Getting through AIMA: Showing your appointment and your passport

💬 no is em "in/on" plus o "the" merged. In Portugal a mobile is a telemóvel, not the Brazilian celular.

🇵🇹 Showing the confirmation on your phone is normally accepted. Printing it as a backup is still a common precaution.

💬 se faz favor literally means "if you do a favour". It's interchangeable with por favor and is very typical of Portugal.

🇵🇹 This is a warm, polite "of course". It's ideal for agreeing to an official's request without sounding curt.

💬 Literally "here you have". You say it whenever you hand something over, and you can add the item: Aqui tem o dinheiro "Here's the money".

💬 tirar means "take off" or "remove", and it's also used for taking photos: tirar uma foto "take a photo".

💬 do is de plus o merged. Same pattern with a feminine word: da senha "of the ticket".

🇵🇹 Staff often ask this because they need to scan the passport. Have it out of its case before you reach the desk.

💬 desculpe is the polite form you use with strangers and officials. With friends you'd say desculpa.

💬 Literally "it already is", meaning "done" or "there you go". It's handy whenever you finish something someone asked for.

💬 senha has two meanings: the numbered queue ticket and a password. Context tells you which, and in a waiting room it's the ticket.

💬 ali means "over there", a spot you can point to, while aqui means "here".

💬 When there's no "they" word, the verb ending does the job. Chamam means "they call", used for an unnamed someone, like English "they'll call you".

💬 Portugal says ecrã for screen (Brazil says tela). The ã is nasal: (eh-KRANG), with the g barely there.

🇵🇹 Keep your ticket and watch the screen, since numbers usually come up there with a desk number. Missing your call can mean waiting again.

💬 obrigado changes with the speaker, not the listener. Men say obrigado, women say obrigada.