How to Say ‘Waiter’ in Portuguese
Empregado de mesa
en-preh-GAH-doo duh MEH-zah
[en-preh-GAH-doo duh MEH-zah]
🇵🇹 In Portugal: To call a waiter over, a simple Se faz favor! "Excuse me, please!" with a raised hand is normal. Snapping fingers or calling out empregado comes across as rude.
Phrase Breakdown
Empregado
[en-preh-GAH-doo]
waiter
Person who serves in a bar or restaurant.
O empregado trouxe a conta.
The waiter brought the bill.
de
[duh]
of
A preposition meaning "of" or "for," depending on context.
Falámos de carreira durante o intervalo.
We talked about career matters during the break.
mesa
[MEH-zah]
Table
The word used for a restaurant table in a reservation context.
A Mesa está reservada para as nove.
The table is reserved for nine o'clock.
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