How to Say ‘I speak a little Portuguese’ in Portuguese
Falo um pouco de português
FAH-loo oong POH-koo duh por-too-GAYSH
[FAH-loo oong POH-koo duh por-too-GAYSH]
💬 Usage Tip: After quantity words like [um pouco], Portuguese uses [de]: [um pouco de português], [um pouco de água]. You can reuse that pattern with lots of nouns.
Phrase Breakdown
Falo
[FAH-loo]
I speak
First person of 'falar'; used to say what language you speak.
Falo um pouco de português no restaurante.
I speak a little Portuguese in the restaurant.
um
[oong]
a / one
Here it means 'a' in the expression 'a little'.
Falo um pouco de português com os vizinhos.
I speak a little Portuguese with the neighbors.
pouco
[POH-koo]
little
Means 'little' or 'a bit'; useful for expressing limited ability.
Só Falo um pouco de português.
I only speak a little Portuguese.
de
[duh]
of
Links the quantity to the language: 'a little of Portuguese'.
Falo um pouco de português, mas quero aprender mais.
I speak a little Portuguese, but I want to learn more.
português
[por-too-GAYSH]
Portuguese
The Portuguese word for the Portuguese language.
Falo um pouco de português desde o ano passado.
I have spoken a little Portuguese since last year.
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