Want a beer? / Vai uma cerveja?

Cerveja (colloquially known as B’jeca) is the Portuguese word for beer and there are many things to say if we’re thinking about Portuguese beers. But, let’s make it simply, and make a short list of the most used expressions if you’re in a Café or a Bar and you want to order a beer. So, you’ll start with the verb Queria, which means “I would like” and you complete your sentence with one of the following expressions:

Queria…

• Uma imperial – a standard 300ml draught in a pilsner glass
• Uma caneca – a 500ml draught in a mug
• Uma Cerveja Preta – A black beer
• Uma Mini – It’s a small bottle of beer (20cl) and because it’s so small is always fresh
• Uma Cerveja sem álcool – A non-alcoholic beer
• Um Panaché / Um Shandy – A Shandy
• Uma garrafa de cerveja  - A bottle of beer (here, the most common is to ask for a specific trade mark, for instances, Queria uma Sagres/ uma Super bock/ uma Cristal /uma Tagus/ uma Cintra/ uma Coral/ uma Bohemia …)

If you really like beer don’t forget we have in Silves (Algarve) the Festival da Cerveja (Beer Festival) in July. So… Vai uma cerveja?

It's tea time!

It's true that Portugal was very important for the history of tea around the world, but they are much more  "coffee people" than "tea people". in here. Ok, they also drink tea and, of course, they have a lot of different types of tea available to buy in supermarkets, but if you go to a regular "café", you'll see how easy is to order a cup of a tea. Usually what you get is a tea bag (um saquinho). So, let's make a quick list:

• An English / British tea - Um chá preto 
• A tea with milk - Um chá com leite
• A tea with cold milk - Um chá com leite frio
• A green tea - Um chá verde
• A white tea - Um chá branco
• A lemon tea - Um chá de limão or "Carioca de Limão" (this last one is a coffee cup with a lemon peel in hot water)

If you're a fan of herbal tea, the most common ones in Portugal are the following:

• Chamomile tea - Chá de camomila
• Melissa tea - Chá de cidreira
• Mint tea - Chá de menta
• Verbena tea - Chá de Lúcia-Lima
• Lime tea - Chá de tília

So, how to order a cup of tea in Portuguese? Like this...

Queria um chá preto com leite frio, por favor. (I would like a tea with cold milk, please.)

Queria um chá para dois, por favor. (I would like a tea for two, please.)

 Queria um chá de camomila, por favor. (I would like a chamomile tea, please).

Well... it's easy, isn't it?

How's the weather? (Como está o tempo?)

Olá! It’s really cold today, at least for what we are used to here, in the Algarve. Sometimes, talk about the weather can be a nice way to start a conversation and to practice your Portuguese. So let’s learn some of the most common expressions used in Portuguese about this subject:

• Hoje está frio! – It’s cold today!
• Hoje está muito frio!  - It’s very cold today!
• Está um dia muito bonito! – It’s a very nice day!
• Está calor! – It’s hot!
• Está muito vento! – It’s windy!
• Está fresco!  - It’s brisk!
• Que tempo horrível hoje! -What horrible weather today!
• Vai chover amanhã? – Will it rain tomorrow?
• Vai chover amanhã. – Is it going to rain tomorrow.
• Como é que vai estar o tempo amanhã? – How’s the weather for tomorrow?
• Amanhã vai fazer bom tempo. – Tomorrow the weather will be fine.
• Amanhã vai fazer mau tempo. – Tomorrow the weather will be bad.

Então, como está o tempo hoje?

Could you repeat that, please?

Sometimes  you really try to speak in Portuguese, but then you can’t understand what Portuguese people say to you, just because they speak so fast! Ok, but there’s a way to make them speak a little bit slowly…. You only have to ask them to! How? It’s easy:

• “Could you repeat that, please?” – Podia repetir, por favor?
• “Can you speak more slowly, please? – Podia falar mais devagar, por favor?

Hope this helps!

Would you like a coffee?

One thing you can find hard to understand in Portugal is how to ask for a coffee. There are many kinds of coffee and, each one, has its own name. So, let's make a list to help you next time you go to a "Café" in Portugal:

Um café / Uma bica - an espresso

Um galão - Coffee and milk in a tall glass, in all similar to café latte. If you want more coffee than milk, ask for "um galão escuro", if you prefer more milk than coffee, ask for "um galão claro";

Uma meia de leite - It's the same then "galão" but it comes in a cup, again, you can ask for "uma meia de leite escura" or "uma meia de leite clara";

Um garoto - It's an espresso with a little bit of milk. Again, you can ask for "um garoto escuro" (more coffee than milk) or "um garoto claro" (more milk than coffee);

Um pingado - It's an espresso with just a drop of cold milk;

Um carioca de café - It's a weak espresso;

Um descafeinado - it's a decaff;

Um café duplo - Two espressos in a bigger cup.

Finally, how to ask for a coffee in Portuguese? It's simple: "Queria um café, por favor."

Do you think this will help you?

Translations

If you need to translate any document at all, don't hesitate do contact me. Send me the text to translate and I'll send you a quote in within 24 hours. Don't worry, I will respect the layout you want and I can do certificate translations. Plus, I will always respect the deadlines.

I work with the following pairs of languages:

English to Portuguese
French to Portuguese
Spanish to Portuguese
Portuguese to Spanish