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Language in use

Portuguese for music and concerts

Talking about music, going to a concert, praising a song — without a single borrowed lyric.

33 sentences · 3 dialogues · 16 words

Why this field

For many people Portuguese begins with music: with a song whose words they want to understand. Music is a strong motivation, because you hear it again and again — and the same words with it.

Song lyrics themselves are protected, so they are not reproduced here. What you will find is the language around music: how to talk about a song, arrange to go to a concert and say what you like.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

Core vocabulary

16 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

  • o pianothe pianoA1
  • a músicathe music, the songA2
  • a cançãothe songA2
  • o concertothe concertA2
  • a guitarrathe guitarA2
  • a bandathe bandA2
  • o músicothe musicianA2
  • o fadothe fadoA2
  • a letrathe letter; the handwriting; the lyricsA2
  • a vozthe voiceA2
  • o espetáculothe performanceB1
  • o palcothe stageB1
  • o públicothe audienceB1
  • a bilheteirathe box officeB1
  • a orquestrathe orchestraB1
  • ensaiarto rehearseB2

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

Arranging to go to a concert

A2

A friend suggests a concert on Friday.

  1. Rita

    Vamos ao concerto de sexta?Shall we go to the concert on Friday?

  2. Tom

    Que tipo de música é?What kind of music is it?

  3. Rita

    Fado, mas com uma banda jovem. Dizem que são muito bons.Fado, but with a young band. People say they’re very good.

  4. Tom

    Boa ideia. Ainda há bilhetes?Good idea. Are there still tickets?

  5. Rita

    Há, mas temos de os comprar hoje.There are, but we have to buy them today.

  6. Tom

    Então compra dois e eu pago-te a minha parte.Then buy two and I’ll pay you my share.

At the box office

B1

You want tickets for tonight at short notice.

  1. Concertgoer

    Boa noite. Ainda há bilhetes para o espetáculo de hoje?Good evening. Are there still tickets for tonight’s show?

  2. Box office

    Só na plateia, ao fundo da sala.Only in the stalls, at the back of the hall.

  3. Concertgoer

    Vê-se bem o palco de lá?Can you see the stage well from there?

  4. Box office

    Vê-se, sim, e o som é muito bom.Yes, you can, and the sound is very good.

  5. Concertgoer

    Então quero dois, por favor. Há desconto para estudantes?Then I’ll have two, please. Is there a student discount?

  6. Box office

    Há, basta mostrar o cartão de estudante.There is — you just need to show your student card.

After the concert

B1

You are coming out of a fado concert.

  1. Inês

    Então, gostaste?So, did you enjoy it?

  2. Paul

    Adorei. A voz da cantora arrepiou-me.I loved it. The singer’s voice gave me goosebumps.

  3. Inês

    E percebeste as letras?And did you understand the lyrics?

  4. Paul

    Nem todas, mas percebi que falavam de saudade.Not all of them, but I understood they were about saudade.

  5. Inês

    É isso que importa. O resto vem com o tempo.That’s what matters. The rest comes with time.

  6. Paul

    Para a próxima, levo as letras e leio-as antes.Next time I’ll take the lyrics and read them beforehand.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

  1. A que horas abrem as portas?What time do the doors open?

    A1neutral

  2. Ouço rádio todos os dias.I listen to the radio every day.

    A1neutral

  3. O piano é da minha avó.The piano belongs to my grandmother.

    A1neutral

  4. Canto muito mal.I’m a terrible singer.

    A1casual

  5. Quanto custa o bilhete?How much is the ticket?

    A1neutral

  6. É muito bonito!It’s really beautiful!

    A1neutral

  7. Que tipo de música é que ouves?What kind of music do you listen to?

    A2casual

  8. Vamos ao concerto no sábado?Shall we go to the concert on Saturday?

    A2casual

  9. Gosto muito da voz dela.I really like her voice.

    A2neutral gostar de: the de merges with the article — da voz.

  10. A letra é triste, mas muito bonita.The lyrics are sad, but very beautiful.

    A2neutral letra means the lyrics of a song.

  11. Tocas algum instrumento?Do you play an instrument?

    A2casual

  12. Toco piano desde pequeno.I’ve played the piano since I was little.

    A2neutral

  13. Que concerto! Valeu mesmo a pena.What a concert! It was really worth it.

    A2casual valer a pena means “to be worth it”.

  14. Ontem fomos a um concerto no parque.Yesterday we went to a concert in the park.

    A2neutral

  15. Aprendi a tocar guitarra sozinho.I taught myself to play the guitar.

    A2neutral

  16. Qual é a tua banda preferida?What’s your favourite band?

    A2casual

  17. Os bilhetes já estão esgotados.The tickets are already sold out.

    A2neutral

  18. Esta música é perfeita para dançar.This track is perfect for dancing.

    A2neutral

  19. Esta canção fica-me sempre na cabeça.I can’t get this song out of my head.

    B1neutral ficar na cabeça is how you describe an earworm.

  20. No fado fala-se muito de saudade.Fado is very often about saudade.

    B1neutral saudade is a longing sense of missing someone or something — a word better explained than translated.

  21. A bilheteira abre uma hora antes do espetáculo.The box office opens an hour before the show.

    B1neutral

  22. Ficámos mesmo à frente do palco.We were right in front of the stage.

    B1neutral

  23. O público cantou do princípio ao fim.The audience sang from beginning to end.

    B1neutral

  24. Quando ouço esta voz, fico arrepiado.When I hear this voice, I get goosebumps.

    B1neutral

  25. Gostava de aprender a tocar guitarra portuguesa.I’d like to learn to play the Portuguese guitar.

    B1neutral The guitarra portuguesa is the twelve-string plucked instrument that accompanies fado.

  26. Prefiro concertos pequenos, onde se ouve bem a letra.I prefer small concerts, where you can hear the lyrics properly.

    B1neutral

  27. Acho que esta banda é melhor ao vivo do que no disco.I think this band is better live than on record.

    B1neutral

  28. A orquestra da cidade dá concertos gratuitos no verão.The city orchestra gives free concerts in the summer.

    B1neutral

  29. Se tiveres tempo, vem ouvir-nos tocar no sábado.If you have time, come and hear us play on Saturday.

    B1neutral

  30. Se eu soubesse tocar um instrumento, entrava numa banda.If I could play an instrument, I’d join a band.

    B2neutral In spoken European Portuguese the main clause often has the imperfeito rather than the conditional.

  31. Antes de cada concerto, temos de ensaiar duas vezes por semana.Before every concert we have to rehearse twice a week.

    B2neutral

  32. Embora não perceba a letra toda, a música emociona-me.Although I don’t understand all the lyrics, the music moves me.

    B2neutral

  33. Foi um dos concertos mais intensos a que já assisti.It was one of the most intense concerts I’ve ever been to.

    B2neutral

What matters here

  • The best way to learn from a song’s lyrics: look them up yourself, translate them line by line and say them aloud.

    The grammar behind them is in the topics below.

  • letra means lyrics, canção song, and música both music and a single piece.

    letracançãomúsica

  • saudade is the best-known word that has no neat translation — a longing sense of missing someone or something.

    saudade

  • Tickets are sold at the bilheteira; “sold out” is esgotado.

    bilheteiraesgotado

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Portuguese, then open it to compare.

  1. What time do the doors open?

    A que horas abrem as portas?

  2. I really like her voice.

    Gosto muito da voz dela.

  3. The tickets are already sold out.

    Os bilhetes já estão esgotados.

  4. I’d like to learn to play the Portuguese guitar.

    Gostava de aprender a tocar guitarra portuguesa.

Keep learning

More fields

Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.