Portuguese for work

Phone calls, meetings, applications and interviews: Portuguese for everyday working life.

38 sentences · 3 dialogues · 18 words

Why this field

Portugal has been attracting companies, teams and skilled workers from abroad for years. English is often spoken in the office — but Portuguese is what you hear at the coffee break, on the phone with customers and in administration.

Working language is more polite than everyday speech: the third person rather than tu, titles, fixed phrases in emails and on the phone. These phrases in particular are easy to learn as whole units.

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 I do for a living and where I work.
A2I can make, move or cancel an appointment.
A2I can answer the phone and ask to speak to someone.
B1I can introduce myself at a job interview and talk about my experience.
B1I can give my opinion in a meeting and disagree politely.
B2I can discuss the terms of a contract and give reasons for what I want.

Core vocabulary

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

o trabalhothe work, the jobA1
trabalharto workA1
o colegathe colleagueA1
o escritóriothe officeA2
a empresathe companyA2
o chefethe bossA2
a reuniãothe meetingA2
o saláriothe salaryA2
o prazothe deadlineA2
a mensagemthe messageA2
o empregothe jobA2
o currículothe CVB1
a candidaturathe applicationB1
a entrevistathe job interviewB1
o período experimentalthe probationary periodB1
a tempo inteirofull-timeB1
o teletrabalhoworking from homeB1
deixar recadoto leave a messageB1

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

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

On the phone

You ring a company and want to speak to Ms Costa.

Switchboard
Bom dia, faz favor.Good morning, how can I help?
Caller
Bom dia, daqui fala o Paul Weber. Podia falar com a senhora Costa?Good morning, this is Paul Weber speaking. Could I speak to Ms Costa?
Switchboard
Lamento, neste momento está numa reunião.I’m sorry, she’s in a meeting at the moment.
Caller
Posso ligar mais tarde?Can I call back later?
Switchboard
Claro, por volta das três já deve estar livre.Of course, she should be free by about three.
Caller
Perfeito, obrigado. Até logo.Perfect, thank you. Bye for now.

Moving a meeting

A colleague wants to reschedule your meeting.

Marta
Tobias, podemos adiar a reunião de terça?Tobias, can we postpone Tuesday’s meeting?
Tobias
Sim, claro. Que dia é melhor para ti?Yes, of course. Which day is best for you?
Marta
Quinta às onze?Thursday at eleven?
Tobias
Às onze tenho um cliente. Pode ser ao meio-dia?I’ve got a client at eleven. Could we do twelve?
Marta
Combinado, ao meio-dia. Mando-te o convite.Agreed, twelve. I’ll send you the invitation.
Tobias
Ótimo, obrigado.Great, thanks.

At a job interview

You are applying for a job in marketing.

Head of HR
Fale-me um pouco da sua experiência.Tell me a little about your experience.
Applicant
Trabalho há quatro anos em marketing, sobretudo com clientes estrangeiros.I’ve been working in marketing for four years, mainly with foreign clients.
Head of HR
Porque é que este lugar lhe interessa?Why are you interested in this position?
Applicant
Porque gostava de trabalhar mais com o mercado português.Because I would like to work more with the Portuguese market.
Head of HR
Qual diria que é o seu ponto fraco?What would you say is your weakness?
Applicant
Às vezes custa-me delegar, mas estou a aprender.I sometimes find it hard to delegate, but I’m learning.
Head of HR
Muito bem. Damos-lhe uma resposta até à próxima semana.Very good. We’ll give you an answer by next week.

Sentences to say aloud

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

O que é que fazes?What do you do for a living?
A1casual The usual question about someone’s job; politely O que é que faz?
Trabalho numa loja.I work in a shop.
A1neutral
Hoje trabalho em casa.Today I’m working from home.
A1neutral
Começo às oito e acabo às cinco.I start at eight and finish at five.
A1neutral
Peço desculpa, chego já.Sorry, I’ll be right there.
A1polite
Tens um minuto?Have you got a minute?
A1casual
Bom dia, a senhora Costa está?Good morning, is Ms Costa in?
A1polite
Pode repetir, por favor?Could you repeat that, please?
A1polite
Este é o meu colega Rui.This is my colleague Rui.
A1neutral
Sou engenheira e trabalho numa empresa alemã.I’m an engineer and I work for a German company.
A2neutral
O meu escritório fica no centro.My office is in the centre.
A2neutral
Muito prazer, sou o Jonas, o novo colega da Ana.Nice to meet you, I’m Jonas, Ana’s new colleague.
A2neutral
Amanhã tenho uma reunião às dez.Tomorrow I have a meeting at ten.
A2neutral
Podemos adiar a reunião para quinta-feira?Can we postpone the meeting to Thursday?
A2neutral
Ligo da parte da senhora Costa.I’m calling on behalf of Ms Costa.
A2neutral
Neste momento não está. Pode ligar mais tarde?She’s not here at the moment. Could you call back later?
A2polite
Envio-te o ficheiro esta tarde.I’ll send you the file this afternoon.
A2neutral
O prazo acaba na sexta-feira.The deadline is on Friday.
A2neutral
Trabalhei três anos num hotel.I worked in a hotel for three years.
A2neutral
Ontem estive o dia todo com um cliente.Yesterday I spent the whole day with a client.
A2neutral
Vou chegar um bocadinho atrasado, desculpa.I’m going to be a bit late, sorry.
A2casual
Vi o anúncio de emprego e gostaria de apresentar a minha candidatura.I have seen the job advertisement and would like to apply.
B1formal
Envio em anexo o meu currículo atualizado.Please find attached my updated CV.
B1formal
Tenho experiência em apoio ao cliente.I have experience in customer support.
B1neutral
O meu ponto forte é a organização.My strength is organisation.
B1neutral
O lugar é a tempo inteiro?Is the position full-time?
B1neutral
Quantos dias de teletrabalho são possíveis por semana?How many days a week of remote working are possible?
B1neutral
Queria falar contigo sobre o projeto.I wanted to talk to you about the project.
B1neutral The imperfeito queria makes a request softer than quero.
Percebo o teu ponto de vista, mas vejo as coisas de outra maneira.I understand your point of view, but I see things differently.
B1neutral
Fico contente que o cliente esteja satisfeito.I’m glad the client is satisfied.
B1neutral After a feeling such as fico contente que comes the conjuntivo.
Disse-me que o relatório ficava pronto na segunda-feira.She told me the report would be ready on Monday.
B1neutral
Quer deixar recado?Would you like to leave a message?
B1polite
Tenho a entrevista na terça-feira de manhã.My interview is on Tuesday morning.
B1neutral
Durante o período experimental, qualquer das partes pode rescindir o contrato.During the probationary period, either party may terminate the contract.
B2formal
Agradecia que me confirmasse a data por escrito.I would be grateful if you could confirm the date in writing.
B2formal
Se a reunião fosse mais curta, teríamos tempo para almoçar.If the meeting were shorter, we’d have time for lunch.
B2neutral
Tendo em conta a minha experiência, esperava um salário um pouco mais alto.Given my experience, I was expecting a somewhat higher salary.
B2formal
O importante é que cumpramos o prazo.The important thing is that we meet the deadline.
B2neutral

What matters here

At work you address people you do not know in the third person, often with a title: o senhor engenheiro, a senhora doutora. Academic titles are very widely used in Portugal.
Among colleagues people switch to tu quickly; if in doubt, wait until it is offered.
A formal email begins with Exma. Senhora or Caro Senhor and ends with Com os melhores cumprimentos.
On the phone you answer with Estou? or Sim?; the caller says Bom dia, daqui fala…

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.

What do you do for a living?
O que é que fazes?
I’m an engineer and I work for a German company.
Sou engenheira e trabalho numa empresa alemã.
I worked in a hotel for three years.
Trabalhei três anos num hotel.
I wanted to talk to you about the project.
Queria falar contigo sobre o projeto.

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Practise

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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.