Small talk with coworkers: Complaining about the weather or commute

💬 In Portugal, a plus the basic verb form means "doing something": a vir "coming", a chover "raining". Brazilians say vindo instead.

💬 a pé means "on foot", while other transport takes de: de carro, de comboio. Walking is the odd one out.

🇵🇹 The -ste ending is the tu form, normal between colleagues of similar rank once you've been introduced.

💬 ão is nasal, like "now" said through the nose with no n at the end: (nowng).

💬 Use de for how you travel: de autocarro, de metro, de bicicleta. English uses "by" here, never "of".

🇵🇹 autocarro is the word in Portugal. The Brazilian ônibus will be understood but marks you as having learned Brazilian Portuguese.

💬 atrasado describes the bus, so it changes ending to match: a camioneta chegou atrasada "the coach arrived late". Estou atrasado means "I'm running late".

💬 vim "I came" and vieste "you came" come from vir "to come", which is very irregular. Learn these two as a pair for commute chat.

💬 havia means "there was" or "there were" and never changes for plurals: havia muitos carros "there were lots of cars". Today's version is há.

💬 em + a becomes na: na ponte, na estrada "on the road". With a masculine noun it's no: no trânsito.

🇵🇹 In Lisbon, "the bridge" usually means the 25 de Abril or Vasco da Gama crossings, notorious for rush-hour jams.

💬 demorar means "to take time", with the person as the subject: demorei dez minutos "it took me ten minutes". It's also used for delays: Não demoro "I won't be long".

💬 Durations take são "are" when the number is plural: são dez minutos. With just one, it's é uma hora.

🇵🇹 Que chatice is the standard mild, safe-for-work groan about annoyances. It's perfect for commiserating with a colleague.

💬 The ã is nasal, and the stress falls on the last part: (ah-mah-NYANG).

💬 Portuguese often uses the plain present for near-future plans: amanhã chove, amanhã trabalho "I'm working tomorrow". The time word does the job.

💬 dizem que works like English "they say", with no specific "they" in mind. It's handy for passing on forecasts or rumours.

🇵🇹 A sério? is the everyday European Portuguese "Really?". Sério? alone sounds more Brazilian.

🇵🇹 comboio is "train" in Portugal. The Brazilian trem isn't used here.

💬 buscar means "go and get" or "fetch", not "search". Vou buscar as crianças is "I'm going to pick up the kids".

💬 um matches a masculine item like um café. For a feminine one you'd say Queres uma?, for example for uma bolacha "a biscuit".

💬 obrigada matches the speaker, not the listener. Women say obrigada, and men say obrigado.

🇵🇹 Até já is for when you'll see the person again within minutes, like a colleague you'll be back beside shortly. For later in the day, people say até logo.