Day 1: Sounds and first words

Course › Week 1: First words

Welcome to day 1! Over the next 90 days you'll follow Emma, a Canadian who has just landed in São Paulo for three months of work, and the Brazilians she meets. Today she arrives at her new office.

Listen and read

Tap 🔊 and listen to each line before you read the English. Then say the line out loud yourself. You won't understand everything yet, and that's fine: by the end of today you will.

Reading the "sounds like" guides

Every new word in this course comes with a guide written with English sounds. The syllable in CAPITALS is the one you say louder.

When a guide ends a syllable with ng, the vowel is nasal: let air out through your nose, as if you were about to say "song" but stopped before the "g". You don't actually pronounce the g.

Seven sounds that make it Brazilian

Portuguese is written almost exactly as it sounds. These seven rules cover most of the surprises. Tap each word, listen, and repeat it three times.

Hello and goodbye

Bom dia is for the morning, boa tarde from noon until it gets dark, and boa noite after dark, both when you arrive and when you leave. Oi works all day and is what friends say.

How are you?

The question and the answer are the same two words. Only your voice changes: it goes up at the end for the question and down for the answer. Listen: Tudo bem? then Tudo bem.

Please, thank you, sorry

Practice

Say every answer out loud as you go. Hearing your own voice is half of the work today.

Which sound is it? Pick how the word is pronounced.

1. dia (day)DYE-ah DJEE-ah DEE-ah
2. noite (night)NOYT NOY-tay NOY-tchee
3. RioREE-oh RYE-oh HEE-oo
4. Brasilbrah-SILL BRAY-zil brah-ZEEW
5. não (no)nah-oh noh nowng
6. tarde (afternoon)TAR-djee TAR-day TARD
7. sim (yes)sim seeng sime
8. obrigado (thank you)oh-bree-GAY-doh OH-bree-gah-doh oh-bree-GAH-doo

Show all answers

1. dia (day) DJEE-ah
2. noite (night) NOY-tchee
3. Rio HEE-oo
4. Brasil brah-ZEEW
5. não (no) nowng
6. tarde (afternoon) TAR-djee
7. sim (yes) seeng
8. obrigado (thank you) oh-bree-GAH-doo

What do you say?

1. It’s 9 in the morning. You walk into a bakery.Boa tarde! Bom dia! Boa noite!
2. It’s 3 in the afternoon.Boa noite! Bom dia! Boa tarde!
3. It’s 10 at night and you’re leaving a restaurant.Bom dia! Boa tarde! Boa noite!
4. Someone says "Obrigado!" to you.De nada. Desculpa. Por favor.
5. You step on someone’s foot.De nada! Prazer! Desculpa!
6. You need to get past someone on the bus.Com licença. Tudo bem. Tchau.
7. You’re introduced to someone new.De nada! Até logo! Prazer!
8. A friend asks "Tudo bem?" and you feel great.Tudo ótimo! Até amanhã! Por favor!

Show all answers

1. It’s 9 in the morning. You walk into a bakery. Bom dia!
2. It’s 3 in the afternoon. Boa tarde!
3. It’s 10 at night and you’re leaving a restaurant. Boa noite!
4. Someone says "Obrigado!" to you. De nada.
5. You step on someone’s foot. Desculpa!
6. You need to get past someone on the bus. Com licença.
7. You’re introduced to someone new. Prazer!
8. A friend asks "Tudo bem?" and you feel great. Tudo ótimo!

Complete each phrase.

1. Bom ______!Good morning!
2. Boa ______!Good afternoon!
3. Boa ______!Good evening!
4. Tudo ______?How’s it going?
5. Até ______!See you later!
6. Até ______!See you tomorrow!
7. Por ______.Please.
8. De ______.You’re welcome.
9. E ______?And you?
10. Com ______.Excuse me.

Show all answers

1. Bom dia!
2. Boa tarde!
3. Boa noite!
4. Tudo bem?
5. Até logo!
6. Até amanhã!
7. Por favor.
8. De nada.
9. E você?
10. Com licença.

Write it in Portuguese.

1. Hi!______
2. Good morning!______
3. Good night!______
4. How’s it going?______
5. Thank you (you’re a man).______
6. Thank you (you’re a woman).______
7. Bye!______
8. Nice to meet you!______

Show all answers

1. Oi!
2. Bom dia!
3. Boa noite!
4. Tudo bem?
5. Obrigado.
6. Obrigada.
7. Tchau!
8. Prazer!

Put the words in order.

1. All good, and you?______
2. Hi, how’s it going?______
3. Good morning, how’s it going?______
4. Bye, see you tomorrow!______

Show all answers

1. Tudo bem, e você?
2. Oi, tudo bem?
3. Bom dia, tudo bem?
4. Tchau, até amanhã!

Listen and write what you hear.

1. ______Good afternoon!
2. ______Everything’s great, and you?
3. ______See you later!
4. ______Excuse me, please.
5. ______Yes, please.
6. ______No, thank you.

Show all answers

1. Boa tarde!
2. Tudo ótimo, e você?
3. Até logo!
4. Com licença, por favor.
5. Sim, por favor.
6. Não, obrigada.

Speak and write

Say each one out loud first, then open the model answer and compare. There's often more than one good answer.

1. It's morning. Greet a colleague and ask how they are.

   Show a model answer

   Bom dia! Tudo bem?

2. Answer "Tudo bem?", say thank you, and ask the same back.

   Show a model answer

   Tudo bem, obrigado. E você?

3. Someone holds the door for you. Thank them.

   Show a model answer

   Obrigada!

4. You're leaving work. Say goodbye until tomorrow.

   Show a model answer

   Tchau! Até amanhã!

5. Someone offers you a coffee. Accept politely.

   Show a model answer

   Sim, por favor. Obrigado!

Write: on paper or in a notes app, write a four-line conversation between you and Lucas: greet him, ask how he is, answer his question, and say goodbye. Then read it out loud twice.

Flashcards

Spend about ten minutes on today’s words. Mark a card “I know it” only when the answer comes straight away.