September means regresso às aulas em Portugal. After the long summer holidays, children and teenagers return to school, families get back into their routines, and shops fill with school supplies.
For Portuguese learners, this is also a great opportunity to learn vocabulary that you will hear in everyday Portuguese conversations.
In this guide, we’ll look at school vocabulary, stationery, people and places at school, useful expressions and location words – all in European Portuguese.
- 🎒 O Regresso às Aulas
- ✏️ Material Escolar
- 🇵🇹 A note about European Portuguese
- 🏫 Na Escola
- 👩🏫 Pessoas na Escola
- 📍 Onde Está? Location Vocabulary in Portuguese
- 🎥 Learn with a Story: Onde Está o Lápis?
- 📚 Other Useful School Vocabulary
- 🗣️ Useful Expressions for Portuguese Learners
- 🇵🇹 A Little Note About School in Portugal
🎒 O Regresso às Aulas
The expression regresso às aulas literally means “return to classes” and is the expression commonly used in Portugal for the return to school after the summer holidays.
You might see advertisements for:
- o regresso às aulas – back to school
- material escolar – school supplies
- mochilas – school bags
- cadernos – notebooks
- canetas – pens
- lápis – pencils
Watch the following short videos for the pronunciation of school and office supplies in European Portuguese.
September is a particularly busy time for families because there is usually quite a lot to organise before the new school year begins.
Useful expressions
As aulas começam em setembro.
Classes start in September.
As aulas estão quase a começar.
Classes are almost starting.
Tenho de comprar material escolar.
I have to buy school supplies.
Já tenho a mochila.
I already have the school bag.
Ainda me falta comprar um caderno.
I still need to buy a notebook.
That last expression, ainda me falta…, would actually be a lovely little piece of natural Portuguese to highlight.
✏️ Material Escolar
Let’s start with some of the things you might find inside a Portuguese student’s school bag.
| Português | English |
|---|---|
| o lápis | pencil |
| a caneta | pen |
| a borracha | rubber/eraser |
| o afia-lápis | pencil sharpener |
| a régua | ruler |
| o marcador | highlighter |
| o marcador de texto | highlighter |
| o lápis de cor | coloured pencil |
| a caneta de feltro | felt-tip pen |
| o caderno | notebook |
| o dossier | folder / binder |
| a folha | sheet of paper |
| a tesoura | scissors |
| a cola | glue |
| o estojo | pencil case |
| a mochila | rucksack/school bag/backpack |
🇵🇹 A note about European Portuguese
In Portugal, o estojo is the pencil case you’ll hear children talking about at school.
And don’t confuse:
o lápis → pencil
o lápis de cor → coloured pencil
o lápis de cera → crayon
🏫 Na Escola
Of course, school isn’t just about stationery. Here are some useful words for talking about the school itself.
| Português | English |
|---|---|
| a escola | school |
| a sala de aula | classroom |
| a sala | classroom/room |
| a biblioteca | library |
| o recreio | playground/break |
| o pátio | courtyard |
| o ginásio | gym/sports hall |
| o refeitório | dining hall |
| a cantina | canteen |
| a casa de banho | toilet |
| o corredor | corridor |
| as escadas | stairs |
One particularly useful word is o recreio.
Depending on context, it can refer to break time or the playground.
For example:
As crianças estão no recreio.
The children are in the playground.
O recreio começa às dez e meia.
Break starts at half past ten.
👩🏫 Pessoas na Escola
You will also hear these words when talking about people at school:
- o aluno / a aluna – student/pupil
- o professor / a professora – teacher
- o diretor / a diretora – headteacher / principal
- o colega / a colega – classmate/colleague
- o funcionário / a funcionária – member of staff
- o auxiliar / a auxiliar – teaching assistant/school support staff
And don’t forget:
a turma – class, but more specifically, the people in your class
In European Portuguese, turma is extremely useful.
A minha turma tem vinte alunos.
My class has twenty students.
A minha filha está numa turma nova.
My daughter is in a new class.
📍 Onde Está? Location Vocabulary in Portuguese
When we’re talking about things in a classroom, we constantly need to say where things are.
Here are some of the most useful expressions:
| Português | English |
|---|---|
| aqui | here |
| ali | there |
| aí | there, near you |
| lá | over there |
| em cima | on top / above |
| em baixo | underneath / below |
| ao lado | beside / next to |
| à frente | in front |
| atrás | behind |
| à esquerda | on the left |
| à direita | on the right |
| dentro | inside |
| fora | outside |
| perto | near |
| longe | far |
Let’s put them into sentences:
O lápis está aqui.
The pencil is here.
A mochila está ali.
The school bag is there.
O caderno está em cima da mesa.
The notebook is on the desk.
A borracha está ao lado do lápis.
The rubber is next to the pencil.
A caneta está dentro do estojo.
The pen is inside the pencil case.
A mochila está debaixo da cadeira.
The school bag is underneath the chair.
A biblioteca fica à esquerda.
The library is on the left.
A sala de aula fica ao lado da biblioteca.
The classroom is next to the library.
🎥 Learn with a Story: Onde Está o Lápis?
Ready to practise this vocabulary in context?
In this A2 listening lesson, we’ll follow a simple classroom situation where someone is trying to find their school supplies.
You’ll hear lots of useful European Portuguese expressions such as:
aqui, ali, em cima, debaixo, ao lado, à esquerda, à direita, dentro e fora.
Instead of simply memorising a list of location words, you’ll hear them repeated naturally as we work out onde estão as coisas.
[VIDEO Comming soon]
📚 Other Useful School Vocabulary
As you progress beyond beginner Portuguese, you’ll encounter plenty of other school-related vocabulary.
Subjects
- Português – Portuguese
- Matemática – Mathematics
- História – History
- Geografia – Geography
- Ciências – Science
- Inglês – English
- Educação Física – Physical Education
- Música – Music
- Artes – Art
Everyday school words
- o horário – timetable
- o intervalo – break
- os trabalhos de casa – homework
- o teste – test
- a ficha – worksheet/exercise sheet
- o trabalho – assignment/piece of work
- o trabalho para casa (TPC) – homework
- a nota – mark/grade
- o recreio – break/playground
- as férias – holidays
One thing worth knowing is that ficha is particularly useful in Portugal.
A teacher might say:
“Vamos fazer uma ficha.”
This means something along the lines of “We’re going to do a worksheet.”
🗣️ Useful Expressions for Portuguese Learners
Here are some expressions you may actually hear in a Portuguese classroom:
Abre o caderno.
Open your notebook.
Fecha o livro.
Close the book.
Pega no lápis.
Pick up your pencil.
Onde está a minha caneta?
Where is my pen?
Está em cima da mesa.
It’s on the desk.
Está dentro do estojo.
It’s inside the pencil case.
Não está aqui.
It’s not here.
Está ali!
It’s there!
Posso ir ao recreio?
Can I go to the playground?
Não te esqueças dos trabalhos de casa.
Don’t forget your homework.
🇵🇹 A Little Note About School in Portugal
The Portuguese school year is called o ano letivo.
After the summer holidays, you’ll hear people talking about:
o início do ano letivo – the beginning of the school year
and
o regresso às aulas – the return to school.
The return to school is a noticeable part of September in Portugal. Shops advertise school supplies, families organise new timetables, and children get ready to return to their classes and friends.
For language learners, it’s a great reminder that learning Portuguese isn’t only about textbook vocabulary. Everyday life gives us endless opportunities to learn useful words and expressions.