Basic time: Scheduling a time for the appointment

💬 consulta is a medical or professional appointment (doctor, dentist, lawyer), not a consultation in the English sense. For a haircut you'd usually say marcação instead.

💬 marcar is the everyday verb for booking anything with a time slot. Swap the object: marcar uma mesa "book a table", marcar uma reunião "set up a meeting".

💬 queria looks like a past form ("I wanted") but is the standard polite way to ask for something now. Reuse it anywhere: queria um café, por favor.

🇵🇹 This is the normal, polite opener at a clinic reception or on the phone. A bare quero "I want" sounds blunt to Portuguese ears.

💬 para que works with other time words too: para que horas? means "for what time?". Expect both questions from a receptionist.

💬 Add any time or day after it to suggest a slot: pode ser às três? "could it be at three?". On its own, pode ser is also a common way to say "that works" or "sure".

💬 Weekdays are counted: segunda "second" is Monday, terça "third" is Tuesday, quarta "fourth" is Wednesday, quinta "fifth" is Thursday, sexta "sixth" is Friday. The -feira ending is usually dropped in speech.

💬 Days take na (from em + a) because they count as feminine: na segunda-feira "on Monday". Weekend days differ: no sábado, no domingo.

🇵🇹 Portuguese people almost always drop -feira in conversation, so na quinta is what you'll actually hear at reception.