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This series breaks down useful Brazilian Portuguese sentences word-by-word and explains where certain verbs and forms come from. Beginners can really benefit from hand-writing each sentence and the individual word meanings. Writing things out reinforces memory, especially well. I sometimes use Pimsleur audio as a starting point because their pronunciation is clear and beginner-friendly, but all sentence breakdowns, vocabulary lists, and explanations here are my own. I hope these breakdowns help anyone learning Brazilian Portuguese — especially travelers preparing for Brazil.

Listen to the full lesson audio before you begin:



1. Eu falo um pouco de português.
I speak a little Portuguese.
eu – I
falo - speak (from falar, to speak)
um – a, one (indefinite article, singular masculine)
pouco – a little, a bit
de – of
português - Portuguese

2. Com licença, senhor.
Excuse me, sir. (literally: “with permission, sir”)
com - with
licença – permission, license
senhor – sir, mister, gentleman

3. Ela não está aqui.
She’s not here.
ela - she
não – not, no
está – is (from estar, to be — temporary state/location)
aqui - here

4. Eu não entendo o senhor.
I don’t understand you. (formal, masculine)
eu – I
não – not, don’t
entendo - understand (from entender, to understand)
o – the (masculine, singular article)
senhor – sir, mister, gentleman

5. Você é muito gentil.
You are very kind.
você - you
é – are, is (from ser, to be — permanent characteristics)
muito – very, a lot
gentil – kind, polite, gentle

6. Onde você mora?
Where do you live/reside?
onde – where
você – you
mora - live/reside (from morar, to live, to reside)

Vocabulary Words 1-6
1. casa – house, home
2. amigo / amiga – friend (masculine / feminine)
3. comer – to eat
4. beber – to drink
5. cidade – city
6. feliz - happy

Brazilian Porutugese Alphabet
Listen to the pronunciation before you begin:



A - a
B - bê
C - cê
D - dê
E - é
F - efe
G - gê
H - agá
I - i
J - jota
K - cá
L - ele
M - eme
N - ene
O - ó
P - pé
Q - quê
R - erre
S - esse
T - tê
U - u
V - vê
W - dáblio
X - xis
Y - ípsilon
Z - zê

When you're ready, continue with Lesson 2.