Daily life
Região Autónoma
reh-zhee-OWN ow-TOH-noh-mah
Autonomous Region. Madeira has its own government, its own parliament and real tax powers — this is not a figure of speech and it changes what you pay.
NIF
nif
The Portuguese tax number, issued nationally and free at Finanças. The gateway to a lease, a bank account, a phone and a residence permit.
SESARAM
seh-zah-RAM
Serviço de Saúde da Região Autónoma da Madeira — the regional health service. Your health card and your centro de saúde are theirs, not a mainland ARS's.
Zona Franca / ZFM
ZOH-nah FRAN-kah
The Madeira free trade zone, home of the International Business Centre. A corporate tax regime for licensed companies — not a personal income tax deal.
Culture
Levada
leh-VAH-dah
A hand-cut irrigation channel carrying water from the wet north to the dry south. There are around 3,000 km of them and the maintenance paths are the island's footpath network.
Food
Poncha
PON-shah
Aguardente de cana, honey and lemon, mixed with a wooden mexelote. The regional drink, and stronger than it tastes.
Bolo do caco
BOH-loo doo KAH-koo
A flat wheat bread cooked on a basalt stone and served drowned in garlic butter. Sold everywhere and eaten constantly.
Espetada
esh-peh-TAH-dah
Beef skewered on a laurel stick over embers, hung from a stand at the table. The Madeiran feast dish.
Social
Ilhéu / continental
eel-YEH-oo / kon-tee-nen-TAL
Islander / mainlander. Madeirans distinguish sharply between the island and 'o continente' — and 'Portugal' sometimes means the mainland, not here.
Vamos lá então
VAH-moosh lah en-TOWN
'Right then, let's go.' Madeiran Portuguese has its own accent and vocabulary and even mainland Portuguese sometimes struggle with it.
Emergency
Socorro!
soo-KOH-rroo
Help! 112 for emergencies; SNS24 health triage on 808 24 24 24 works from Madeira as it does on the mainland.
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