A great way to practice directions in Portuguese is to give them! If you already have or are going to move here, more often than not, you’ll find yourself having to explain in Portuguese where your address is – to lost couriers from out of town. Granted, this happens more if you live in a rural area, but not always. In any case, this stress is compounded because the interaction is sudden and over The Phone!!!
- The Lost Courier
- Locate the Courier
- Most Common Verbs Used in Directions in Portuguese
- More Directional Vocabulary and Sentences
- Some ordinals used in Directions in Portuguese
- The next examples are in the Imperative Tense
- Subjunctive Directions in Portuguese
- Asking for Directions in Portuguese?
- Simple Positioning Vocabulary
Try to use these phone situations as motivation boosters instead of moments of dread.
You can prepare for this in advance, practice, practice and practice, and even better, you can have it written down somewhere within arm’s reach for when you get stuck.
I’m here to help write a list of what to say and what could be asked. So I’ve made a video with all this useful information for you! (All the sentences below are in it and more)
The Lost Courier
Bom Dia, tenho uma entrega para a Sra. Marlene Fonseca.
Good Morning, I have a delivery for Mrs Marelene Fonseca.
Onde fica a Rua do Alecrim?
Where is Alecrim Street?
Não encontro a morada.
I can’t find the address.
Locate the Courier
Now, let’s look at things you can ask to figure out where they are and then explain the directions in Portuguese.
Onde está agora?
Where are you now?
O que vê?
What do you see?
De que lado da estrada está?
What side of the road are you on?
De que lado da rua está?
What side of the street are you on?
Em que direção está a ir?
What direction are you going in?
Most Common Verbs Used in Directions in Portuguese
These examples are in the Imperative form (commonly called the command Tense. More info on the Imperativo in Portuguese.
Ir (to go) – Vá / Vai / Vão
Seguir (to follow) – Siga / Segue / Sigam
Continuar (to continue) – Continue / Continua / Continuem
Virar (to turn) – Vire / Vira / Virem
Subir (to go up) – Suba / Sobe / Subam
Descer (to go down) – Desça / Desce / Desçam
Atravessar (to cross) – Atravesse/ Atravessa / Atravessem
Passar (to pass) – Passe / Passa / Passem
More Directional Vocabulary and Sentences
Tem de ir em frente (you must go straight ahead)
Siga em frente (Follow straight ahead)
Tem de continuar em frente (you have to continue straight ahead/in front)
Continue em frente (continue straight ahead/in front)
Esquerda/direita (left/right)Tem de virar à esquerda (you have to turn to the left)
Tem de virar à direita (you have to turn to the right)
Vire à direita (turn right)
Vire à esquerda (turn left)
Some ordinals used in Directions in Portuguese
primeira (first)
segunda (second)
terceira (third) quarta (fourth)
The next examples are in the Imperative Tense
Vire na primeira à esquerda (Turn on the first left)
Vire na segunda à direita (turn on the second right)
Na rotunda, saia na primeira saída (at the roundabout, take the first exit)
Na rotunda saia na terceira saída (at the roundabout, take the third exit)
Suba a rua até (go up the street until)
Suba a estrada até (go up the road until)
Desça a rua até.. (go down the street until..)
Desça a estrada até... (go down the road until…)
Subjunctive Directions in Portuguese
“When you see A or B”
If you need to say “when you see A or B” it is
“Quando vir”
vir here, is the Future Subjunctive of “ver” and not the infinitive “to come”
Quando vir o café “O João”, vire à esquerda. (When you see the cafe “O João”, turn left)
Alternatively, “when you arrive at”
Quando chegar a Santa Margarida, ligue-me outra vez (When you arrive at Sta. Margarida, call me again)
Let’s look at more directional and positioning sentences
Vá até (go until)
Tem de ir até (you have to go until)
Logo a seguir (right after/straight away)
Está longe (you are far)
Está perto (you are near)
É perto (it is near)
É longe (it is far)
Entre (between)
Ao lado (next to/beside)
Cortar pela direita (cut to the right)
Cortar pela esquerda (cut to the left)
Atravessar a estrada (cross the road)
Passar pela ponte (pass by/over the bridge)
Asking for Directions in Portuguese?
Now let’s look at some standard expressions you need when you have to ask for directions in Portugal.
Estou perdido (I’m lost – male)
Estou perdida (I’m lost – female)
Perdi-me no caminho (I lost my way/ I got lost on the way)
Desculpe, onde fica a praia? (Excuse me, where is the beach?)
Desculpe, sabe dizer-me onde fica a farmácia? (Excuse me, do you know where the Pharmacy is?)
Desculpe, como vou para a cidade? (Excuse me, how to I go/get to the city?)
Desculpe, sabe dizer-me se o banco fica perto daqui? (Excuse me, do you know if the bank is nearby?
Dá para ir a pé? (Can one go on foot/can I walk there?)
Simple Positioning Vocabulary
o local = the place
o rua = the street
a estrada = the road
a avenida = the avenue
a praça = the square
o largo = the open square
o quarteirão = the block
o bairro = the neighbourhood
o jardim = the garden
o semáforo = the traffic lights
a curva = the bend
a esquina = the corner
o cruzamento = the crossroads
a rotunda = the roundabout
o passeio = the footpath
a passadeira = the zebra crossing/crosswalk
o caminho = the way/the path
Below is another video I made featuring a fun exercise you can do anywhere with a mobile phone and internet data. Practice your directions with Google Maps.
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