Portuguese Phrases For Dummies » (Bilingual)

Karen Keller is a journalist who lived and worked in São Paulo, Brazil, for three years. Before moving to Brazil, the California native taught Spanish at a New York City–based foreign-language-education Web site. Keller is also a published travel-guide writer. She currently lives in New Jersey, where she is a local newspaper reporter.

Are you thinking about traveling, studying, or working in Portugal or Brazil, but you don’t know any Portuguese? Want to improve your conversation skills with the Portuguese-speaking people in your life? Portuguese Phrases for Dummies is the perfect diving board for anyone looking to communicate and even become fluent in the language.

As the fifth-most widely spoken language in the world, Portuguese can be heard in South America, Africa, Asia, and of course, Portugal. If you want to know basic Portuguese but don’t want a boring textbook that unloads tons of conjugation rules or long lists of words to memorize, then this quick-and-easy phrasebook will get your feet wet without overwhelming you. This friendly book covers a wide array of subjects both helpful and interesting, including:

• Numbers, days of the week, measurements, and time
• Making friends and small talk
• Enjoying every type of meal
• Shopping in markets and at stores
• Culture, leisure, and activities
• Work and transportation
• Finding a place to live
• Dealing with emergencies
• Slang and colloquial terms
• Phrases and particles to make you sound like a local!

Knowing these fundamentals, you’ll be able to communicate with Portuguese-speaking people and continue learning about the language and culture. With hundred of useful phrases at your fingertips, Portuguese Phrases for Dummies will give you a basic comprehension of this beautiful language and have you speaking instantly!

Introduction     1
About This Book     2
Conventions Used in This Book     2
Foolish Assumptions     3
Icons Used in This Book     4
Where to Go from Here     4
Say It How? Speaking Portuguese     5
Exploring the Roots of Portuguese     6
Reciting Your ABCs     8
Conquering Consonants     9
The letter C     10
The letter D     10
The letter G     11
The letter H     11
The letter J     12
The letter L     12
The letters M and N     12
The letter Q     13
The letter R     13
The letter S     14
The letter T     14
The letter W     14
The letter X     15
Exercising Your Jowls with Vowels     15
The letters A and A     15
The letters E and E     16
The letter I     16
The letters O and O     17
The letter U     17
Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics     19
Constructing Simple Sentences     19
Nouns     20
Adjectives     20
Articles     21
Pronouns     22
Verbs     23
The Simple Tenses: Present, Past, and Future     24
Present tense     25
Past tense     27
Future tense     28
Conjugating the tenses     29
Connecting It All Together     32
Making Contractions: It's a Cinch!     33
To Me, to You: Indirect Objects     34
Commanding an Audience     35
Getting Possessive     35
Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds     39
Numbers to Know: When Everything Counts     39
The Big Countdown: Ordinal Numbers     41
Telling Time     42
Monday, Tuesday: Weekdays     44
Tracking the Calendar: Months and Dates     46
Naming the months     46
Picking a date     47
Money, Money, Money     48
Currency and prices     49
Getting money from banks and ATMs     50
Measuring Distances and Other Stuff     52
Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk     55
A Few Ways to Say Hello and Goodbye     56
Introducing Yourself      58
First Names, Last Names, and Nicknames     59
Knowing Who, What, and Where     61
"Where Are You From?"     62
Describing the World around You     66
Describing permanent qualities: Ser     66
Describing temporary qualities: Estar     70
Speaking about Speaking     71
The Good, the Bad, and the Humid: Weather     73
Figuring Out Family Connections     75
Giving Out Your Contact Information     76
Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!)     79
Bom Apetite! Enjoy Your Meal!     79
At the Restaurant: Trying Local Foods     81
Ordering at a restaurant     82
Ordering a drink     85
First foods up: Salads and condiments     86
On to the main course     88
Basking in Brazilian barbeque     89
Doing dessert     90
Paying the bill     91
Shop 'Til You Drop     95
Finding Places to Shop     95
Out for the Perfect Outfit     96
Skirts and shirts: Which to choose     97
Trying it on     99
Exploring Brazilian Treasures     101
Shopping for Food and Necessities at the Market      103
Getting some practical items     103
Shopping at the outdoor market     104
Making Comparisons and Expressing Opinions     105
Paying for Your Purchases     106
Making Leisure a Top Priority     109
Talking about Going Out     110
Inviting someone and being invited     110
Asking what the place or event is like     111
Asking People What They Like to Do     113
Taking in Brazil's Musical Culture     114
Playing an instrument     114
Dancing around and singing out loud     116
Exploring Carnaval in Brazil     117
Exploring Art Galleries and Museums     118
Going to the Movies     119
Hanging Out at the Beach     120
What to take to the beach     121
Talking about beach safety     123
Expressing beauty: "It's so beautiful!"     124
Getting Out for a Walk (or a Hike)     125
Playing Soccer - Brazil's National Pastime     127
Falling in Love - in Portuguese     128
When You Gotta Work     131
Picking Up the Phone     131
Saying hello and goodbye     132
Making a call      133
Dealing with verbal mush     135
Talking in the past     137
Talking about Work     138
Dealing with Computers     142
I Get Around: Transportation     145
On the Move: Transportation     146
Making a plane reservation     146
Taking buses     150
Hailing taxis     150
Renting a car     152
Onde? Where? The Question for Going Places     154
Understanding Spatial Directions     157
Navigating Cityscapes     159
Over Here, Over There     162
How Far? Perto ou longe?     163
Finding a Place to Lay Your Weary Head     165
Finding a Place to Live     165
Checking Out the Hotel or Pousada     167
Deciding where to stay     167
Making reservations     169
Checking in and checking out: Registration procedures     170
Talking about Sleep     171
Dealing with Emergencies     175
Stick 'em Up: What to Say If You're Robbed     176
Asking for and receiving help     176
Reporting a problem to the police     178
Handling Health Emergencies     179
Getting sick     180
Handling broken bones and other injuries     183
Discussing Legal Problems     185
Ten Favorite Brazilian Portuguese Expressions     187
Que saudade!     187
Fala serio!     187
...Pra caramba!     188
Lindo maravilhoso!     188
E mesmo?     189
Um beijo! or Um abraco!     189
Imagina!     189
Pois nao?     190
Com certeza!     190
Fique tranquilo     190
Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Like a Local     191
Ne?     191
Ta     192
Ah e?     192
Entao     192
Sabe?     192
Meio     193
Ou seja/E tal     193
Ce Instead of Voce     193
Pra Instead of Para a     194
To instead of Estou     194
Index     195