Talk Portuguese - Ordering drinks
How to order drinks in a café or a bar
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Coffee and tea
People are ordering coffee and tea in a famous café in Lisbon called A Brasileira.
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Drinks in a bar
People are ordering drinks in a café in the Largo das portas do sol in Lisbon. Others talk about their favourite drink.
- PortuguêsEnglish
- Que desejam?What would you like?
- QueriaI'd like
- um / uma **a
- um café, se faz favor *a coffee, please
- um chá com leitea tea with milk
- uma meia de leitea large milky coffee
- uma cervejaa beer
- uma água sem gásstill water
- uma água com gássparkling water
- uma limonadaa lemonade
- um sumo de laranjaan orange juice
- um copo de águaa glass of water
- um copo de vinho branco *a glass of white wine
- vinho tinto *red wine
- por favor / se faz favor *please
- Para mim…For me…
- A conta, se faz favor *The bill, please
- Quanto é?How much is it?
- De nadaYou're welcome
* Pronunciation guide
- Se faz favor
At the end of words, z sounds more like g as in mirage. - Um copo de vinho branco, vinho tinto
The nh is pronounced like the ny sound in canyon.
** Grammar notes
- Um / uma
The words for a/an have masculine and feminine forms. You say um café because café is masculine and uma cerveja because cerveja is feminine.
As well as meaning a/an, um and uma also mean one. The only low number other than 'one' that takes a feminine form is two, as in: dois sumos (m) and duas limonadas (f).
One of the delights of a visit to Portugal is sampling the café culture. It’s warm enough to sit outside from April to October and there are cafés everywhere.
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Quick Fix: Essential phrases in Portuguese
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