One of the Romance languages, Portuguese is most closely related to the other Ibero-Romance languages: Spanish, Galician and Catalan. The 10-million population of Portugal speak Portuguese as their official language. Portuguese is spoken in continental Portugal, the Islands of Madeira and the Azores and by large communities in the UK, France and Germany. It is one of the official languages of the European Union. It is also spoken in former colonial territories: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and East Timor amongst others. The main varieties of continental Portuguese are either side of a linguistic border that crosses Portugal from the northeast to the southeast. Some Portuguese regions also have their own peculiarities. Brazilian is the overseas dialect that presents the most differences.
Pronunciation
Vowels
A: short, as the 'u' in 'cut' ; long, as the' e' in 'her'
E: short, as in 'bet'; longer, as the 'air' in Scottish laird; silent at the end of a word and in unstressed syllables
I: long, as in 'marine'; short as in 'ring'
O: short, as in 'off'; long, as in 'note', or as the 'oo' in 'good'
U: as the 'oo' in 'good'
Au: as the 'ow' in 'now'
Ai: as the 'ie' in 'pie'
Ei: as the 'ay' in 'day'
Eu: pronounced together
Oi: similar to the 'oy' in 'boy'
Consonants
C: before a, o or u, hard as in 'cat'; before e or i, soft as in 'cell'
Ch: as the 'sh' in 'ship'
G: before a, o, or u, hard as in 'game; before e or i, soft as the 's' in 'treasure'
H: never pronounced at the beginning of a word
Nh: as the 'ni' in 'onion'
Lh: as the 'll' in 'million'
J: as the 's' in 'treasure'
M, n: not pronounced when word-final
Qu: before a or o, as the 'qu' in 'quad' before e or i , as the 'k' in 'key'
R: harsh at the beginning of a word
S: at the beginning of a word, as in 'see'; between vowels, as the 'z' in 'zeal'
Ss: as in 'see' (in the middle of a word)
X: as the 'sh' in 'ship', the 'z' in 'zeal', or the 'ks' sound in 'taxi'
Z: as the 's' in 'treasure'
Basics
Yes/No: Sim/Não
Maybe: Talvez
Please: Se faz favour/Por favor
Thank you: Obrigado/a
You're welcome: De nada
Excuse me: Desculpe
Greetings
Hello: Bom dia
Good morning: Bom dia
Good evening: Boa tarde
Goodbye: Adeus
Adjectives
Beautiful: belo
Better: melhor
Excellent: excelente
Good: bom/boa
Happy: feliz
Ill: doente
Married: casado/a
One more/another: mais um(a)
Getting around
What time does .leave/arrive?: A que horas parte/chega .?
The boat: o barco
The bus (city): o autocarro
The bus (intercity): a camioneta
The metro: o metro
The train: o combóio
The tram: o eléctrico
Directions
Go straight ahead: siga sempre a direito
Turn left: Vire á esquerda
Turn right: vire á direita
North: norte
South: sul
East: leste/este
West: oeste
Around Town
Where is the .?: Onde é .?
Bank: o banco
City centre: o centro de cidade
Hospital: o hospital
Hotel: um hotel
Market: o mercado
Police station: o posto da polícia
Post office: os correios
Public toilet: os sanitários
Tourist office: o turismo
Time & Dates
Monday: segunda-feira
Tuesday: terça-feira
Wednesday: quarta-feira
Thursday: quinta-feira
Friday: sexta-feira
Saturday: sábado
Sunday: domingo
Numbers
One: um/uma
Two: dois/duas
Three: trés
Four: quatro
Five: cinco
Six: seis
Seven: sete
Eight: oito
Nine: nove
Ten: dez
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