Portuguese for studying and exchanges

Enrolment, lectures, exams and a shared flat: Portuguese for a semester at a Portuguese university.

37 sentences · 3 dialogues · 18 words

Why this field

Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra take in a lot of exchange students every year. If you learn Portuguese beforehand, you follow the lectures, find a room more easily and get out of the exchange-student bubble.

University life has its own words and its own procedures: subjects, marks out of 20, exam periods, resit sessions. If you know them, you lose less time in the first weeks.

What you will be able to do

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

A1I can say what and where I study.
A2I can ask about rooms, courses and exams.
A2I can talk about my subjects and marks.
B1I can enrol and deal with formalities at the student office.
B1I can ask for help or an extension during office hours.
B2I can argue for a view in a presentation and respond to objections.

Core vocabulary

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

a universidadethe universityA2
a aulathe lesson (a class period)A2
o cursothe course of studyA2
a matériathe subject matterA2
o examethe examinationA2
estudarto studyA2
passar no exameto pass the examinationA2
chumbarto fail (an examination)B1
a faculdadethe faculty (the university department)B1
matricular-seto enrolB1
a época de examesthe examination periodB1
os apontamentosthe lecture notesB1
a bolsa de estudothe scholarshipB1
o semináriothe seminarB1
o trabalho escritothe written assignmentB1
as propinasthe tuition feesB1
o colega de casathe housemateB1
o apartamento partilhadothe flat shareB1

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

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

A room in a shared flat

You are viewing a room in a shared flat.

Jana
Olá, venho por causa do quarto. Ainda está livre?Hi, I’ve come about the room. Is it still free?
Diogo
Está, entra. Somos três cá em casa.It is, come in. There are three of us here.
Jana
Como é que fazem com a luz e a água?How do you sort out electricity and water?
Diogo
Dividimos tudo entre todos.We split everything between all of us.
Jana
E a cozinha é de todos?And is the kitchen shared?
Diogo
É, e ao domingo fazemos as limpezas juntos.It is, and on Sundays we clean together.

At the student office

You have just arrived at your host university and are enrolling.

Student
Bom dia, sou estudante de intercâmbio e venho fazer a matrícula.Good morning, I’m an exchange student and I’ve come to enrol.
Student office
Bem-vinda. Tem o plano de estudos assinado?Welcome. Do you have your signed study plan?
Student
Tenho, está aqui. Precisam de mais alguma coisa?Yes, here it is. Do you need anything else?
Student office
Uma cópia do passaporte e uma fotografia.A copy of your passport and a photo.
Student
E até quando posso mudar de cadeira?And until when can I change a subject?
Student office
Até ao fim da segunda semana de aulas.Until the end of the second week of classes.

In office hours

You were ill and need more time for an essay.

Student
Bom dia, professora. Tem um minuto?Good morning, Professor. Have you got a minute?
Lecturer
Tenho, sim. Sente-se.Yes, I have. Sit down.
Student
Na semana passada estive doente e não consegui acabar o trabalho.I was ill last week and couldn’t finish the essay.
Lecturer
Tem algum atestado médico?Do you have a doctor’s note?
Student
Tenho, aqui está. Seria possível entregá-lo na segunda-feira?Yes, here it is. Would it be possible to hand it in on Monday?
Lecturer
Está bem, mas na segunda sem falta.All right, but Monday without fail.

Sentences to say aloud

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

Estudo Medicina em Heidelberg.I’m studying medicine in Heidelberg.
A1neutral
Este ano vivo em Coimbra.This year I’m living in Coimbra.
A1neutral
Onde fica a biblioteca?Where is the library?
A1neutral
Podes falar mais devagar, por favor?Could you speak more slowly, please?
A1casual
Vivo com duas raparigas de Itália.I live with two girls from Italy.
A1neutral In Portugal a girl or young woman is a rapariga; in Brazil people say moça.
Como se diz isto em português?How do you say this in Portuguese?
A1neutral
O que quer dizer isto?What does this mean?
A1neutral
Estou cá num semestre de intercâmbio.I’m here for an exchange semester.
A2neutral
Tenho aula às nove.I have a lecture at nine.
A2neutral
Em que sala é a aula de História?Which room is the history lecture in?
A2neutral Events take ser: Onde é a aula?
Este semestre tenho cinco cadeiras.This semester I have five subjects.
A2neutral
Amanhã tenho um exame muito difícil.Tomorrow I have a very difficult exam.
A2neutral
Quando saem as notas?When do the marks come out?
A2neutral
Passei a tudo menos a Estatística.I’ve passed everything except statistics.
A2neutral
Vamos estudar juntos na biblioteca?Shall we study together in the library?
A2casual
Ontem fomos a uma festa de estudantes.Yesterday we went to a student party.
A2neutral
Procuro um quarto perto da universidade.I’m looking for a room near the university.
A2neutral
Divido a casa com dois rapazes.I share the flat with two guys.
A2neutral
Na universidade almoço sempre na cantina.At university I always have lunch in the canteen.
A2neutral
Tenho de entregar o trabalho na segunda-feira.I have to hand in the essay on Monday.
B1neutral
Emprestas-me os teus apontamentos de ontem?Can I borrow your notes from yesterday?
B1casual
Tenho de me matricular até sexta-feira.I have to enrol by Friday.
B1neutral
Preciso de um certificado de notas para a minha universidade.I need a transcript of marks for my university.
B1neutral
A que horas é o atendimento da professora Neves?When are Professor Neves’s office hours?
B1neutral
Seria possível entregar o trabalho uma semana mais tarde?Would it be possible to hand in the essay a week later?
B1polite
Quando acabar o semestre, volto para a Alemanha.When the semester ends, I’ll go back to Germany.
B1neutral After quando, the futuro do conjuntivo is used for the future: quando acabar.
Na minha faculdade há muitos estudantes estrangeiros.There are a lot of foreign students in my faculty.
B1neutral
Para o seminário temos de fazer uma apresentação em grupo.For the seminar we have to give a group presentation.
B1neutral
Na época de exames quase não saio de casa.During the exam period I hardly leave the house.
B1neutral
Deram-me a bolsa de estudo para o segundo semestre.I’ve been given the grant for the second semester.
B1neutral
É importante que vás às aulas; a assiduidade conta.It’s important that you go to lectures; attendance counts.
B1neutral
Se chumbar, faço o exame na época de recurso.If I fail, I’ll take the exam in the resit period.
B1neutral
Se estudasse com mais regularidade, não teria tanta pressão antes dos exames.If I studied more regularly, I wouldn’t be under so much pressure before exams.
B2neutral
Neste trabalho analiso como mudou o turismo no Algarve.In this essay I analyse how tourism in the Algarve has changed.
B2formal
Gostaria de acrescentar algo ao que a minha colega acabou de dizer.I would like to add something to what my fellow student has just said.
B2formal
Por um lado, os dados são claros; por outro, a amostra é pequena.On the one hand, the data are clear; on the other, the sample is small.
B2formal
Ainda que a nota não seja a que esperava, aprendi imenso.Even though the mark isn’t what I expected, I’ve learnt a great deal.
B2neutral

What matters here

Students use tu with each other straight away. Lecturers are addressed as professor or professora, in the third person.
Marks go from 0 to 20; 10 is a pass.
If you fail in the regular exam period, there is usually a second chance, the época de recurso.
Informally, a university subject is called a cadeira, and lecture notes are os apontamentos.

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.

I’m studying medicine in Heidelberg.
Estudo Medicina em Heidelberg.
Which room is the history lecture in?
Em que sala é a aula de História?
At university I always have lunch in the canteen.
Na universidade almoço sempre na cantina.
For the seminar we have to give a group presentation.
Para o seminário temos de fazer uma apresentação em grupo.

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Practise

More fields

Portuguese for travelling38 sentences · 17 words Portuguese for music and concerts33 sentences · 16 words Portuguese for work38 sentences · 18 words Portuguese for settling in: flat, tax number and bank38 sentences · 17 words Portuguese with friends and family36 sentences · 18 words Portuguese for football33 sentences · 17 words

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.