Learn Portuguese for Job interview: Strengths and weaknesses

🙏

Faça favor

FAH-sa fa-VOR

Please

🇵🇹 Faça favor is the polite European Portuguese way to invite someone to do something, like sit down or go ahead. You'll hear it constantly from staff and interviewers.

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🪑⬇️

Sentar

sen-TAR

To sit down

💬 Sitting down needs se alongside the verb: sento-me "I sit down". Without it, sentar means seating someone else.

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🙏🪑

Faça favor de se sentar.

FAH-sa fah-VOR deh suh sen-TAR

Please have a seat.

💬 Faça favor de plus an action is a polite way to say "please do this". Swap the end: Faça favor de esperar "Please wait".

🇵🇹 This is a very Portuguese courtesy formula, polite without being stiff. Interviewers, receptionists and shop staff say it all the time.

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🙏❤️

Muito obrigado.

MWEEN-too oh-bree-GAH-doo

Thank you very much.

💬 obrigado changes to match the speaker, not the listener. A man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada.

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❓❔

Quais são?

KWAIZH sowng

What are they?

💬 Quais is the plural of qual, so the verb goes plural too. Compare Qual é? "What is it?" with Quais são? "What are they?".

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💪

Os seus pontos fortes

oosh SAY-oosh POHN-toosh FOR-tesh

Your strengths

💬 In Portugal, o seu / os seus is the polite "your". It's used when speaking to someone you'd address formally.

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❓💪

Então, quais são os seus pontos fortes?

en-TOWN KWAIZH sowng oosh SAY-oosh POHN-toosh FOR-tesh

So, what are your strengths?

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🗂️✅

Sou organizado

soh or-ga-nee-ZA-doo

I'm organised

💬 The ending follows the speaker. A man says organizado, and a woman says sou organizada.

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Em equipa

ehm eh-KEE-puh

In a team

💬 In Portugal the word for team is equipa. You'll hear equipe in Brazil, but it sounds foreign here.

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💼👍🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Trabalho bem em equipa

truh-BAH-lyoo BEHNG ehm eh-KEE-puh

I work well in a team

💬 Trabalho means both "I work" and "work" or "job". Context tells you which: o meu trabalho means "my job".

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🗂️✅➕💼👍🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Sou organizado e trabalho bem em equipa.

soh or-ga-nee-ZA-doo ee truh-BAH-lyoo BEHNG ehm eh-KEE-puh

I'm organised and I work well in a team.

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💼👍

Trabalhar bem

tra-ba-LYAR BEHNG

To work well

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💼👍🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Trabalhar bem em equipa

tra-ba-LYAR BEHNG ehm eh-KEE-puh

To work well in a team

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👍✨

Muito bem.

MOOY-too BEHNG

Very good.

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❓

Qual é?

kwahl eh

What is it?

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⚠️

O seu ponto fraco

oo say-oo POHN-too FRA-koo

Your weakness

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❓⚠️

E qual é o seu ponto fraco?

ee kwahl eh oo say-oo POHN-too FRA-koo

And what is your weakness?

🇵🇹 This is a standard interview question in Portugal. Name a modest, real weakness and say how you manage it. Claiming you have none comes across badly.

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⏳

Às vezes

ahsh VEH-zesh

Sometimes

💬 Às is a + as merged into one word, and the accent marks that merger. You'll see the same in às três "at three o'clock".

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😤🤏

Sou um pouco impaciente

soh oong POH-koo eem-pa-SYEN-tch

I'm a little impatient

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⏳😤🤏

Às vezes sou um pouco impaciente.

ahsh VEH-zesh soh oong POH-koo eem-pa-SYEN-tch

Sometimes I'm a little impatient.

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❓🤝⚠️

Como é que lida?

KOH-moo eh kuh LEE-da

How do you deal with it?

💬 Portuguese people often slip é que into questions after the question word, with no change in meaning. Onde é que mora? "Where do you live?" is the same as Onde mora?.

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👉

Isso

EE-soo

That

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🤔💭❓

E como é que lida com isso?

ee KOH-moo eh kuh LEE-da kohng EE-soo

And how do you deal with that?

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😮‍💨🫁