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How to Say ‘A coffee, please.’ in Portuguese

Um café, por favor.

oom kah-FEH pohr fah-vor

[oom kah-FEH pohr fah-vor]

🇵🇹 In Portugal: In Portugal, a plain café gets you a small espresso, not a mug of filter coffee. If you want something bigger, you have to ask for it.

Phrase Breakdown

Um café,

oom kah-FEH

An espresso,

In Portugal 'um café' means a short espresso. 'Um' is nasal, and the stress falls on 'fé'.

Example

Um café e um pastel de nata.

An espresso and a custard tart.

Words in this phrase

Um

[oom]

a; one

Indefinite article or number used before a masculine singular noun.

Example

No seguimento do evento, foi um prazer e Um gosto falar consigo.

Following the event, it was a pleasure and a delight to speak with you.

café

[kah-FEH]

coffee

Literally coffee; in networking contexts, it often means an informal meeting.

Example

Aceitava um café para falarmos melhor.

I would accept a coffee to talk more properly.

por favor.

pohr fah-vor

please.

A polite request. Say 'poor fuh-VOR' with the stress on 'vor'.

Example

Uma água, por favor.

A water, please.

Words in this phrase

por

[pohr]

please

Used to make a request more polite.

Example

Perguntei, 'por favor', sobre a disponibilidade.

I asked, 'please', about the availability.

favor

[fah-vor]

please

A polite expression used when making a request.

Example

A conta, por favor, já foi pedida.

The bill, please, has already been requested.

Related guides

The Portuguese You Actually Need in Your First Month in PortugalThe European Portuguese phrases for your first weeks in Portugal: paperwork, renting a flat, the bank, the health centre, cafés, trains and your new neighbours.

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