Obrigado or obrigada
Thank you agrees with the person speaking, not the person you're thanking: men say obrigado and women say obrigada.
Portuguese course · 27 languages in one app
Learn Portuguese by speaking it
Portuguese is spoken by more than 250 million people, from São Paulo to Lisbon. Talvo teaches Brazilian or European Portuguese, whichever you need, with a tutor that waits for you to answer out loud and corrects you with the reason.
First lesson free · iPhone and Mac, one subscription
Portuguese · First phrasesOi! Tudo bem?
oy! TOO-doo BAYN?
Hi! How's it going?
AttendantBom dia! O que vai ser?Good morning! What'll it be?
Your first Portuguese phrases
Twelve phrases for your first week in Brazil, with a simple guide to how they sound.
| Portuguese | Say it like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oi! Tudo bem? | oy! TOO-doo BAYN? | Hi! How's it going? |
| Prazer! | prah-ZEHR | Nice to meet you! |
| Meu nome é Sam. | MEH-oo NOH-mee EH sam | My name is Sam. |
| Eu queria um café, por favor. | EH-oo keh-REE-ah oong kah-FEH, pohr fah-VOHR | I'd like a coffee, please. |
| Quanto custa? | KWAHN-too KOOS-tah | How much is it? |
| A conta, por favor. | ah KOHN-tah, pohr fah-VOHR | The check, please. |
| Onde fica o banheiro? | OHN-jee FEE-kah oo bah-NYAY-roo | Where's the bathroom? |
| Não entendi. | nowng en-ten-JEE | I didn't understand. |
| Pode falar mais devagar? | POH-jee fah-LAHR mice jee-vah-GAHR | Can you speak more slowly? |
| Com licença. | kohng lee-SEN-sah | Excuse me. |
| Obrigado! / Obrigada! | oh-bree-GAH-doo / oh-bree-GAH-dah | Thank you!Said by a man / by a woman |
| Tchau! | chow | Bye! |
This guide follows Brazilian pronunciation, where de and te sound like jee and chee. In Portugal they don't, and unstressed vowels are swallowed, so European Portuguese sounds quite different.
A conversation you'll practice
Breakfast at a padaria, the neighborhood bakery-café in Brazil. The tutor plays the attendant, and you order out loud.
AttendantBom dia! O que vai ser?Good morning! What'll it be?
YouUm pão de queijo e um café, por favor.A cheese bread and a coffee, please.
AttendantCafé com leite ou puro?Coffee with milk, or black?
YouCom leite, por favor.With milk, please.
AttendantProntinho. São doze reais.Here you go. That's twelve reais.
Mistakes Talvo helps you fix
Nasal sounds
Não, pão and são end in a nasal sound, like ow said through the nose. Words ending in -m, like bem and um, are nasal too.
Brazil or Portugal
Same language, different habits. A bus is ônibus in Brazil and autocarro in Portugal, and breakfast is café da manhã or pequeno-almoço. Brazilians say você where many Portuguese say tu.
De and te in Brazil
In most of Brazil, de and te sound like jee and chee: onde is OHN-jee and noite (night) is NOY-chee.
How Talvo teaches Portuguese
- Pick Portuguese (Brazil) or Portuguese (Portugal). Lessons and voices follow the one you choose
- Every unit, from beginner (A1) to advanced (C1), is written around your interests and the words you already know
- Role-play a café, a market, a taxi or meeting someone new. The tutor speaks first, waits for your answer and corrects you with the reason
- Use the live interpreter when you're talking with a native speaker for real
- Every new word goes into your review deck and comes back right before you'd forget it
Questions about learning Portuguese
Brazilian or European Portuguese?
Both. Portuguese (Brazil) and Portuguese (Portugal) are separate courses, so vocabulary, pronunciation and voices match where you're going.
Can I learn Portuguese with Talvo for free?
Yes, to start. Your first lesson, three live-interpreter exchanges, your reviews and your deck are free. Talvo Pro unlocks unlimited lessons and conversations, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
How is Talvo different from Duolingo?
Duolingo is built around short tap-and-match exercises and daily streaks. Talvo is built around speaking: lessons written around your interests, a tutor you talk to out loud, and a live interpreter for real conversations. Plenty of learners use both.
Can I use Talvo on my Mac?
Yes. Talvo is a native app for iPhone and Mac, and one subscription covers both.
More language guides
Say your first Portuguese sentence today.
The first lesson is free. It takes about five minutes.