Quanto custa? (How much does it cost?)

    
    

30. Quero este. (I want this one.)

    
    

31. Pode ajudar-me? (Formal) (Can you help me?)

    Podes ajudar-me? (Informal) (Can you help me?)

    
    

32. Estou perdido/a. (I'm lost.)

    
    

33. Onde fica ___? (Where is ___?)

    
    

34. À esquerda / À direita / Em frente. (To the left / To the right / Straight ahead.)

    
    

35. Que horas são? (What time is it?)

    
    

36. Hoje / Amanhã / Ontem. (Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday.)

    
    

37. Tenho fome. (I'm hungry.)

    
    

38. Tenho sede. (I'm thirsty.)

    
    

39. Estou cansado/a. (I'm tired.)

    
    

40. Estou doente. (I'm sick.)

    
    

41. Gosto. (I like it.)

    
    

42. Não gosto. (I don't like it.)

    
    

43. Está bom. (It's good.)

    
    

44. Está mau. (It's bad.)

    
    

45. O que é isto? (What is this?)

    
    

46. Preciso de ___. (I need ___.)

    
    

47. Quero ___. (I want ___.)

    
    

48. Não quero ___. (I don't want ___.)

    
    

49. Até logo. (See you later.)

    
    

50. Adeus. (Goodbye.)

    
    
    
    

    *When a word has two possible endings (o/a) it indicates the speaker's gender.

    For example:

    A man would say: Obrigado.

    A woman would instead say: Obrigada.

    
    
    
    

    ** When there are two versions (formal and informal), we strongly recommend learning the formal version first. You can never go wrong by being polite.

What to do?

Learn 5 per day for 10 days.

That's it.

In 10 days you will have 50 sentences you can use in real life to get concrete results.

After that? Keep up the momentum and build on these sentences every single day.

👉 Got more questions? Head over to our Q&A Section—chances are we’ve already answered it (and if not, we will!).

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