Practice

Core Vocabulary

Vocabulário Essencial — A1 & A2

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Key Concept

A comprehensive European Portuguese vocabulary covering CEFR levels A1 and A2. Over 500 words across 25 topics — from greetings and family to travel, health, and work. Portuguese nouns have gender, so learn each word with its article (o/a).

Key Phrase — Try saying it!

Muito prazer.

1. Greetings & Basic Phrases (Saudações e Frases Básicas)

Hello
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good night / Good evening
Goodbye (see you later)
See you tomorrow
/ Bye / Farewell
How are you? (formal)
How are you? (informal)
obrigado/aI'm well, thank you
Please
/ Thank you (m/f speaker)
You're welcome
Excuse me / Sorry (formal)
Excuse me (to pass)
/ Yes / No

2. Numbers & Ordinals (Números e Ordinais)

0, 1, 2, 3
4, 5, 6
7, 8, 9
10, 11, 12
13, 14, 15
16, 17
18, 19
20, 30, 40
50, 60
70, 80, 90
/ 100 (exact / + more)
primeiro, terceiro1st, 2nd, 3rd

3. Days of the Week (Dias da Semana)

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
today
tomorrow
yesterday
the week
the weekend

4. Months (Meses)

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

5. Pronouns & Possessives (Pronomes e Possessivos)

I
you (informal, singular)
you (formal/neutral, singular)
/ he / she
we
you (plural)
/ they (m) / they (f)
/ me (obj) / me (after prep)
/ you (obj/prep, informal)
him/her (indirect object)
us (object)
/ my (m/f)
/ your (m/f, informal)
/ his/her/your (formal)
/ our (m/f)

6. Question Words (Palavras Interrogativas)

Who?
/ What?
Where?
When?
/ Why?
How?
How much?
How many?
/ Quais?Which (sg/pl)?

7. Family (Família)

family
father
mother
/ son / daughter
/ brother / sister
/ grandfather / grandmother
/ uncle / aunt
/ cousin (m/f)
husband
/ wife
baby
o/a amigo/afriend (m/f)

8. Colours (Cores)

white
black
red
blue
green
yellow
orange
pink
purple
grey
brown
golden

9. Body Parts (Partes do Corpo)

head
/ face
eyes
ears
nose
mouth
teeth
neck
shoulder
arm
hand
fingers
chest
stomach
leg
foot

10. Food & Drink (Comida e Bebida)

bread
milk
cheese
egg
meat
fish
chicken
rice
/ pasta
soup
salad
fruit
apple
orange
banana
vegetables
potato
tomato
olive oil
coffee
tea
water
juice(EU Pt)
wine
beer

11. Clothing (Roupa)

clothing
shirt
sweater / jumper(EU Pt)
trousers / pants
dress
skirt
coat / jacket
shoes
socks / stockings
hat
glasses
belt

12. The House (A Casa)

house
apartment
living room
kitchen
bedroom
banhobathroom(EU Pt)
window
door
sofa
bed
table
chair
wardrobe / cupboard
refrigerator(EU Pt)
stove

13. The City (A Cidade)

street
square / plaza
shop
supermarket
bank
hospital
pharmacy
school
university
station
airport
restaurant
café / coffee shop
museum
church
park

14. Essential Verbs A1 (Verbos Essenciais)

to be (permanent)
to be (temporary/state)
to have
to go
to come
to do / make
to say / tell
to see
to know (fact)
to be able to / can
to want
to speak / talk
to eat
to drink
to sleep
to work
/ to live (reside)
to study
to buy
to like
to need
to be called / named
to open
to close
to give
to pay
to ask for / order
to help
to hear / listen

15. Common Adjectives A1 (Adjetivos Comuns)

/ good (m/f)
/ bad (m/f)
big / large
small
new / young
old
pretty / beautiful
ugly
easy
difficult
fast
slow
hot
cold
expensive
cheap
open
closed
tired
/ happy
sad

16. Time Expressions (Expressões de Tempo)

the hour / time
the minute
the second
in the morning
in the afternoon
in the evening/night
now
after / later
before
always
never
vezessometimes
early
late
What time is it?
It's … o'clock

17. Travel & Transport (Viagens e Transportes)

ticket
journey / trip
train(EU Pt)
bus(EU Pt)
underground / metro
taxi
airplane
boat
bus stop(EU Pt)
departure
arrival
reservation
hotel
guesthouse / B&B
luggage
passport
border
map
virar esquerda/direitaturn left / right
frentestraight ahead

18. Health (Saúde)

health
/ doctor (m/f)
nurse (m/f)
doctor's appointment
pill / tablet(EU Pt)
medication
prescription
pain
fever
cough
cold (illness)(EU Pt)
allergy
health insurance
to hurt / ache
Dói-me My … hurts(EU Pt)

19. Work & Career (Trabalho e Carreira)

/ job / work
company
/ boss
colleague
office
meeting
schedule / timetable
salary
interview
to resign / be fired
to hire
report
task
deadline

20. Shopping (Compras)

comercialshopping centre(EU Pt)
shop window(EU Pt)
o/a customer
o/a vendedor/asalesperson
price
discount
offer / deal
to pay cash
cartãoto pay by card
change (money)
invoice / receipt(EU Pt)
to return (an item)
queue(EU Pt)
How much does it cost?

21. Weather (Tempo)

the weather
sun
rain
snow
wind
cloud
fog
storm
/ hot / cold
humid
dry
It's sunny.
chover.It's raining.(EU Pt)
What's the weather like?

22. Education (Educação)

lesson / class
/ teacher (m/f)
/ student (m/f)
book
notebook
pen
pencil
backpack
library
exam
grade / mark
to learn
to write
to read
to answer
to ask (a question)

23. Emotions & Feelings (Emoções e Sentimentos)

cheerful / joyful
excited / lively
worried
scared
raivaangry
embarrassed
proud
nostalgic / missing sth(uniquely Portuguese)
bored / annoyed(EU Pt)
surprised
nervous
safe / secure / confident

24. Key Verbs A2 (Verbos-Chave)

to need
to manage / succeed / can
to wait / hope
lembrar-se to remember
esquecer-se to forget
to know (person/place)
to find / meet
to lose / miss (bus etc.)
to bring
to leave (sth) / let
to change
to continue
/ to finish / end
to begin / start
to prefer
to seem / look like
to happen
to explain
/ to understand(EU uses perceber)
to decide
to try
to receive
/ to send

25. Grammar Words & Connectors (Palavras Gramaticais)

already / now
still / yet
also / too
neither / not either
because
but
or
if
when (conj.)
although
therefore / so
there is/are; ago (time)
/ … years / days ago
+ infinitivepresent continuous(EU Pt)
+ particípio passadopresent perfect
+ infinitivenear future (going to)

Examples

Hello! Good morning, how are you?
I'm well, thank you.
Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?
Sorry, I don't understand.
My father's name is António.
My mother is a teacher.
I have two brothers and one sister.
She is married and has three children.
What time is it? It's ten o'clock.
The blue shirt is pretty.
The train leaves at nine in the morning.
Dói-me
My head hurts.
How much does this jacket cost?
chover, guarda-chuva.
It's raining, I need an umbrella.
I want a coffee and bread with cheese.
fica
The restaurant is on the square.
I need to buy a train ticket.
The class starts at eight in the morning.
I'm tired, but happy.
conseguiu
He managed to find the hotel.
My family is big.
My parents live in Porto.
What's the weather like today?
It's sunny and it's hot.
I need to go to the supermarket.
cartão,
I'll pay by card, please.
Lembro-me
I remember my grandmother every day.
Prefiro viajar
I prefer to travel by train.
I'm still learning Portuguese.
conhecê-lo.
Very pleased to meet you.
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