Visit Portugal: Let's learn some ?? Portuguese!

19 April 2018 at 10:00 CEST
Lisbon, November 2017 Photo: Stijn Smulders
With just over a week to go until the first rehearsals for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest take place in Lisbon, we want to give you an insight in what Portugal has to offer. Today: Let's learn some Portuguese!

Let's first look at how wide-spread Portuguese actually is.

The West Romance language and is the sole official language of Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Mozambique, São Tomeé & Príncipe and, of course, Portugal. It is the sixth most spoken language in the world and has a presence on nearly every continent.

According to UNESCO, Portuguese is in fact the fastest-growing European language after English and Spanish. It has the highest potential for growth as an international language in southern Africa and South America. However, over 80% of people who speak Portuguese worldwide do not actually live in Portugal.

Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese are indeed pretty similar, like American English and British English. Unlike what some think, Portuguese is surprisingly different from Spanish, as you will learn, although the languages are close enough that native speakers can often understand each other.

10 phrases to remember

Together with Visit Portugal we have come to a list of useful phrases to use during your stay in Portugal, in case you are coming to Lisbon for the Festival Eurovisão da Canção.

  • Bom dia - (before noon) Good morning
  • Boa tarde - (until about 19;00) Good afternoon
  • Boa noite - Good evening
  • Como está? - How are you?
  • Obrigado(a) - Thanks/Thank you
  • De nada - You're welcome
  • Queria reservar uma mesa - I would like to book a table
  • Tenho uma reserva em nome de... - I have a reservation under the name of...
  • A que horas é o pequeno almoço? - What time is breakfast?
  • Como (é que) se vai para o centro? - How can one get to the centre?

READ MORE: More useful sentences for your stay in Lisbon..

Last year in Kyiv, Eurovision.tv caught up with Portuguese winner Salvador Sobral right after his victory in the Grand Final and he spoke a bit in Portuguese. Can you guess what he is saying in the video?

Next week, we will list the five things you have to do when you're in Lisbon.

This story is brought to you in collaboration with Visit Portugal, Official Partner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.