20+ Basic Portuguese Phrases for Travellers and Tourists

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A small set of Portuguese travel phrases can help you greet people, order food, ask for directions, and handle a problem without reaching for English straight away.

This guide marks the main differences between Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and European Portuguese (EP). The nine CPLP member states span four continents, and Portuguese in Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste has its own local usage. If you are travelling outside Brazil or Portugal, use these core phrases as a starting point and check local vocabulary too.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

25+ Portuguese Travel Phrases at a Glance

Start with the phrases you are most likely to need. Forms labelled BP or EP are regional; the unlabelled forms work in both Brazil and Portugal.

English	Portuguese	Use
Hello	Olá	Both
Hi	Oi	Especially common in BP
Good morning	Bom dia	Both
Good afternoon	Boa tarde	Both
Good evening / good night	Boa noite	Both
Please	Por favor	Both
Thank you	Obrigado / obrigada	Both; agrees with the speaker
You’re welcome	De nada	Both
Excuse me	Com licença	Both
Sorry	Desculpe	Both
How are you?	Tudo bem?	Both; particularly common in BP
How are you?	Como vai?	Both
Yes / no	Sim / não	Both
Do you speak English?	Fala inglês?	Both
I don’t understand	Não entendo.	Both
Could you repeat that, please?	Pode repetir, por favor?	Both
Please speak more slowly	Fale mais devagar, por favor.	Both
Where is…?	Onde fica…?	Both
How much does it cost?	Quanto custa?	Both
I’d like this, please	Queria isto, por favor.	Both
The bill, please	A conta, por favor.	Both
I have a reservation	Tenho uma reserva.	Both
I need help	Preciso de ajuda.	Both
Call an ambulance, please	Chame uma ambulância, por favor.	Both
Where is the nearest hospital?	Onde fica o hospital mais próximo?	Both
I’m allergic to…	Sou alérgico / alérgica a…	Both; agrees with the speaker
See you later	Até logo	Both
Bye	Tchau	Especially common in BP

Portuguese pronunciation changes noticeably from one country and region to another. Two spelling clues help everywhere: an acute accent marks stress in words such as olá, and a final m in words such as bom and sim marks a nasal vowel rather than a full English “m” sound. Listen to a speaker from your destination and imitate whole phrases, not isolated letters.

The podcast episode below follows Liz’s experience learning Portuguese from Portugal.

“Hello” in Portuguese: Olá and oi

Olá is the safest all-purpose “hello” across Portuguese varieties. Stress the final syllable: o-LÁ. You can find more options in our guide to saying hello in Portuguese.

Oi is a casual “hi”, especially common in Brazil. It is understood in Portugal, but olá is a more reliable default there. With a hotel receptionist or someone you do not know, a time-of-day greeting such as bom dia also sounds natural.

“Excuse me” in Portuguese: Com licença and desculpe

Use com licença when passing through a crowd, interrupting politely, or asking for someone’s attention. The ç in licença sounds like “s”.

Desculpe means “sorry” or “excuse me” and is useful before a request: Desculpe, pode repetir, por favor? means “Sorry, could you repeat that, please?” This is safer for a learner than a bare O quê?, which can sound abrupt.

Portuguese Greetings by Time of Day

“Good morning” in Portuguese: Bom dia

Bom dia means “good morning”. The ending of bom is nasal: let air pass through your nose and do not finish it with a strong English “m”. Pronunciation differs between Brazil and Portugal, so use destination-specific audio rather than treating an English word such as “bomb” or “bong” as an exact model.

“Good afternoon” and “good evening”

Boa tarde means “good afternoon”. Boa noite covers “good evening” and “good night”, so it can be a greeting or a farewell.

The boundary is not fixed to one clock time. As a practical guide, switch from bom dia to boa tarde around midday or lunch, then use boa noite in the evening and at night. Follow what local speakers use if you are near the transition.

“How are you?” in Portuguese

Tudo bem? and Como vai? can both ask “How are you?” Tudo bem? is particularly common in conversational Brazilian Portuguese, while Como vai? is a useful neutral alternative.

You do not need a complicated answer. Say Tudo bem, obrigado if you are a man, or Tudo bem, obrigada if you are a woman: “I’m fine, thank you.” You may hear tudo bom? too, especially in Brazil. It is a synonym, not a signal that you must answer with the other expression.

“Yes” in Portuguese

Sim means “yes” in every major Portuguese variety. Its final m marks a nasal vowel, not an English “m” or “ng” consonant.

Portuguese speakers also answer yes-or-no questions by repeating the verb. This is especially frequent in Brazilian conversation, but sim is still normal and useful:

• Você fala português? “Do you speak Portuguese?” (BP)
• Falo. “I do.”
• Gostou do filme? “Did you like the film?”
• Gostei. “I did.”

In Portugal, avoid assuming that explicit você is the polite equivalent of English “you”. Its tone varies by region and social setting. Omitting the pronoun, as in Fala inglês?, is a useful travel strategy in both Portugal and Brazil.

“No” in Portuguese

Não means “no”. It contains a nasal vowel and a nasalised glide; it is not pronounced like English “now”. A fuller answer repeats the verb with não:

• Fala português? “Do you speak Portuguese?”
• Não falo. “I don’t.”
• Entende? “Do you understand?”
• Não entendo. “I don’t understand.”

“Where is…?” in Portuguese

For a fixed place, Onde fica…? is a natural way to ask “Where is…?” Onde está…? is also grammatical, but ficar is especially useful for locations. These examples show three common Brazil/Portugal vocabulary differences:

English	Brazilian Portuguese	European Portuguese
Where is the train station?	Onde fica a estação de trem?	Onde fica a estação de comboios?
Where is the bathroom?	Onde fica o banheiro?	Onde fica a casa de banho?
Where is the bus stop?	Onde fica o ponto de ônibus?	Onde fica a paragem de autocarro?

If the answer is too fast, say Pode falar mais devagar, por favor? (“Could you speak more slowly, please?”) or Pode mostrar no mapa? (“Can you show me on the map?”).

Emergency and Health Phrases for Travel

Save your destination’s emergency number before you travel, because it is not the same across every Portuguese-speaking country. In an urgent situation, use the local emergency service rather than relying only on a phrase list.

• Preciso de ajuda. “I need help.”
• Chame uma ambulância, por favor. “Call an ambulance, please.”
• Onde fica o hospital mais próximo? “Where is the nearest hospital?”
• Não me sinto bem. “I don’t feel well.”
• Perdi o meu passaporte. “I lost my passport.”
• Sou alérgico a amendoins. “I’m allergic to peanuts.” (male speaker)
• Sou alérgica a amendoins. “I’m allergic to peanuts.” (female speaker)
• Não posso comer… “I can’t eat…”

For a serious allergy, carry a written card checked by a local speaker. A memorised sentence may not cover cross-contamination, ingredients, or the severity of your reaction.

“Please” in Portuguese

Por favor means “please”. It can come at the beginning or end of a request. Putting it at the end is easy for a beginner:

• A conta, por favor. “The bill, please.”
• Pode trazer a conta, por favor? “Could you bring the bill, please?”
• Queria um café, por favor. “I’d like a coffee, please.”

The omitted subject in Pode trazer…? avoids forcing a choice between tu and você. That makes it a practical polite request in both Brazil and Portugal.

“Thank you” in Portuguese

Obrigado and obrigada both mean “thank you”. The form agrees with the person speaking, not the person being thanked: a man traditionally says obrigado, and a woman obrigada. Say the middle syllable most strongly: o-bri-GA-do or o-bri-GA-da.

Use the full form while learning. Clipped forms such as ’brigado occur in casual speech, but they are not a separate phrase you need to memorise. De nada is a common reply meaning “you’re welcome”. Our guide to thanking people in Portuguese covers more alternatives.

“Bye” in Portuguese

Até logo means “see you later” and works across varieties. Tchau, pronounced roughly like English “chow”, is an everyday informal goodbye, especially in Brazil.

Adeus also means “goodbye”. It can sound more final in Brazil, but it is a common everyday goodbye in Portugal. Use até amanhã when you specifically mean “see you tomorrow”.

How to Practise Before Your Trip

Pick five phrases for your first day: a greeting, “please”, “thank you”, one direction question, and “I don’t understand”. Say them aloud until you can retrieve them without reading.

I like starting with a travel phrasebook because it groups language by situation. On my trips to Brazil, even a small amount of Portuguese made ordinary exchanges easier and more enjoyable. You do not need every regional expression before you speak.

For a broader next step, use our Brazilian Portuguese resources or the collection of free Portuguese classes. If you want a large library of recorded dialogues, read our PortuguesePod101 review before deciding whether the course suits you.

• PortuguesePod101 Review: Is It a Good Way to Learn Portuguese?
• 16 Free Online Portuguese Language Classes
• “I Love You” in Portuguese, Plus 50 More Romantic Portuguese Phrases
• How to Say “Hello” in Portuguese: “Olá!” (Plus 15 More Ways)
• How to Say “Thank You” in Portuguese