Basic phrases for learners: Basic Phrases

🇵🇹 With strangers in Portugal, people are more likely to ask more indirectly, like Fala inglês? or Fala inglês, por favor?, than use an explicit tu. It's normal and not rude.

💬 European Portuguese often uses a + the verb for ongoing actions: aprender becomes a aprender. The same pattern shows up in estou a estudar for "I'm studying."

💬 In Portugal, "I am learning" is usually estou a aprender, not the Brazilian-style estou aprendendo. You can reuse this with other verbs: estou a estudar, estou a tentar.

💬 não is the usual way to make a sentence negative, and it goes before the verb: não entendo, não sei. Its ão sound is nasal, not like English "now."

🇵🇹 This is polite and natural with strangers, staff, or anyone speaking too fast. Adding por favor makes it a little softer if needed.

💬 fale here is the polite/request form of falar, so it works for "speak ..." when asking someone to do something. You'll see the same shape in desculpe and espere.

🇵🇹 This can sound a bit direct on its own, so learners often soften it with por favor. It's fine in real situations, especially if you're struggling to follow.