Translate Portuguese to English
Portuguese text comes from Brazilian e-commerce sites, Portuguese business correspondence, news from Lisbon and Sao Paulo, Angolan and Mozambican official documents, and personal messages across the Lusophone world. Paste your text above.
Common Portuguese to English translations
| Portuguese | English | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olá | Hello | oh-LAH | ||
| Bom dia | Good morning | bom DEE-ah | ||
| Obrigado/Obrigada | Thank you | oh-bree-GAH-doo / oh-bree-GAH-dah | ||
| Por favor | Please | por fah-VOR | ||
| Quanto custa? | How much is this? | KWAN-too KOOS-tah | ||
| Onde fica o banheiro? | Where is the bathroom? | ON-jee FEE-kah oo bahn-YAY-roo | ||
| Não entendo | I do not understand | now en-TEN-doo | ||
| Pode me ajudar? | Can you help me? | POH-jee mee ah-zhoo-DAR | ||
| Eu queria um café | I would like a coffee | eh-oo keh-REE-ah oom kah-FEH | ||
| A conta, por favor | The bill, please | ah KON-tah por fah-VOR | ||
| Prazer | Nice to meet you | prah-ZEHR | ||
| Tchau | Goodbye | chow | ||
| Preciso de um médico | I need a doctor | preh-SEE-zoo jee oom MEH-jee-koo | ||
| Com licença | Excuse me | kom lee-SEN-sah |
Tips for Portuguese to English translation
Brazilian Portuguese text often uses você (you) where European Portuguese uses tu. Both translate to “you” in English, but the verb conjugation changes. If a translation seems to use inconsistent verb forms, the source may mix these two systems.
Portuguese has a complex past tense system. The pretérito perfeito (simple past) and imperfeito (imperfect) carry different information: eu comi (I ate, completed action) vs. eu comia (I used to eat / I was eating). Both may translate as “I ate” in English, losing the aspectual distinction.
Portuguese uses clitics (unstressed pronouns) that attach to verbs in different positions depending on the sentence type. Me dê (give me), dê-me (give me, formal), não me dê (don't give me). These positional rules do not affect the English translation but can make the Portuguese source text look different from what you might expect.
Lusophone African Portuguese (Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde) has its own vocabulary and expressions influenced by local Bantu and Creole languages. The translator handles standard Portuguese best; heavily regional African Portuguese may produce less precise results.
About the Portuguese language
Portuguese evolved from Galician-Portuguese in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal. It spread globally during the Age of Exploration (15th-16th centuries), reaching Brazil, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Today, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) spans four continents, making Portuguese one of the most geographically dispersed languages.
Brazil dominates the Portuguese-speaking world by population (85% of all Lusophone speakers). Brazilian culture, including music (bossa nova, samba, funk carioca), literature (Paulo Coelho, Clarice Lispector), and football, has given Portuguese a global cultural presence. Portugal itself has a rich literary tradition, including the poet Fernando Pessoa and Nobel laureate Jose Saramago.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Unlimited.
Yes. Both variants are processed correctly.
Yes.
Portuguese and Spanish share Latin roots and about 89% of vocabulary. They are closely related but separate languages.
Good for general understanding. Professional review for legal or medical texts.
à and Õ represent vowels produced with air flowing through the nose. They are essential to Portuguese pronunciation.
Visit our English to Portuguese page.
No.
Standard Portuguese works best. Heavy slang or informal abbreviations may produce less accurate results.
Over 60 pairs including Spanish, French, Italian, and more.
Looking for the reverse? Try English to Portuguese translation.
