The biggest challenge for most language learners is actually speaking their target language. In order to have successful interactions with native speakers, one must have a solid working knowledge of the language in question. But luckily, we can also rely on subtle cues from body language, eye movement, and even the context to help us navigate our conversations with others.
That is, unless we’re on a phone call.
When speaking on the phone, we no longer have this additional input to fall back on.
If the thought of having a telephone conversation in Portuguese makes you anxious, you’re not alone. This is a common fear among learners of the language! How can you expect to put together a coherent sentence on the phone with a stranger, when it’s hard enough chatting with friends and acquaintances in person?
But if you know the rules, the game will be much easier to play. If you practice, you may actually end up enjoying the game!
In this article, we’ll teach you the most useful Portuguese phone call phrases for each stage of a phone conversation. Knowing these phrases will prepare you to greet your interlocutor, introduce yourself, handle both casual and professional calls, deal with connection issues, and much more. By the time you finish reading, you’ll be able to handle any phone call in Portuguese with greater ease and confidence—whether you’re phoning a friend, your boss, or a complete stranger.
→ If you’re short on time or want a snapshot before reading further, head over to our free vocabulary list Useful Phrases for a Phone Call!
Let’s get into the basics before we reach out to make a call, right?
Before you jump right into your next phone call, it would be wise to learn some general Portuguese phone call words and phrases. Here are some common terms you should know:
Some phone phrases in Portuguese are suitable for both formal and informal contexts. Those that are only suitable in formal contexts are distinguished through the use of formal language. Here are some respectful terms you might use during a formal or professional phone call:
Doutor / Doutora – “Doctor” or “Dr.”
Senhor –“Mr.”
Senhorita – “Ms.”
Senhora / Dona – “Mrs.”
2. Picking up the Phone
Of course, your Portuguese phone conversation is going to start with a greeting. There are three common ways to answer the phone in Portuguese:
Alô! – “Hello!”
Pronto. – “Ready (to talk).”
Estou. [Portugal] – “I am (listening).”
The most frequent phone greeting in Portuguese is Alô, though older people tend to answer the phone by saying their name or family name. This goes back to when landline phones were more common and people could not see who was calling or picking up.
3. Introducing Yourself
The next set of Portuguese telephone phrases you need to learn are those for introducing yourself:
Aqui é o Pedro, sobrinho da Marisa. – “This is Pedro, Marisa’s nephew.”
É a Ana. – “It’s Ana.”
Quem fala? / Quem está falando? – “Who is speaking?”
Sou amigo dele. / Sou amiga dela. – “I am a friend of his.” / “I am a friend of hers.”
Note: Amigo is the singular masculine noun for “friend,” while amiga is the singular feminine form.
A polite addendum is to ask if the person is busy before moving forward with your call:
Você pode falar agora? – “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Você está ocupado / ocupada? – “Are you busy?”
Note: Ocupado is the singular masculine adjective for “busy,” while ocupada is the singular feminine form.
4. Stating the Reason for Your Call
“I’d like to make a dentist appointment.”
Things start to get interesting here—we’re getting somewhere. Here’s an informal Portuguese phone phrase pattern to discuss your reason for calling:
Estou ligando para perguntar sobre a operação. – “I’m calling to ask about the surgery.”
Estou ligando para saber das novidades. –“I’m calling to check on you.”
Now, here are some formal phrases:
Eu gostaria de marcar uma consulta. – “I’d like to make an appointment.”
Eu gostaria de confirmar a presença dela no meu evento. – “I’d like to confirm her presence at my event.”
Eu queria fazer uma reserva para três pessoas para hoje à noite. – “I would like to make a reservation for tonight for three people.”
Recebi uma ligação deste número e estou retornando a chamada. – “I’ve received a call from this number and am returning the call.”
5. Asking to Speak to Someone
Did you call the right number? Will you be able to reach the right person on this call?
Here are the most common phone call phrases in Portuguese for asking to speak to someone:
Posso falar com a Marisa? – “May I talk to Marisa?”
Marisa está? – “Is Marisa there?”
É do gabinete da Dra. Márcia? – “Am I talking to Dr. Márcia’s cabinet?”
Eu gostaria de falar com o Dr. Stefano, por favor. – “I’d like to talk to Dr. Stefano, please.”
Sometimes we know our reason for calling, but we aren’t sure who we need to talk to. But fear not. It’s simple to inquire about this:
Com quem eu posso falar para resolver problemas sobre o meu plano de internet? – “Who can I talk to to solve problems with my internet plan?”
6. Asking Someone to Hold
Perhaps you’re the one receiving a call, and you need to ask the other person to wait while you retrieve information or transfer them to another department. Below are a few Portuguese telephone phrases you can use to ask the caller to wait a moment.
Um minuto, por favor. – “Just a minute, please.”
Um instante, por favor. –“Just a moment, please.”
Poderia aguardar na linha por um segundo? –“Could you hold the line for a second?”
Vou passar para ele / ela. – “I’ll put him / her on.”
Vou lhe transferir para o escritório dele / dela. Não desligue. –“Let me transfer you to his / her office. Don’t hang up.”
7. Leaving a Message
“No problem, I’ll call later!”
If you’re unable to reach the person you wanted to speak with, you should have the opportunity to leave them a message. Below are a few common phone call phrases in Portuguese that are often used in this type of situation. Keep in mind that these phrases can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
No momento, ele / ela não está. Gostaria de deixar um recado? –“(S)he is not here at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?”
Ele / ela não está disponível no momento. – “(S)he is not available right now.”
Não posso falar agora. Posso te ligar daqui a pouco? –“Can’t talk to you now. Can I call you soon?”
Posso deixar um recado? – “Can I leave a message?”
Você poderia pedir para ele / ela me ligar de volta ainda hoje? – “Would you ask him/her to call me back today?”
Eu ligo depois então. – “I’ll call later, then.”
8. Asking for Clarification
Unfortunately, electronic communications are vulnerable to technical problems that can lead to misunderstandings. This is when we need to take a step back and take things slow. Here are several Portuguese phone phrases you can use to let your interlocutor know there are connection issues or to ask for clarification:
Desculpe, não consigo te ouvir direito. – “Excuse me, I can’t hear you.”
A ligação está ruim. – “The connection is bad.”
O sinal (do celular) está péssimo. – “The (cell phone) signal is awful.”
Você poderia soletrar seu nome, por favor? – “Could you spell your name, please?”
Desculpe, a ligação caiu. –“I’m sorry, we got cut off.”
Você ligou para o número errado. – “You’ve dialed the wrong number.”
Desculpe, foi um engano. – “I’m sorry, I have the wrong number.”
A bateria do celular está fraca. – “The cell phone battery is almost dead.”
It’s been an interesting ride. But all things must come to an end.
The final set of Portuguese phone call phrases you’ll learn today are those for ending the phone call.
Muito obrigado / obrigada pela ajuda. – “Thank you very much for helping.”
Obrigado is used by male speakers to say “thank you” and obrigada is used by female speakers.
Está bem. Nos falaremos mais tarde. – “Alright. We’ll speak later.”
Até logo! – “Goodbye!”
Tchau! – “Bye!”
If you’re ending a formal call, consider using this one:
Obrigado / Obrigada por ligar. Tenha um ótimo dia. – “Thanks for calling. Have a great day.”
10. Samples of Telephone Conversations in Portuguese
You’ve now seen a variety of phone call phrases in the Portuguese language, but do you know how to use them? To make the learning process more organic for you, we’ve included two sample phone dialogues below. The first one is an informal conversation between two friends; the second one is a formal conversation between one of those friends and a restaurant attendant.
Informal telephone conversation in Portuguese
Set up an appointment in two steps: one formal call and one informal call.
Michel calls his friend Rosato make an invitation for breakfast together on a weekend:
Dona Lara: Alô!
Mrs. Lara: Hello!
Michel: Alô! Rosa? Aqui é o Michel, tudo bem?
Michel: Hello! Rosa? Michel speaking, how are you?
Dona Lara: Oi, Michel. Aqui é a mãe dela. Só um minuto, já passo pra Rosa.
Mrs. Lara: Hi, Michel. This is her mother speaking. Just one minute, I’ll put Rosa on.
Michel: Oi, Dona Lara! Desculpe, não te reconheci. Estou bem, obrigado.
Michel: Hello, Mrs. Lara! I’m sorry, I didn’t notice it was you. I’m fine. Thanks.
Rosa: Alô! Michel?
Rosa: Hello! Michel?
Michel: Oi, Rosa. Tudo bem?
Michel: Hello, Rosa. How are you?
Rosa: Tudo, e aí? Me desculpa, mas acabou a bateria do meu celular.
Rosa: I’m fine, how are you? I’m sorry, my phone’s battery is dead.
Michel: Sem problema. Escuta, você tem planos pro fim de semana?
Michel: No problem. Listen, do you have plans for the weekend?
Rosa: Não tenho nada marcado ainda. Por quê?
Rosa: I don’t have anything scheduled yet. Why?
Michel: Quer tomar um café da manhã no restaurante do clube no domingo?
Michel: Would you like to have breakfast in the club’s restaurant on Sunday?
Rosa: Acho a ideia legal, mas domingo eu vou à igreja.
Rosa: It’s a nice idea, but I go to church on Sunday.
Michel: E de sábado, você está livre?
Michel: What about Saturday? Do you have something on?
Rosa: De sábado está bem. A que horas?
Rosa: Saturday’s okay. At what time?
Michel: Legal! É às nove e meia, mas ainda vou ligar lá pra reservar. Depois te ligo pra confirmar, beleza?
Michel: Cool! At half past nine, but I still have to call to make reservations. I’ll call you later to confirm, right?
Rosa: Ótimo! Obrigada pelo convite.
Rosa: Alright! Thanks for the invitation.
Michel: Por nada! Até mais!
Michel: You’re welcome! See you later!
Rosa: Tchau!
Rosa: Bye!
Formal telephone conversation in Portuguese
The two friends have set the time and place. Now Michelcalls the restaurant to reserve a table.
Atendente: Restaurante do Clube Gaivota, Regiane, boa tarde.
Attendant: Clube Gaivota’s Restaurant. Here’s Regiane, good afternoon.
Michel: Boa tarde, Regiane. Meu nome é Michel e eu gostaria de fazer uma reserva de mesa para o sábado.
Michel: Good afternoon, Regiane. My name is Michel and I’d like to make a reservation for a table for Saturday.
Atendente: Senhor?
Attendant: Sir?
Michel: Alô! Você está me ouvindo?
Michel: Hello! Are you listening?
Atendente: Desculpe, a ligação está ruim. Mas eu consigo te ouvir agora.
Attendant: I’m sorry, the connection is bad. But I can hear you now.
Michel: Certo. Gostaria de reservar uma mesa para dois no café da manhã de sábado.
Michel: Right. I’d like to make a reservation for two on Saturday for breakfast.
Atendente: Está bem. O café começa às sete e meia. A reserva é para que horas?
Attendant: Okay. Breakfast starts at half past seven. What is the time of the reservation?
Michel: Às nove e meia.
Michel: Half past nine o’clock.
Atendente: Certo, temos uma mesa disponível para este horário. A reserva é em nome de quem?
Attendant: Right. We have a table available for this time. Who’s making the reservation?
Michel: Michel.
Michel: Michel.
Atendente: Está bem, senhor Michel. A reserva foi feita: mesa para dois no sábado, às nove horas e trinta minutos.
Attendant: Alright, Mr. Michel. The reservation is complete: table for two on Saturday at half past nine o’clock.
Michel: Perfeito! Muito obrigado. Tchau, tchau.
Michel: Perfect! Thank you very much. Bye, bye.
Atendente: Até mais.
Attendant: See you later.
11. Takeaway
The aim of this guide was to familiarize you with the most essential Portuguese phrases for a phone call. Once you have these down, you’ll feel more comfortable with both the relevant vocabulary and the more specific phrases for personal and business purposes.
Are there any phone call phrases or situations we didn’t include that you’d like to learn? Let us know in the comments and we’ll get back to you!
This is a great step toward improving your language skills. But if you want to go deeper, you’ll have to use more precise and powerful learning tools.
PortuguesePod101 offers a comprehensive teaching program that combines multimedia resources, short vocabulary lists, and detailed lessons for learners at every level.
You can learn even faster using our MyTeacher service. This gives you 1-on-1 interaction with a personal tutor who can help boost your performance while delivering solid results.
Master Portuguese phone conversations and so much more with PortuguesePod101!
Are you learning Portuguese but feel that you’re missing the words you need to start participating in conversations? Studying a new language comes with its challenges, and one could easily become intimidated by the sheer number of words that exist.
Luckily, most Portuguese speakers get by on a daily basis with just around 1000 words. No need to devour a whole dictionary to start speaking the language; all you need to get started are some basic Portuguese words for beginners.
With only a few weeks of practice, you’ll have become familiar with around 200 words—enough to be considered a functional beginner. By the time you reach 1000, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a true conversationalist!
Let’s start today by going over those first couple hundred beginner Portuguese words. These will serve as a solid foundation that will help you engage in conversations, understand dialogues, and even deal with some day-to-day situations.
Pronouns are, without a doubt, some of the first words you’ll encounter in Portuguese. And for a good reason: Whenever we’re talking about people, personal pronouns are the first to pop up.
There are several types of pronouns, and each type serves a different function within a sentence. For now, let’s just focus on the most common ones.
1 – Personal Subject Pronouns
Talking about someone? Then personal subject pronouns are your best friend. They substitute the subject of a sentence:
A professora chegou atrasada. (“The professor [feminine] arrived late.”)
Ela chegou atrasada. (“She arrived late.”)
Person
Portuguese pronoun
English
1st person sg.
eu
I
2nd person sg.
tu / você
you
3rd person sg.
ele / ela
he / she
1st person pl.
nós
we
2nd person pl.
vós / vocês
you
3rd person pl.
eles / elas
they (masculine / feminine)
There are a few things we should point out about those pronouns.
In many parts of Brazil, você is used as the second person singular (instead of tu), in informal situations. In formal situations, you can use:
O senhor (“the sir”): O senhor deseja um café? (“Fancy a coffee, sir?”)
A senhora (“the madam”): A senhora precisa de algo? (“Need anything, madam?”)
These three forms of address (você, o senhor, a senhora) all use third person singular conjugations. You can find out more in this article.
To refer to the first person plural, many Brazilian speakers use a gente, with the verbs conjugated in the second person singular.
Nós vamos comer pizza. (“We will eat pizza.”)
A gente vai comer pizza. (“We will eat pizza.”)
Vós is rarely used in Brazilian Portuguese, being considered extremely formal. To refer to the second person plural, you can use:
Vocês [informal]: Vocês sabem que horas são? (“Do you know what time it is?”)
Os senhores [formal]: Os senhores podem aguardar aqui. (“You can wait here.”)
Masculine form, used for a group of only men or men and women
As senhoras [formal]: As senhoras já podem entrar. (“You can already come in.”)
Feminine form, used for a group of only women
2 – Reflexive Pronouns
In Portuguese, some verbs are reflexive. They indicate an action done by the subject to themselves. When using these verbs, an extra pronoun (called an object pronoun), is required.
Person
Portuguese pronoun
Use it with
English
1st person sg.
me
eu (“I”)
Eu me visto. (“I get dressed.”) Ela me acordou. (“She woke me up.”)
2nd person sg.
te
tu (“you”)
(Tu) te lembras dele? (“You remember him?”)
3rd person sg.
se
ele / ela (“he” / “she”) você (“you”) a gente (“we”)
Ele se vestiu. (“He got dressed.”) Você já se arrumou? (“Did you get ready?”) A gente se sentiu mal. (“We felt ill.”)
1st person pl.
nos
nós (“we”)
Nós nos assustamos. (“We got scared.”)
2nd person pl.
vos
vós (“you”)
Vós vos sentis bem? (“Do you feel well?”)
3rd person pl.
se
eles / elas (“they” masculine / feminine) vocês (“you”)
Eles se perderam. (“They got lost.”) Vocês se penteiam? (“Did you brush your hair?” plural)
There are several rules involved regarding the correct position of the reflexive pronoun in Portuguese (before or after the verb). For informal conversational purposes, most Brazilian Portuguese speakers place the reflexive pronoun before the verb.
3 – Demonstrative Pronouns
You can use demonstrative pronouns to talk about the objects around you.
Isto (“This”) and its variations
When talking about something close to you (the speaker), you can use:
Isto (“This”)
Isto é lindo! (“This is beautiful!”)
Este / Esta (“This”) – masculine and feminine form in the singular
Esta cadeira é pequena demais. (“This chair is too small.”)
Estes / Estas (“These”) – masculine and feminine form in the plural
Estas panelas estão sujas. (“These pans are dirty.”)
Isto is not commonly used in spoken, casual Portuguese. A more popular option is isso:
Isso (“That”) and its variations
When talking about something close to the other person (the listener), use:
Isso (“That”)
Isso é pesado? (“Is that heavy?”)
Esse / Essa (“That”) – masculine and feminine form in the singular
Essa camisa é a sua cara! (“That shirt is so you!”)
Esses / Essas – masculine and feminine form in the plural
Vocês podem usar esses lençóis. (“You can use those bedsheets.”)
Even though isso means “that,” it’s very common for Portuguese speakers to use it to mean “this” as well. So in casual situations, you can use isso to talk about objects that are close to the speaker or the listener.
Aquilo (“That”) and its variations
This one is used when talking about something that is far from both you and the other party, whether physically or in terms of time.
Aquilo (“That”)
Eu quero aquilo! (“I want that!”)
Aquele / Aquela (“That”) – masculine and feminine form in the singular
Aquele quadro é muito caro. (“That painting is very expensive.”)
Aqueles / Aquelas (“Those”) – masculine and feminine form in the plural
Aqueles shows foram inesquecíveis. (“Those concerts were unforgettable.”)
4 – Interrogative Pronouns
Use these pronouns to ask questions:
Quem? (“Who?”) Quem chegou? (“Who arrived?”)
O que? (“What?”)
O que você quer comer? (“What do you want to eat?”)
Qual? (“Which?”) Qual bolo você prefere? (“Which cake do you prefer?”)
Quais são os livros que posso doar? (“Which are the books that I can give away?”)
Quanto? (“How much?” / “How many?”)
Quantos anos você têm? (“How old are you?”)
Quantas caixas você quer? (“How many boxes do you want?”)
Quanto custa essa casa? (“How much is this house?”)
Notice that quem and que are invariable pronouns: they never change. Qual and quanto are variable pronouns, which means they change depending on the gender and number of what they’re referring to.
5 – Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are great for talking about unspecified things—people, places, objects, you name it! Here are some of the most important ones:
Tudo (“Everything”)
Todo / Toda (“All” masculine and feminine singular)
Todos / Todas (“All” / “Everyone” masculine and feminine plural)
Nada (“Nothing”)
Nenhum / Nenhuma (“None” masculine and feminine)
Algo (“Something”)
Algum / Alguma (“Some” / “Few” masculine and feminine singular)
Alguns / Algumas (“Some” / “Few” masculine and feminine plural)
Ninguém (“Nobody”)
Alguém (“Somebody”)
Vários / Várias (“Several” masculine and feminine)
Muito / Muita (“A lot of” masculine and feminine)
Muitos / Muitas (“Many” masculine and feminine)
Pouco / Pouca (“Little” masculine and feminine)
Poucos / Poucas (“Few” masculine and feminine)
Ele é médico e ela é enfermeira. (“He is a doctor and she is a nurse.”)
2. Counting: Numbers
As a beginner in Portuguese, you’ll need to know at least a few numbers to get by in certain situations. If you learn how to count from 0 to 10, you’ll have it covered!
0
Zero
1
Um
2
Dois
3
Três
4
Quatro
5
Cinco
6
Seis
7
Sete
8
Oito
9
Nove
10
Dez
What numbers will you use in your passcode?
3. The Name of Things: Nouns
Once you have the pronouns and numbers down, you should focus on memorizing as many basic nouns as possible. The words below will serve as a useful addition to your Portuguese beginner vocabulary; they’ll allow you to start forming sentences and you can even use them alone to get an urgent point across!
1 – A Reminder: Articles
The first thing you need to remember about Portuguese nouns is that they have a gender and a number. For example, a noun could be masculine plural or feminine singular.
A noun’s gender and number will affect which articles you need to use with it (and it will also affect adjectives, as we’ll see later).
To make it easier for you to remember the gender of nouns in the future, the following list will include the indefinite articles alongside the nouns.
2 – Time
Uma hora
Hour
Um minuto
Minute
Um dia
Day
Um mês
Month
Um ano
Year
Uma manhã
Morning
Uma tarde
Afternoon
Uma noite
Night / Evening
Uma segunda-feira
Monday
Uma terça-feira
Tuesday
Uma quarta-feira
Wednesday
Uma quinta-feira
Thursday
Uma sexta-feira
Friday
Um sábado
Saturday
Um domingo
Sunday
3 – People
Uma mãe
Mother
Um pai
Father
Mamãe
Mom
Papai
Dad
Uma mulher
Woman
Um homem
Man
Uma esposa
Wife
Um marido
Husband
Um irmão
Brother
Uma irmã
Sister
Uma família
Family
Uma namorada
Girlfriend
Um namorado
Boyfriend
Um filho
Son
Uma filha
Daughter
Um amigo Uma amiga
Friend (masculine) Friend (feminine)
Um estudante Uma estudante
Student (masculine) Student (feminine)
Um vendedor Uma vendedora
Salesman Saleswoman
Um professor Uma professora
Professor / Teacher (masculine) Professor / Teacher (feminine)
Um médico Uma médica
Medical doctor (masculine) Medical doctor (feminine)
4 – Places
Um mundo
World
Um país
Country
Uma cidade
City
Um bairro
Neighborhood
Um endereço
Address
Uma rua
Street
Uma avenida
Avenue
Uma estrada
Road
Um lugar
Place
Uma praia
Beach
Uma floresta
Forest
Uma montanha
Mountain
Uma loja
Shop
Um hospital
Hospital
Um supermercado
Supermarket
Uma escola
School
5 – Transportation
Um carro
Car
Um ônibus
Bus
Um trem
Train
Um avião
Plane
Um táxi
Taxi / Cab
Uma bicicleta
Bicycle
6 – Home
Uma casa
House
Uma porta
Door
Uma janela
Window
Uma cozinha
Kitchen
Um quarto
Bedroom
Um banheiro
Bathroom
Uma sala de estar
Living room
Um jardim
Garden
7 – School and Office Supplies
Uma caneta
Pen
Um lápis
Pencil
Uma borracha
Eraser
Um caderno
Notebook
Um livro
Book
8 – Technology in the Home
Um telefone
Phone
Um celular
Cellphone
Uma tela
Screen
Um computador
Computer
A Internet
The internet
Uma televisão
Television
9 – Body
Uma cabeça
Head
Um olho
Eye
Uma boca
Mouth
Um nariz
Nose
Uma orelha
Ear
Cabelo
Hair
Um braço
Arm
Uma mão
Hand
10 – Dining and Food
Uma mesa
Table
Um prato
Plate
Um copo
Glass
Água
Water
Uma fruta
Fruit
Um legume
Vegetable
Um café
Coffee
Um pão
Bread
Arroz
Rice
Feijão
Beans
→ Want to find out how to pronounce the top 25 nouns in Portuguese? Then PortuguesePod101 has a video lesson for you!
Um menino (“A boy”)
4. Talk About Actions: Verbs
Portuguese beginners will greatly benefit from learning the most common verbs early on in the process.
Verbs are the central part of sentences and, as you can imagine, there are thousands of them to choose from. Why not begin by getting acquainted with 50 of the most commonly used verbs in Portuguese?