English | Portuguese | Pronunciation/Notes |
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My name is… | Chamo-me… | Shamu-me… – lit. “I call myself…” |
| O meu nome é… | oo mayu nome eh – lit. “the my name is…” |
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What is your name? | Como se-chama? | Komu se-shama? – lit. "How do you call yourself?" |
| Qual é o seu nome? | Kwal eh oo sayu nome? – lit. “What is the your name?” |
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This is… | Este é… | Eshte eh… (when introducing a male) |
| Esta é… | Eshta eh… (when introducing a female) |
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my husband | o meu marido | oo mayu mareedu – lit. “the my husband” |
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my wife | a minha esposa | a minya eshpoza – lit. “the my spouse” |
a minha mulher | a minya mulyair – lit. “the my woman” – ‘mulher’ is usually used to refer to your own wife, whereas ‘esposa’ can be used for your own, or someone elses wife. |
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my boyfriend | o meu namorado | oo mayu namorahdu – lit. “the my boyfriend” |
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my girlfriend | a minha namorada | a minya namorahda – lit. “the my girlfriend” – when used by a male referring to his female partner |
a minha amiga | a minya ameega – lit. “the my friend” – when used by a female referring to a female friend |
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a friend | um amigo | oom[ng] ameegu – a male friend |
uma amiga | oom[ng]a ameega – a female friend |
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Do you speak English? | Fala Inglês? | Fahla Ingle[a]ysh? – Although the ‘ê’ sometimes sounds more open (‘ay’), the circumflex still denotes that it should be a close pronunciation. Listen carefully to a native speaker – the sound is like a cross between the ‘ea’ of ‘ear’ and the ‘ai’ of ‘air’. The same is true of the words ‘Inglesa’; ‘Português’; and ‘Portuguesa’. |
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I am learning to speak Portuguese | Eu aprendo a falar Português | Ayoo aprendu a falarPortooge[a]ysh |
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I am English | Sou Inglês | Soh Ingle[a]ysh – only said by males |
Sou Inglesa | Soh Ingle[a]yza – only said by females |
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I am Portuguese | Sou Português | Soh Portooge[a]ysh – only said by males |
Sou Portuguesa | Soh Portooge[a]yza – only said by females |
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I am from England | Sou da Inglaterra | Soh da Inglaterrrra – lit. “I am from the England” |
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I am from Portugal | Sou de Portugal | Soh de Portugal – they don’t say ‘from the Portugal’ (like they do with England), just ‘from Portugal’ (like we do). Most other countries of the world require ‘from the’ (‘do’ or ‘da’ depending on the gender of the country – see section on nouns below) |
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Where are you from? | De onde é? | Di-yondi-yeh? |
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in England | na Inglaterra | na Inglaterrrra – lit. “in the England” |
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| in Portugal | em Portugal | aym[ng] Portugal |
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I am from London | Sou de Londres | Soh de Londresh |
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Sorry! | Desculpe! | Deshculpe! |
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I am sorry | Lamento | Lamentu – lit. “I lament”. |
Peço desculpas | Pessu Deshculpash – lit. “I ask for excuses”. |
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| Excuse me | Com licença | Com[ng] lissensa – lit. “with permission”. |
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I don’t understand | não entendo | now[ng] entendu – lit. “not I understand”. |
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so then | então | entow[ng] – lit. “then”, but used frequently in places where English would say ’so’, or ’right then’. |
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you (singlular) | você | vosseh – A formal way of addressing someone (in Brazil they use você informally as well). |
o senhor | oo senyor – lit. “the gentleman” |
a senhora | a senyora – lit. “the lady” Note, the Portuguese generally speak more formally than the English, so although referring to someone as ’the lady’ or ’the gentleman’ would sound rather pompous to us, it is quite common in Portuguese. Senhor/Senhora can also mean sir/madam, Mr/Mrs (‘Miss’ would be ‘a menina’, or ‘Senhorita’), or Lord/Lady. |
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| I | eu | ayu |
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he | ele | ele - the first ’e’ is very close, almost like an English ’i’, whereas the second ’e’ is barely audible (so it sounds almost like you are saying ’ill’). |
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she | ela | ela |
