Essential Portuguese phrases

The words that make your first weeks in Lisbon smoother — with pronunciation you can actually say.

Greetings

Olá
oh-LAH
Hello
Bom dia
bong DEE-ah
Good morning
Obrigado / Obrigada
oh-bree-GAH-doo / oh-bree-GAH-dah
Thank you (m / f speaker)

Daily life

Se faz favor
suh fash fah-VOR
Please (pt-PT, not por favor)
Com licenca
kong lee-SEN-sah
Excuse me
Quanto custa?
KWAN-too KOOSH-tah
How much is it?

Food

Uma bica, se faz favor
OO-mah BEE-kah
An espresso, please
A conta, se faz favor
ah KON-tah
The bill, please

Social

Tudo bem?
TOO-doo BENG
All good? / How are you?
Fixe!
FEESH
Cool! / Great! (very pt-PT slang)

Work

Marcar uma reuniao
mar-KAR OO-mah reh-oo-nee-OWNG
To schedule a meeting

Emergency

Socorro!
soo-KOH-roo
Help!

Actually learn to speak Lisbon’s language

Globe Quest drills these with spaced repetition and a patient AI tutor you can practice with by voice — a few minutes a day. Free to start.