How to Ask for a Word in Portuguese

Learn how to ask for a word in Portuguese

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Portuguese.

For example, "How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?" is

Como se diz "book" em português?

Sabrina Santos is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Paula Pereira.

It’s the Portuguese portion of the exchange, and she points at the textbook and asks what it's called in Portuguese.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Português.

"Portuguese"

Português.

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the question.

Ready?

Como se diz "book" em português?

Se diz "livro."

Once more with the English translation.

Como se diz book em português?

"How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?"

Se diz "livro."

"You say 'book'."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Sabrina asks

"How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?"

Como se diz "book" em português?

The standard way to ask for the meaning of a word in Portuguese follows a simple pattern.

First is como, "how." Como. Como.

Next is se diz, literally "one says." Se diz.

Se, roughly translating as "one," as in "one says." Se. Se.

Next is diz, "says," as in "one says." diz.

Diz is from the verb, dizer, meaning "to say." Dizer.

Together, Como se diz, literally, "How one says," but translates as, "how does one say." Como se diz.

After this is the English word, "book."

Last is the phrase, em português, meaning "in Portuguese." Em português.

First is em, "in." Em. Em.

After this is, português, "Portuguese," as in "the Portuguese language." Português. Português.

Note, when the context is clear, you may omit em português.

All together, Como se diz "book" em português? Literally means something like "How one says "book" in Portuguese," but translates as "How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?" Como se diz "book" em português?

Note the rising intonation of the sentence to mark that it's a question.

Como se diz "book" em português?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Paula says,

"You say 'book'."

Se diz "livro."

First is se diz, which literally means "one says," but translates here as "you say." Se diz.

After this is the answer to the question, livro, "book." Livro. Livro.

All together Se diz "livro," literally means "One says "book," but it translates as "You say 'book'."

Se diz "livro."

The pattern is

Como se diz ENGLISH WORD em português?

How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Portuguese?

Como se diz ENGLISH WORD em português?

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ENGLISH WORD} placeholder with the word you want to know.

Imagine you want to know the Portuguese word for 'pen'.

Ask

"How do you say 'pen' in Portuguese?"

Ready?

Como se diz "pen" em português?

"How do you say 'pen' in Portuguese?"

Como se diz "pen" em português?

This lesson introduces a grammatically complex, but commonly used, pattern: the impersonal form with se. The se-construction is used to express what people do in general, rather than point to a specific person.

The pattern is se plus a verb in the third person. The example used in the lesson was se diz, "one says." Let’s quickly look at a few more examples.

Se chama, "one calls," as in "one calls it ‘a book.’"

Se faz, "one does," as in "one does this."

Again, the key pattern is

Como se diz ENGLISH WORD em português?

How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Portuguese?

Como se diz ENGLISH WORD em português?

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Como se diz "book" em português?

"How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?"

Se diz "livro."

"You say 'book'."

Como se diz "pen" em português?

"How do you say 'pen' in Portuguese?"

Se diz "caneta."

"You say 'pen'."

Como se diz "bag"?

"How do you say 'bag'?"

Se diz "bolsa."

"You say 'bag'."

Como se diz "pencil" em português?

"How do you say 'pencil' in Portuguese?"

Se diz "lápis."

"You say 'pencil'."

Como se chama isto?

"What do you call this?"

Se chama "livro."

"You call it 'a book'."

Did you notice how the native speaker used a different pattern?

Como se chama isto?

"What do you call this?"

Como se chama isto?

This literally means, "How does one call this," but it translates as "What do you call this?"

First is como, "how." Como.

Next is se chama, literally "one calls." Se chama.

Se, "one," as in "one calls." Se. Se.

Next is chama, "calls," as in "one calls." Chama.

Last is isto, "this." Isto. Isto.

All together, Como se chama isto?

"What do you call this?"

Como se chama isto?

This is a very useful pattern for using Portuguese to learn Portuguese.

Do you remember the response,

"You call it 'a book.'"

Se chama "livro."

Se chama "livro." Literally, "one calls "book," but translates as "You call it a book." Se chama "livro."

Let’s review the new vocabulary.

Bolsa.

"bag"

Bolsa.

Caneta.

"pen"

Caneta.

Lápis.

"pencil"

Lápis.

Isto.

"this"

Isto.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "Portuguese," as in the language?

Português.

And how to say

"in Portuguese."

Em português.

Do you remember how to say "how?"

Como.

Do you remember how Sabrina asks,

"How do you say 'book' in Portuguese?"

Como se diz "book" em português?

Do you remember how to say "book?"

Livro.

And do you remember how Paula says,

"You say 'book'."

Se diz "livro."

Do you remember how to say "this?"

Isto.

And how to say

"What do you call this?"

Como se chama isto?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Susana Santos , and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Clara Costa.

You point to the pen and ask, "How do you say 'pen' in Portuguese?"

Ready?

Como se diz "pen" em português?

Se diz "caneta."

Listen again and repeat.

Como se diz "pen" em português?

Now you want to know the word for "bag." Omit "in Portuguese."

Ready?

Como se diz "bag"?

Se diz "bolsa."

Listen again and repeat.

Como se diz "bag"?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Sergio Santos , and you’re studying with your classmate. Point at a pencil and ask "What do you call this?"

Ready?

Como se chama isto?

Se chama "lápis."

Listen again and repeat.

Como se chama isto?

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Portuguese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.

Do you remember the informal way to say,

"you"?

Você.

And how to say "repeat?"

Repetir.

Do you remember the informal way to say,

"please"?

Por favor.

Do you remember how Sabrina asks,

"Can you repeat that, please?"

Remember she uses informal Portuguese.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Imagine You're Jack Jones , and you're meeting your fellow student Paula Pereira for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.

Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time, and slowly.

Ready?

Eu sou Paula. Prazer.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

Listen again, and repeat.

Você pode repetir, por favor?

On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Portuguese portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in Portuguese.

Ask Paula Pereira how to say "pencil" in Portuguese.

Como se diz "pencil" em português?

Se diz "lápis."

Listen again, and repeat.

Como se diz "pencil" em português?

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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