Bica

Unit 10 of 16A15 lessons · 40 words

Free time and plans in European Portuguese

Tempos livres

Talk about hobbies and sport, invite friends out and make plans. This is an A1 unit of the Bica course, in the Portuguese spoken in Portugal: below are all its words, example sentences you can listen to, and the grammar notes.

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Words and phrases

1. Hobbies

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PortugueseEnglish
ler
to readLeio, lês, lê: I read, you read, he/she reads.
ouvir música
to listen to music
ver televisão
to watch TVIn Portugal you "see" television: ver televisão.
cozinhar
to cook
nadar
to swim
correr
to run
dançar
to dance
viajar
to travel

2. Sport

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PortugueseEnglish
o desporto
sport
o futebol
football
jogar
to playFor games and sports: jogar futebol.
a equipa
team
o jogo
game
o ginásio
gym
o ténis
tennis
o estádio
stadium

3. Going out

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PortugueseEnglish
a festa
party
sair
to go out
jantar fora
to eat out
hoje à noitealso esta noite, logo à noite
tonight
o filme
film
o cinema
cinema
o teatro
theatre
o concerto
concert

4. Invitations

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PortugueseEnglish
combinado
dealSaid to confirm a plan: Às oito? Combinado!
fixe
coolThe everyday Portuguese word for "cool": Que fixe!
não possoalso eu não posso
I can't
talvez
maybe
ocupadoalso ocupada
busy
que giro
how cute
boa ideia
good idea
claro
of course

5. Making plans

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PortugueseEnglish
quando
when
a que horas
at what time
para a semanaalso na próxima semana, na semana que vem
next weekVery common in Portugal. Para o ano means "next year".
encontramo-nosalso nós encontramo-nos
we meetEncontramos + nos becomes encontramo-nos: the s drops.
ficar em casa
to stay at home
mais tarde
later
juntosalso juntas
together
os planos
plans

Example sentences

  • Eu gosto de ler.I like reading.Gostar de + infinitive: to like doing something.
  • Tu gostas de dançar?Do you like dancing?
  • O meu pai adora cozinhar.My father loves cooking.
  • Eu gosto muito de desporto.I really like sport.
  • Tu jogas futebol?Do you play football?
  • Qual é a tua equipa?What's your team?
  • Vamos ao cinema?Shall we go to the cinema?Vamos…? is a friendly way to suggest something.
  • Hoje à noite eu vou sair com amigos.Tonight I'm going out with friends.
  • Tu queres ver um filme?Do you want to watch a film?
  • Tu queres ir à praia amanhã?Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow?A + a = à: ir à praia.
  • Sim, boa ideia!Yes, good idea!
  • Combinado! Até amanhã.It's a deal! See you tomorrow.
  • Quando é que nós vamos à praia?When are we going to the beach?
  • A que horas é o jantar?What time is dinner?
  • Tu tens planos para o fim de semana?Do you have plans for the weekend?

Every lesson page has all of its sentences: Hobbies · Sport · Going out · Invitations · Making plans

Unit notes

Gostar de + infinitive

To talk about activities you like, put the verb straight after gostar de: Eu gosto de ler. ("I like reading.") Gostas de dançar?

The same works with adoro and prefiro, but without de: Eu adoro viajar. Eu prefiro ficar em casa.

  • Eu gosto de ouvir música.I like listening to music.
  • A Catarina adora nadar.Catarina loves swimming.

Plans: vou + infinitive

The easiest way to talk about the future is ir + infinitive, just like "going to" in English: Eu vou jantar fora. ("I'm going to eat out.") Nós vamos ver um filme.

For fixed plans, the present tense works too: Amanhã jogo ténis. Nós falamos mais tarde.

Useful time words: hoje à noite (tonight), amanhã (tomorrow), no sábado (on Saturday), para a semana (next week).

  • No sábado vamos à praia.On Saturday we're going to the beach.
  • Hoje à noite vou sair com amigos.Tonight I'm going out with friends.

Invitations: Queres…? Vamos…?

To invite a friend, ask Queres…? ("Do you want to…?") or Vamos…? ("Shall we…?"): Queres ir ao cinema? Vamos à praia?

To say yes: Boa ideia! Claro que sim! Once you agree on a time: Combinado! ("Deal!") To say no politely: Desculpa, hoje não posso.

To agree on where to meet, ask Onde nos encontramos? After onde, the pronoun nos comes before the verb. In a statement it goes after, with a hyphen: Encontramo-nos às oito.

  • Queres jantar comigo?Do you want to have dinner with me?
  • Às oito? Combinado!At eight? Deal!

Fixe and giro

Fixe is the everyday Portuguese word for "cool" or "great". It is the same for masculine and feminine: um filme fixe, uma festa fixe. Que fixe! means "How cool!"

Giro means cute, pretty or fun, and it agrees with the noun: um vestido giro, uma saia gira. Say Que giro! when you like something you see.

  • Que fixe! Vamos!Cool! Let's go!
  • O teu casaco é muito giro.Your coat is really nice.

Sport in Portugal

Sport is o desporto and a team is a equipa. You play games and sports with jogar: jogar futebol, jogar ténis. A gym is o ginásio.

O futebol is the national passion. Most people support one of the three big clubs, and they say it with ser de: Eu sou do Benfica. És do Sporting ou do Porto?

  • Jogas futebol?Do you play football?
  • O jogo é às oito.The game is at eight.