Vocabulary for Portugal | 50 Essential European Portuguese Words and Phrases

Need useful Portuguese words and phrases for Portugal? Start with bom dia (good morning), obrigado/obrigada (thank you), desculpe (excuse me or sorry), quanto custa? (how much does it cost?) and onde fica a casa de banho? (where is the restroom?). These are more immediately useful than memorising unrelated nouns.

This guide brings together 50 European Portuguese words and phrases with English meanings. They are grouped by what you need to do: greet someone, ask for clarification, order food, find a train, read a sign or explain an everyday need. A short practical conversation follows each key situation, so you can move from a word list to actual communication.

This page focuses on the Portuguese commonly used in Portugal. Portuguese is also spoken in Brazil and other countries, but pronunciation, address forms and some everyday words differ. For health care, serious allergies or legal matters, use accurate written translation and appropriate professional assistance; a phrasebook cannot guarantee safety.

Quick answer: the eight most useful phrases

Good morning: bom dia
Thank you: obrigado / obrigada
Please: por favor or se faz favor
Excuse me: desculpe
How much does it cost?: quanto custa?
Where is the bathroom?: onde fica a casa de banho?
Where is the train station?: onde fica a estação?
I don’t understand: não percebo

Find it quickly: 50 useful words and phrases · Conversations · Avoid mistakes · Seven-day plan · Questions.

What makes European Portuguese vocabulary in Portugal useful

Portugal and Brazil share Portuguese, not every everyday expression. In Portugal, a bus is commonly an autocarro, a train is a comboio, and breakfast is pequeno-almoço. In Brazil, people usually say ônibus, trem and café da manhã. Use the local word on a sign or at a counter.

Politeness is more than adding please. Queria… (I would like…) is a common courteous request, and desculpe is useful for opening a question to a stranger. In Portugal, direct address with você can feel awkward or distant in some settings, even though it is grammatically possible; polite requests can avoid a pronoun entirely. Notice how a person addresses you before copying their form.

Obrigado and obrigada depend on the speaker. In traditional agreement, a man commonly says obrigado and a woman obrigada, regardless of whom they are thanking. When thanking someone with different social expectations, follow the form appropriate to yourself. The expression means thank you, not ‘obliged’ in ordinary English usage.

Listening matters. Unstressed vowels in European Portuguese are often reduced or weakened. A sentence on the page can sound compressed in fast speech. Listen to audio from Portugal, try repeating whole phrases and do not assume Brazilian recordings always match local pronunciation.

Reading signs is a language skill. Words such as saída (exit), entrada (entrance), bilhete (ticket) and multibanco (ATM or payment network, depending on context) appear in practical settings. Recognising them can help even before you can hold a complete conversation.

50 essential European Portuguese phrases: English meanings and examples

The order is deliberate: a polite beginning, ways to ask for clarification, food and payment, directions and then other practical needs. Do not try to learn everything at once. Learn the first group and make a mini-conversation before working through the others.

Greetings and courtesy: words 1–10

No.	Phrase	English meaning	Useful situation
1	Bom dia	Good morning	Open a morning conversation
2	Boa tarde	Good afternoon	Greet someone later in the day
3	Boa noite	Good evening / good night	Greet or part at night
4	Olá	Hello	Begin a friendly exchange
5	Como está?	How are you? (polite)	Ask about someone
6	Tudo bem?	Everything okay? / How are you?	Check in informally
7	Obrigado / Obrigada	Thank you (speaker agrees in gender)	Express thanks
8	De nada	You’re welcome	Reply to thanks
9	Por favor	Please	Make a polite request
10	Desculpe	Excuse me / sorry (polite)	Get attention or apologise

Practise a complete exchange with a greeting and thanks. This is an easier way to remember courtesy than rehearsing each item in isolation.

Questions and conversation repair: words 11–20

No.	Phrase	English meaning	Useful situation
11	Fala inglês?	Do you speak English?	Find a shared language
12	Não percebo	I don’t understand	Explain confusion
13	Pode repetir?	Can you repeat?	Ask for repetition
14	Pode falar mais devagar?	Can you speak more slowly?	Follow a fast answer
15	O que significa isto?	What does this mean?	Ask about a word
16	Onde fica …?	Where is …?	Find a place
17	Quanto custa?	How much does it cost?	Ask a price
18	Pode ajudar-me?	Can you help me?	Ask for assistance
19	Se faz favor	Please / if you please	Soften a request
20	Um momento, por favor	One moment, please	Pause an exchange

If you cannot follow the answer, ask for repetition or slower speech immediately. A question is not complete if you have guessed what the other person said.

Food, cafés and shopping: words 21–30

No.	Phrase	English meaning	Useful situation
21	O pequeno-almoço	Breakfast	Read a meal description
22	A ementa	Menu / list of dishes	Ask to view food choices
23	O café	Coffee / espresso in some contexts	Order a drink
24	A água	Water	Ask for water
25	Uma garrafa de água	A bottle of water	Specify a quantity
26	Queria …	I would like …	Order or ask politely
27	A conta, por favor	The bill, please	Ask to pay
28	Está delicioso	It is delicious	Comment on food
29	Sem glúten	Without gluten	Describe an ingredient restriction
30	Tenho alergia a …	I have an allergy to …	State the exact allergen

Use the menu or written item when ordering. Serious allergies require precise explanation and confirmation with staff; a short dictionary expression cannot guarantee safety.

Transport, tickets and directions: words 31–40

No.	Phrase	English meaning	Useful situation
31	A estação	Station	Find a transport station
32	O comboio	Train	Talk about rail journeys
33	O autocarro	Bus / coach	Ask about bus transport
34	O elétrico	Tram	Recognise city transport
35	O metro	Metro / subway	Find urban rail
36	O bilhete	Ticket	Check a fare or booking
37	A saída	Exit	Read a sign
38	A entrada	Entrance	Find where to enter
39	À esquerda	To the left	Follow directions
40	À direita	To the right	Follow directions

Reading signs can prevent a wrong turn even when your spoken vocabulary is limited. Practise finding the words in real journeys and maps.

Everyday needs and services: words 41–50

No.	Phrase	English meaning	Useful situation
41	A casa de banho	Bathroom / restroom	Find facilities
42	A farmácia	Pharmacy	Find medication
43	O hospital	Hospital	Find medical care
44	A polícia	Police	Request official assistance
45	O dinheiro	Money / cash	Discuss payment
46	O cartão	Card	Ask about card payment
47	A reserva	Reservation / booking	Discuss an arrangement
48	Aberto	Open	Read business information
49	Fechado	Closed	Read business information
50	A caixa multibanco	ATM / cash machine	Find a cash withdrawal point

Keep this final group as a written reference for unexpected practical needs. Visual recognition can be as useful as perfect pronunciation.

Real conversations: use the vocabulary, not just memorise it

These scenes make the phrases transferable. Read one, hide the English translation, and try changing one word or location. The responses are examples, not a promise that any person will answer in exactly this way.

At a café in Portugal

You: Bom dia. — Good morning.
You: Queria um café, se faz favor. — I would like a coffee, please.
Server: Com certeza. — Certainly.
You: A conta, por favor. — The bill, please.
You: Obrigado / obrigada. — Thank you.

Notice that a word can be a noun, while queria turns it into a courteous request. Practise replacing um café with uma garrafa de água. The articles change with the noun; don’t assume one article fits every item.

Getting a train

You: Desculpe, onde fica a estação? — Excuse me, where is the station?
Helper: À direita. — To the right.
You: Obrigado / obrigada. — Thank you.

A comboio is a train, and a bilhete is a ticket. When travelling, look at the departure board and confirm the line, destination and current platform rather than relying on one remembered direction.

When a reply is difficult

You: Não percebo. — I don’t understand.
You: Pode repetir? — Can you repeat?
You: Pode falar mais devagar? — Can you speak more slowly?

European Portuguese may sound quick to beginners because unstressed vowels are reduced. Asking for a slower reply solves a practical problem; repeating an uncertain answer more confidently does not.

Finding the restroom

You: Desculpe, onde fica a casa de banho? — Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
Helper: À esquerda. — To the left.
You: Muito obrigado / obrigada. — Thank you very much.

Using the local word casa de banho makes the question more natural in Portugal. In Brazil the more usual term is banheiro; recognising both is useful, but they should not be presented as identical local usage.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Using Brazilian transport words as if they were the default in Portugal. Comboio and autocarro are the common local choices.
Confusing the speaker and listener in obrigado/obrigada. The traditional ending relates to the person expressing thanks, not the person receiving it.
Assuming all Portuguese recordings sound alike. European Portuguese pronunciation differs noticeably from Brazilian varieties.
Translating ‘you’ mechanically. Address forms and register matter; using a polite phrase without a pronoun is often sensible.
Confusing ‘casa de banho’ and ‘banheiro’ as preferred local terms. Both are understandable in wider Portuguese, but Portugal usually uses the former.
Using a basic allergy expression as proof that a meal is safe. Confirm the exact allergen, ingredients and cross-contact with staff.
Memorising a word without the context. Learn a short request, response and farewell, not only a disconnected noun.

Seven days of practical vocabulary practice

Ten to fifteen minutes of accurate recall each day is more useful than rereading a long list once. First try to remember the expression without looking, then check it against the original, say it aloud, and build a different short sentence. If the meaning does not come, mark the phrase and revisit it the next day.

Day 1: Say the eight quick-start expressions without reading the meanings.
Day 2: Learn the courtesy phrases, including when to choose a more polite form.
Day 3: Practise asking for repetition and explaining that you do not understand.
Day 4: Make a food or shopping dialogue, then switch the item.
Day 5: Recognise the station, exit, entrance, left and right in written form.
Day 6: Write five short original conversations using words from two groups.
Day 7: Test all 50 meanings; review the ones that you cannot recall tomorrow.

How to know the words are actually helping

Imagine a real day in Portugal: you need to greet someone, ask for directions, understand a price and say thank you. Can you do these four things without checking the list? Can you ask someone to repeat an answer you did not understand? That is practical progress. A vocabulary word becomes especially valuable when you can reuse it in a new situation rather than only recite it in its original order.

Audio and writing support each other. Hear the whole expression from a native speaker, read the original carefully, recall it from memory, then try using it in an unfamiliar situation. This cycle helps connect a written form, a sound, a meaning and an action.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Portugal?

Olá means hello. Bom dia is a common good morning, boa tarde good afternoon and boa noite an evening or nighttime greeting.

How do you say thank you in European Portuguese?

Obrigado or obrigada, traditionally chosen according to the speaker’s gender.

How do you ask for the bathroom in Portugal?

Onde fica a casa de banho? means ‘Where is the restroom?’

What is a comboio in Portugal?

A comboio is a train. In Brazil the common word is trem.

How do you ask for a bill at a restaurant?

Say A conta, por favor.

What does queria mean?

It literally relates to ‘wanted’, but queria… is commonly used as a courteous ‘I would like…’ request in Portugal.

Are Brazilian and European Portuguese the same?

They are varieties of the Portuguese language, but have differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and common grammatical patterns.

Do you use você in Portugal?

It exists, but its social interpretation varies; in some contexts speakers prefer other forms of address or sentences without an explicit pronoun.

What should I learn after these 50 phrases?

Practise audio from Portugal, numbers, greetings, everyday verbs and a few flexible dialogues to move beyond memorised sentences.

Sources, accuracy and safety

The linked language and official learning resources informed the choice of core topics and language-variation cautions. The explanations are original educational material. Spellings, accents and register can vary; listen to a current native-speaking example. This is not professional interpreting for health, legal or safety-critical situations.

Reviewed: November 2026.