50 common Brazilian Portuguese phrases for your first day
Your first days in Brazil don't need grammar — they need ready phrases you can pull out on reflex. That's exactly what this is: 50 Brazilian Portuguese phrases for greetings, cafés, directions, and everyday politeness, each one with synthesized BR-PT audio (and an IPA transcription where it helps). Tap the speaker, listen, and repeat it out loud — that's the whole method.
How much conversation 50 phrases buy you
Here's a whole café dialogue — the kind that plays out in Rio every single morning. Everything highlighted below is pulled straight from the list further down the page.
You:
Waiter:
You: Um café,
Waiter: Saiu agora! Vai querer um pão de queijo também?
You:
Waiter: Pão — de — queijo. Quer um?
You: Ah,
Waiter: Já trago.
You:
Waiter: Ali no fundo, à direita.
You:
Waiter: Doze reais.
You:
Waiter:
You:
Hover a highlighted phrase (or tap it) to see its translation, transcription and audio.
Show translation
You: Good morning! How's it going?
Waiter: All good, and you?
You: Great! One coffee, please.
Waiter: Just brewed! Would you like a cheese roll too (pão de queijo, a cheese bread roll)?
You: Sorry, what? I didn't catch that. Slower, please.
Waiter: Pão de queijo. Would you like one?
You: Oh, yes! Thanks.
Waiter: You're welcome! I'll bring it right over.
You: Excuse me, where's the restroom?
Waiter: In the back, to the right.
You: Check, please. How much do I owe?
Waiter: Twelve reais.
You: Thank you so much!
Waiter: You're welcome! See you soon!
You: Bye!
Mini trainer: 5 phrases from this list
Listen to the phrase and pick its meaning — the same way phrases are practised in Mnezo. No sign-up.
Why phrases are learned whole, not word by word
- A phrase is a ready-made unit. "Tudo bem?" gets pulled from memory whole, like one long word — the same way Brazilians use it, without stopping to assemble it from grammar rules.
- You get the right melody from day one. Learn from audio and you pick up question intonation, stress, and the way words link together — all the things plain text hides.
- Etiquette comes built in. A man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada; "com licença" opens a request, "por favor" closes it. Learn the phrases and the politeness comes free.
Fair caveat: this isn't a corpus-ranked list like our top-100 words and verbs — it's a hand-picked A1 phrasebook: only what people actually say, every day, in everyday situations.
How to say “thank you” in Brazilian Portuguese
The form depends on who is thanking: a man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada. Among friends you will often hear a short valeu. Answer a thank-you with “de nada” (you're welcome) and soften a request with “por favor”.
- obrigadothank you (said by a man)[obɾiˈgadu]
- obrigadathank you (said by a woman)[obɾiˈgadɐ]
- muito obrigadothank you very much (said by a man)[ˈmũj̃tu obɾiˈgadu]
- valeuthanks! (casual)[vaˈlew]
- de nadayou're welcome[dʒi ˈnadɐ]
- por favorplease[poʁ faˈvoʁ]
All 50 phrases by situation
Every phrase below comes with synthesized BR-PT audio — listen, then repeat it out loud. The phrases are short, and the whole list fits into one evening.
Greetings
- bom diagood morning, good day[ˈbõ ˈdʒiɐ]
- boa tardegood afternoon[ˈboɐ ˈtaʁdʒi]
- boa noitegood evening, good night[ˈboɐ ˈnojtʃi]
- oihi[ˈoj]
- oláhello[oˈla]
- e aí?what's up?, how's it going?
- beleza?all good? (casual)
- tudo certo?is everything OK?
- tudo bem?how's it going?, are you OK?
- tudo bom?how's it going?
- tchaubye[tˈʃaw]
- como vai?how are you? (slightly formal)
- como está?how are you?
- tudo bem, e você?I'm fine, and you?
- até logosee you soon[aˈtɛ ˈlogu]
- até maissee you later[aˈtɛ ˈmajs]
- até amanhãsee you tomorrow[aˈtɛ amaˈɲɐ̃]
Politeness
- por favorplease[poʁ faˈvoʁ]
- obrigadothank you (said by a man)[obɾiˈgadu]
- obrigadathank you (said by a woman)[obɾiˈgadɐ]
- de nadayou're welcome[dʒi ˈnadɐ]
- com licençaexcuse me[kõ liˈsẽsɐ]
- desculpasorry (informal)[desˈkuwpɐ]
- desculpeexcuse me, sorry (formal)[desˈkuwpi]
- valeuthanks! (casual)[vaˈlew]
- muito obrigadothank you very much (said by a man)[ˈmũj̃tu obɾiˈgadu]
Introductions
- muito prazernice to meet you[ˈmũj̃tu pɾaˈzeʁ]
- qual é o seu nome?what's your name?
- meu nome é...my name is...
- eu sou...I am...
Understanding
- simyes[ˈsĩ]
- nãono, not[ˈnɐ̃w̃]
- não entendiI didn't understand[ˈnɐ̃w̃ ẽtẽˈdʒi]
- não entendoI don't understand[ˈnɐ̃w̃ ẽˈtẽdu]
- você fala inglês?do you speak English?
- pode repetir, por favor?can you repeat that, please?
- mais devagar, por favorslower, please
- como?sorry?, pardon? (asking to repeat)
- não seiI don't know[ˈnɐ̃w̃ ˈsej]
Café & restaurant
- a conta, por favorthe bill, please
Shopping & money
- quanto custa?how much does it cost?
Transport & directions
- onde fica o banheiro?where's the bathroom?
- onde fica...?where is...?
- estou perdidoI'm lost (said by a man)[isˈtow peʁˈdʒidu]
- estou perdidaI'm lost (said by a woman)[isˈtow peʁˈdʒidɐ]
Emergencies & health
- socorro!help!
- preciso de ajudaI need help[pɾeˈsizu dʒi aˈʒudɐ]
- pode me ajudar?can you help me?
- você pode me ajudar?can you help me?
Small talk & reactions
- nossa!wow!
How to make the phrases automatic
Say it out loud, always. A phrase read silently won't surface when you actually need it. Listen to the audio, then repeat it with your own voice three times, matching the same intonation.
Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Go through the café phrases before breakfast, the directions phrases before you head out for a walk — context is what makes them stick.
Spaced repetition. The trainer schedules the next review from your answer history. Practise recall without hints; a sustainable pace and the time needed vary by learner.
Learn this phrasebook in a couple of evenings
All 50 phrases are ready to go in one trainer set — flashcards, audio for every phrase, and spaced repetition to keep them fresh.