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Rick Steves Portuguese Phrase Book and Dictionary
Contributors
By Rick Steves
Formats and Prices
Price
$9.99Price
$12.99 CADFormat
Format:
- Trade Paperback $9.99 $12.99 CAD
- ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around September 17, 2019. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Also available from:
- Key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling
- An English-Portuguese and Portuguese-English dictionary
- Tips for small talk and local lingo with Rick’s signature sense of humor
- A tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you relax on the beach (no internet connection required!)
Excerpt
Hi, I’m Rick Steves.
I’m the only monolingual speaker I know who’s had the nerve to design a series of European phrase books. But that’s one of the things that makes them better.
You see, after 30 summers of travel through Europe, I’ve learned first-hand: (1) what’s essential for communication in another country, and (2) what’s not. I’ve assembled the most important words and phrases in a logical, no-frills format, and I’ve worked with native Europeans and seasoned travelers to give you the simplest, clearest translations possible.
But this book is more than just a pocket translator. The words and phrases have been carefully selected to help you have a smarter, smoother trip in Portugal. The key to getting more out of every travel dollar is to get closer to the local people, and to rely less on enter-tainment, restaurants, and hotels that cater only to foreign tourists. This book will not only help you order a meal at a locals-only Lisbon restaurant—it will help you talk with the family who runs the place . . . about their kids, social issues, travel dreams, and favorite música. Long after your memories of museums have faded, you’ll still treasure the personal encounters you had with your new Iberian friends.
A good phrase book should help you enjoy your Iberian experience—not just survive it—so I’ve added a healthy dose of humor. A few phrases are just for fun and aren’t meant to be used at all. Most of the phrases are for real and should be used with “please” (por favor). I know you can tell the difference.
To get the most out of this book, take the time to internalize and put into practice my Portuguese pronunciation tips. Don’t worry too much about memorizing grammatical rules, like the gender of a noun—the important thing is to communicate!
This book has a handy dictionary and a nifty menu decoder. You’ll also find tongue twisters, international words, telephone tips, and a handy tear-out “cheat sheet.” Tear it out and keep it in your pocket, so you can easily memorize key phrases during otherwise idle moments. As you prepare for your trip, you may want to read the most recent edition of my Rick Steves Portugal guidebook.
The Portuguese speak less English than their European neighbors. But while the language barrier may seem a little higher, the locals are happy to give an extra boost to any traveler who makes an effort to communicate.
My goal is to help you become a more confident, extroverted traveler. If this phrase book helps make that happen, or if you have suggestions for making it better, I’d love to hear from you. I personally read and value all feedback.
Happy travels,
Getting Started
Portuguese
...is your passport to Europe’s bargain basement. For its wonderful pricetag, you’ll enjoy piles of fresh seafood, brilliant sunshine, and local character that often feels decades behind the rest of Europe. With its Old World charm comes a bigger language barrier than you’ll find elsewhere in Europe. A phrase book is of greater value here than anywhere else in western Europe.
Here are a few tips on pronouncing Portuguese words:
C usually sounds like C in cat.
But C followed by E or I sounds like S in sun.
Ç sounds like S in sun.
CH sounds like SH in shine.
G usually sounds like G in go.
But G followed by E or I sounds like S in treasure.
H is silent.
J sounds like S in treasure.
LH sounds like LI in billion.
NH sounds like NI in onion.
R is trrrilled.
S can sound like S in sun (at the beginning of a word),
Z in zoo (between vowels), or SH in shine.
SS sounds like S in sun.
Portuguese vowels:
A can sound like A in father or A in sang.
E can sound like E in get, AY in play, or I in wish.
É sounds like E in get.
Ê sounds like AY in play.
I sounds like EE in seed.
O can sound like O in note, AW in raw, or OO in moon.
Ô and OU sound like O in note.
U sounds like OO in moon.
When you’re speaking a Romance language, sex is unavoidable. A man is simpático (friendly), a woman is simpática. In this book, we show bisexual words like this: simpático[a]. If you’re speaking of a female (which includes females speaking about themselves), use the a ending. It’s always pronounced “ah.” A word that ends in r, such as cantor (singer), will appear like this: cantor[a]. A cantora is a female singer. A word ending in e, such as interessante (interesting), applies to either sex.
Adjectives agree with the noun. A clean room is a quarto limpo, a clean towel is a toalha limpa. Quartos limpos have toalhas limpas. You’ll be quizzed on this later.
If a word ends in a vowel, the Portuguese usually stress the second-to-last syllable. Words ending in a consonant are stressed on the last syllable. To override these rules, the Portuguese add an accent mark (such as ´, ~, or ^) to the syllable that should be stressed, like this: rápido (fast) is pronounced rah-pee-doo.
Just like French, its linguistic buddy, Portuguese has nasal sounds. A vowel followed by either n or m or topped with a ~ (such as ã or õ) is usually nasalized. In the phonetics, nasalized vowels are indicated by an underlined n or w. As you say the vowel, let its sound come through your nose as well as your mouth.
Here are the phonetics for nasal vowels:
ayn | nasalize the AY in day. |
ohn | nasalize the O in bone. |
oon | nasalize the O in moon. |
ow | nasalize the OW in now. |
Some words have only a slight nasal sound. To help you pronounce these words, I add an ng or n in the phonetics: sim (meaning “yes”) is pronounced seeng, and muito (meaning “very”) like mween-too.
Here’s a quick guide to the rest of the phonetics used in this book:
a | like A in sang. |
ah | like A in father. |
ay | like AY in play. |
ee | like EE in seed. |
eh | like E in get. |
ehr | sounds like “air.” |
g | like G in go. |
i | like I in hit. |
ī | like I in light. |
o | like AW in raw. |
oh | like O in note. |
oo | like OO in moon. |
or | like OR in core. |
ow | like OW in now. |
oy | like OY in toy. |
s | like S in sun. |
zh | like S in treasure. |
Too often tourists insist on speaking Spanish to the Portuguese. Your attempts at Portuguese will endear you to the locals. And if you throw in “por favor” (please) whenever you can, you’ll eat better, sleep easier, and make friends faster.
Portuguese Basics
Meeting and Greeting
Essentials
Where?
How Much?
How Many?
When?
Struggling with Portuguese
Handy Questions
Yin and Yang
Big Little Words
Perfectly Portuguese Expressions
Portuguese / English Dictionary
English / Portuguese Dictionary
In 1917, according to legend, the Virgin Mary visited Fatima using only these phrases.
Meeting and Greeting
Hello. | Olá. | oh-lah |
Good morning. | Bom dia. | bohn dee-ah |
Good afternoon. | Boa tarde. | boh-ah tar-deh |
Good evening. / Good night. | Boa noite. | boh-ah noy-teh |
Welcome! | Bem-vindo[a]!* | behm-veen-doo |
Mr. | Senhor | sin-yor |
Mrs. | Senhora | sin-yoh-rah |
Miss | Menina | meh-nee-nah |
How are you? | Como está? | koh-moo ish-tah |
Very well. | Muito bem. | mween-too bayn |
Thank you. (said by a male) | Obrigado. | oh-bree-gah-doo |
Thank you. (said by a female) | Obrigada. | oh-bree-gah-dah |
And you? (formal / informal) | E você? / E tú? | ee voh-say / ee too |
* Males use the “o” ending (Bem-vindo) when speaking; females use the “a” ending (Bem-vinda).
My name is ___. | Chamo-me ___. | shah-moo-meh |
What’s your name? | Como se chama? | koh-moo seh shah-mah |
Pleased to meet you. | Prazer em conhecer. | prah-zehr ayn kohn-yeh-sehr |
Where are you from? | De onde é que você é? | deh ohn-deh eh keh voh-say eh |
I am / We are / Are you...? | Estou / Estamos / Estás...? | ish-toh / ish-tah-moosh / ish-tash |
...on vacation | ...de férias | deh feh-ree-ahsh |
...on business | ...em negócios | ayn neh-gos-ee-oosh |
So long! | Até logo! | ah-teh log-oo |
Goodbye. | Adeus. | ah-deh-oosh |
Good luck! | Boa sorte! | boh-ah sor-teh |
Have a good trip! | Boa-viagem! | boh-ah-vee-ah-zhayn |
The Portuguese say “Bom dia” (Good morning) until noon, “Boa tarde” (Good afternoon) until dark, and “Boa noite” (Good evening) after dark. In Portugal, a woman who looks over 35 years old is addressed as senhora, younger than 35 as menina. Good luck.
Essentials
Hello. | Olá. | oh-lah |
Do you speak English? | Fala inglês? | fah-lah een-glaysh |
Yes. / No. | Sim. / Não. | seeng / now |
I don’t speak Portuguese. | Não falo português. | now fah-loo poor-too-gaysh |
I’m sorry. (said by a male) | Desculpe. | dish-kool-peh |
I’m sorry. (said by a female) | Desculpa. | dish-kool-pah |
Please. | Por favor. | poor fah-vor |
Thank you. | Obrigado[a]. | oh-bree-gah-doo |
It’s (not) a problem. | (Não) á problema. | (now) ah proo-blay-mah |
Good / Great / Excellent. | Óptimo / Muito bom / Exelente. | ot-tee-moo / mween-too bohn / ehsh-eh-layn-teh |
You are very kind. | É muito simpatico[a]. | eh mween-too seeng-pah-tee-koo |
Excuse me. (to pass) | Com licença. | kohn li-sehn-sah |
Excuse me. (to get attention) | Desculpe[a]. | dish-kool-peh |
It doesn’t matter. | Não faz mal. | now fahsh mahl |
You’re welcome. | De nada. | deh nah-dah |
Sure. | Claro. | klah-roo |
O.K. | Está bem. | ish-tah bayn |
Let’s go. | Vamos. | vah-moosh |
Goodbye. | Adeus. | ah-deh-oosh |
Where?
Where is...? | Onde é que é...? | ohn-deh eh keh eh |
...the tourist information office | ...a informação turistica | ah een-for-mah-sow too-reesh-tee-kah |
...the train station | ...a estação de comboio | ah ish-tah-sow deh kohn-boy-yoo |
...the bus station | ...a terminal das camionetas | ah tehr-mee-nahl dahsh kahm-yoo-neh-tahsh |
...a cash machine |
Genre:
- On Sale
- Sep 17, 2019
- Page Count
- 280 pages
- Publisher
- Rick Steves
- ISBN-13
- 9781641711975
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