Portuguese Language Blog

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Hello, there!

If you’re traveling to Brazil and nobody’s going to pick you up at the airport chances are you will need to speak some Portuguese with the taxi driver, so why learn some survival phrases in the meantime, huh?

First read the following dialogue where John, an American businessman, goes to Rio for a convention:

James: Táxi!
Taxista: Oi! Deixa que eu coloco a bagagem no porta-malas. Para onde, senhor?
James: Hotel Copacabana, por favor.
Taxista: Ok.
James: Qual é a distância daqui?
Taxista: Uns quarenta minutos se o trânsito estiver bom. O senhor está no Rio a negócios?
James: Sim, vim para uma convenção, mas pretendo me divertir um pouco também.
Taxista: Claro, o senhor vai ver que tem muita coisa para fazer aqui.

Eles chegam ao hotel.

James: Quanto ficou a corrida?
Taxista: 55 reais.
James: Aqui está. Fique com o troco.
Taxista: Obrigado. Vou pegar sua bagagem. Tenha uma boa estadia no Rio.
James: Obrigado.

Glossary

Deixa que eu = let me
colocar = to put
bagagem = luggage
porta-malas = trunk
Qual é a distância…? = How far is it…?
uns = around, approximately
trânsito = traffic
a negócios = on business
pretendo = I intend, I plan to
divertir-se = to have fun
muita coisa para fazer = a lot to do

Now read some useful sentences for taking a taxi in Portuguese!

Você pode me levar para…? = Can you take me to…?
Quanto tempo leva a corrida partindo daqui? = How long is the ride from here?
Qual é a distância até…? = How far is it to…?
Quanto tempo leva para chegar daqui até…? = How long does it take to get from here to…?
Você conhece algum atalho daqui? = Do you know any short cuts from here?
Quanto é a corrida até…? = How much is the ride to…?
O trânsito é ruim neste horário? = Is the traffic heavy at this time?
Você pode parar/esperar aqui, por favor? = Can you please stop/wait here?
Fique com o troco. = Keep the change.

Useful vocabulary!

pegar um táxi = to take a taxi, cab
chamar um táxi = to call a cab
semáforo = traffic lights
hora de pico, hora do rush = rush hour
evitar a hora do rush = to beat the rush hour
congestionamento, engarrafamento = traffic jam
preso(a) em um congestionamento = stuck in a traffic jam
atalho = shortcut
pegar um atalho = to take a short cut
cheio(a), lotado(a) = crowded

Example sentences:

Vamos pegar um táxi até o centro. = Let’s take a cab downtown.
Can you call a cab for us? = Você pode chamar um táxi para nós?

Esta cidade tem semáforos demais!
There are far too many traffic lights in this city!

É melhor sairmos mais cedo para evitar a hora do rush.
We’d better leave earlier and beat the rush hour.

Fiquei preso num estacionamento por quase uma hora esta manhã.
I was stuck in traffic for almost an hour this morning.

O trânsito na avenida principal estava parado, então decidimos pegar um atalho.
The traffic on the main avenue was jammed, so we decided to take a short cut.

O metrô estava lotado, então tivemos que ir em pé.
The subway was crowded so we had to stand.

Want more free resources to learn Portuguese? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.

There are some verb tenses and forms that you will rarely find in books, and the form “I was going to do something” is one of them. It is SO easy to say this in Portuguese and I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it!

We use the Imperfect form of verb ir + the infinitive of the main verb. Check this out:

I was going to = Eu ia
You were going to = Você ia
He was going to = Ele ia
She was going to = Ela ia
It was going to = Ia (no subject in Portuguese)
We were going to = Nós íamos
You were going to = Vocês iam (plural)
They were going to = Eles (masc.) / Elas (fem.) iam

Some examples:

Eu ia estudar para a prova, mas não tive tempo.
I was going to study for the test, but I didn’t have time.

Você ia estar na Europa no mês passado, não ia?
You were going to be in Europe last month, weren’t you?

Você não ia lavar a louça para mim?
Weren’t you going to do the dishes for me?

Ele ia fazer Direito, mas desistiu.
He was going to go to Law School, but he gave up.

Ele não ia fazer isso de jeito nenhum.
He wasn’t going to do that at all.

Ele ia se casar com ela em junho?
Was he going to marry her in June?

Ela ia dar aula naquela escola no começo do ano.
She was going to teach at that school at the beginning of the year.

Ela não ia trabalhar meio-período a partir deste ano?
Wasn’t she going to work part-time starting this year?

Nós íamos passar as férias na praia, mas choveu muito.
We were going to spend our vacation by the beach, but it rained a lot.

Vocês não iam me ajudar a me mudar?
Weren’t you guys going to help me move out?

Eles iam viajar amanhã cedo, mas o carro quebrou.
They were going to travel tomorrow morning, but their car broke down.

As meninas não iam fazer a comida para a festa?
Weren’t the girls going to make the food for the party?

Disseram que ia chover amanhã.
They said it was going to rain tomorrow.

Want more free resources to learn Portuguese? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.

Olá, pessoal! How’s it going?

Brazilians are known for their hospitality and making sure people feel welcome when they come visit so we have a blast when foreigners try to speak Portuguese, because we know it’s not a very easy one. Kudos for the effort!

Celebrities sometimes have to learn some Portuguese as a part of promoting their movies, albums, etc., so here’s a compilation of some celebrities speaking Portuguese (at least trying to!)

Celebrities speaking Portuguese

But I have to admit, one of my favorite celebrities who speak Portuguese are Shakira and Ricky Martin. They just don’t speak survival Portuguese, they actually speak very good Portuguese, check it out!

Shakira speaking Portuguese

Ricky Martin speaking Portuguese

Bottom line: you don’t need to have a perfect accent or conjugate your verbs to perfection – trust me, I know lots of educated Brazilians who don’t – but one thing is true: if you make an effort and speak some Portuguese in Brazil, you will be highly appreciated and even be invited to someone’s home for a churrasco (barbecue)!

Talking about churrasco, tomorrow is Friday so let me wish you a great weekend! Take care and nos vemos na semana que vem!