Unit 15 · Services and paperworkA2Lesson 5 of 5: Renting a home
Renting a home in European Portuguese
This is the last of 5 lessons in Unit 15, Services and paperwork (Serviços e burocracia), an A2 unit in which you deal with Finanças, the bank, the post office and your landlord: tickets, forms and appointments. You will meet 8 new words, such as a renda (rent), o senhorio (landlord) and o contrato de arrendamento (rental contract), in 10 short sentences you can listen to. By the end you can say things like A conta da luz está muito alta este mês (“The electricity bill is very high this month”). The unit’s grammar notes cover “Às Finanças, aos correios” and “The NIF and Finanças”.
Words in this lesson
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a renda | rentPagar a renda = to pay the rent. |
o senhorioalso a senhoria | landlord |
o contrato de arrendamento | rental contract |
arrendar | to rentFor a flat or a house. People also say alugar. |
a fatura | invoiceIn shops, the receipt is a fatura. You can ask for your NIF on it. |
a luz | electricityIn Portugal a luz (light) also means electricity: a conta da luz. |
a caução | depositThe money you leave with the landlord when you rent a home. |
o comprovativo de morada | proof of addressFor example a utility bill, your rental contract or an atestado de residência from the junta de freguesia. |
Example sentences
- Quanto é a renda?How much is the rent?
- Eu pago a renda no dia oito.I pay the rent on the eighth.For dates, Portuguese says dia + number: no dia oito = on the eighth.
- Eu já paguei a renda deste mês.I've already paid this month's rent.Paguei is the past of pagar: the g becomes gu before e.
- Eu vou assinar o contrato de arrendamento amanhã.I'm going to sign the rental contract tomorrow.
- Nós queremos arrendar um apartamento em Lisboa.We want to rent a flat in Lisbon.Arrendar and alugar both mean to rent a home.
- O senhorio quer dois meses de caução.The landlord wants two months' deposit.A deposit is often counted in months of rent: dois meses de caução.
- A conta da luz está muito alta este mês.The electricity bill is very high this month.A luz is the everyday word for electricity: a conta da luz.
- Eu queria uma fatura com o meu NIF, se faz favor.I'd like a receipt with my tax number, please.In shops, people often just say Eu queria fatura com contribuinte.
- Eu preciso de um comprovativo de morada.I need proof of address.
- Podia enviar-me o contrato por email?Could you send me the contract by email?The pronoun me goes after a verb, with a hyphen: Podia enviar-me…? or Podia-me enviar…?
Grammar notes
The grammar notes for this lesson are on the page for Unit 15: Services and paperwork: