Kilo Lingo
Portuguese grammar Part of Chapter 3

CEFR A1

7 min read

Test yourself (25 questions)

Ordering and Paying in Brazilian Portuguese: Eu Queria um Café

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

Order with ... and the thing you want, ask the price with ?, and finish with , . Those three cover every , lanchonete and restaurant in Brazil:

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake.

  • , . - I'd like a coffee, please.
  • ? - How much is it?

This page teaches Brazilian Portuguese and labels where differs.

The whole exchange on one screen

You want toPortugueseNote
order (polite) .I'd like
order (at table) .I'll have
order (counter) .casual, Brazil only
ask the price ?how much is it?
hear the price .R$ 8,50
ask for the bill , .the bill, please
say how you pay .by card
tip .keep the change

Add to any of them. (a man speaking) or (a woman speaking) closes the exchange.

Asking for something: eu queria, vou querer

Four everyday ways to ask, from casual to polite:

CasualPolite
  1. Me vê um café.give me (counter)
  2. Vou querer um café.I’ll have (table)
  3. Pode me trazer um café?can you bring me
  4. Eu queria um café.I’d like (anywhere)
WherePortugueseEnglish
anywhere .I'd like a coffee.
at the table .I'll have a juice.
at the counter .Give me a cheese bread.
to the waiter ?Can you bring me a glass?

is literally "I wanted", but it is how Portuguese says "I'd like". (I want) is fine in Brazil, but with no it can sound abrupt to a stranger:

  • , . - A coffee, please. (fine, a little direct)

is pure Brazilian counter talk. Standard European Portuguese does not start a sentence with (it puts the after the verb), so in Lisbon say ... instead.

Um or uma

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?

What you order takes (masculine) or (feminine). Learn each word with its article:

  • a coffee a coffee
  • a juice a juice
  • a water a water
  • a beer a beer
MasculineFeminine

A cup or glass of something takes , like English "of":

  • - a cup of coffee
  • - a glass of water

At the padaria

The is the Brazilian bakery-: coffee at the counter, bread for breakfast, snacks all day. The person behind the counter usually speaks first.

Inside a bakery with a striped awning: a customer holding out a coin stands at the counter; behind it a smiling baker in a chef's hat; on the counter a big loaf of bread, a steaming cup of coffee and a till, with more bread on the shelves behind.
  1. .
  2. ?

The customer: me vê um pão (a roll, please). The baker: pois não? (what can I get you?). O pão (the bread), o café (the coffee), o caixa (the till).

WhoPortugueseEnglish
attendant! ?Morning! What can I get you?
you! .Morning! A white coffee.
attendant ?Anything else?
you .A cheese bread too.
attendant ?To eat in or take away?
you . , .Take away. That's all.

? sounds like "well, no?" but means "yes, how can I help?". , literally "for the journey", is takeaway; in speech is usually shortened to .

On the counter

PortugueseWhat it is
cafezinhosmall strong black coffee, often sweet
milky coffee, the breakfast standard
crusty white roll, the everyday bread
cheese bread ball from Minas Gerais
hot ham and cheese toastie
coxinhateardrop-shaped chicken croquette

A coxinha is a salgado, one of the savoury snacks in the glass case. A fresh juice may come sweetened, so you may hear:

  • ? - With sugar or without?

Quanto custa? Prices in reais

one thingmore than oneWhat do the colours mean?

The verb agrees with what you are pricing:

PricingPortugueseEnglish
one thing ?How much is the juice?
several ?How much are the rolls?
the total ?How much is it?
the total ?How much does it come to?

The answer often skips the verb: . For a total you will also hear . - That comes to twenty .

Reais and centavos

one realtwo and upWhat do the colours mean?

Brazil's currency is the , plural , written R$. One hundred make a .

WrittenSaidNote
R$ 1,00 singular
R$ 2,00 , not
R$ 0,50 under a real
R$ 8,50 e joins the two
R$ 21,00 um, not

Brazil writes a comma where English writes a decimal point, and R$ goes before the number. is masculine, so the numbers take their masculine forms: , . At a till people often drop the word : .

is expensive and cheap:

  • ! - That's expensive!

Paying: a conta, o cartão, o troco

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?

In a restaurant, catch the waiter's eye and ask:

  • , . - The bill, please.
  • ? - Can you bring the bill?
  • ? - Can you close the bill? (very Brazilian)
Inside a cafe: a woman with long hair and a bow and a man with a moustache sit at a round white table with a blue cup and a yellow cup of coffee and a green menu standing between them; a waiter, a man with a moustache, a bow tie and an apron, stands at the side writing on a notepad.
  1. , .

The customer asks: a conta, por favor (the bill, please). O garçom (the waiter), o cardápio (the menu), as xícaras (the cups).

A waiter is in Brazil and in . Restaurant bills often include an optional 10 per cent service charge, so check before tipping again. In a you usually pay at , the till, on the way out.

Card, cash or Pix

masculineWhat do the colours mean?
HowPortugueseEnglish
card .I'll pay by card.
cash .I'll pay in cash.
Pix Pix.I'll pay by Pix.
you hearDébito crédito?Debit or credit?
you ask ?Do you take cards?

Card and Pix take ; cash usually takes plain (casual Brazilian also says ). Débito crédito? comes almost every time, because one Brazilian card often does both. Answer in one word: Crédito.

is the change you get back. To leave it as a tip:

  • . - Keep the change.

Where are you from? Brasil, Portugal and português

A foreign accent at the counter often starts a short chat:

WhoPortugueseEnglish
attendant ?Are you Brazilian?
you, .No, I'm English.
attendant ?Where are you from?
you . .I'm from England. From London.
you .I speak a little Portuguese.
attendant !You speak very well!

Brasil takes the article, Portugal does not

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?
CountryFromIn

takes an article, so and merge with it. So does in Brazil, though often says . takes no article anywhere, and neither do most cities:

  • . - I'm from .
  • . - She lives in London.

Nationality words

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?
ManWomanEnglish
Brazilian
inglesaEnglish
Portuguese

A woman says inglesa; a man says . The masculine loses its accent when -a is added. Nationalities and languages take a small letter: is both the language and a Portuguese man.

A café exchange, start to finish

Lunchtime at a lanchonete, one man, paying in cash:

WhoPortugueseEnglish
waiter! ?Afternoon! What will it be?
you .I'll have a toastie.
waiter ?And to drink?
you , .Orange juice, no sugar.
waiter , ?You're not from here, are you?
you, . .No, I'm English. I speak a bit.
you! , .Thanks! The bill, please.
waiter .That's twenty-seven .
you . , .Cash. Here's thirty.
you .Keep the change.

Brazil and Portugal: different words

BrazilPortugalEnglish
menu
juice
breakfast
waiter
currency

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
is masculine
real the plural is
R$ 8.50R$ 8,50Brazil writes a comma
. . takes o
do . . takes no article
. .nationalities are lowercase

What to do next

  1. Order your next coffee in your head: , .
  2. Read three prices aloud from a receipt, with and .
  3. Do the drill below, then continue in the Portuguese course.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

Which article goes in front of each word: um or uma?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Complete the story

0/5

Choose the right word for each gap.

At the padaria

Eu queria café, por favor. Quanto os pães de queijo? São dois . Vou pagar cartão. Obrigado! Ah, eu sou Brasil, sim.

Gap 1 of 5

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake.

Pick the right one

0/4

You are in a Brazilian padaria. Tap the correct Portuguese.

  1. How much is the cheese bread?

  2. R$ 21,00, said aloud

  3. Keep the change.

  4. I'm from Brazil.

Matching

0/6

Match each Portuguese word to its English.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you order politely in Brazilian Portuguese?
Say ... plus the thing and : , . is literally I wanted, and it works like English I'd like. At a restaurant table Vou ... (I'll have...) is the most natural choice, and at a counter Me ..., literally see me a..., is the casual everyday version.
How do you ask for the bill in Brazil?
Say A , or Pode a ? Brazilians also say Pode a ?, can you close the bill? In most restaurants the waiter brings the bill and a card machine to the table. Many restaurant bills already include an optional 10 per cent service charge.
How do you say prices in ?
Say the , then e, then the : R$ 8,50 is . One real is um real; two or more are : . Brazil writes a comma where English writes a decimal point. At a till people often drop the altogether: .
What is Pix in Brazil?
Pix is Brazil's instant payment system, run by the central bank. You pay by scanning a QR code or typing a key, and the money arrives in seconds. It is everywhere, from street stalls to taxis, but it usually needs a Brazilian bank account, so visitors mostly pay by card or cash.
Is ordering different in ?
The polite order is the same: , works in Lisbon too. Some words change: the menu is a in Brazil and an in , juice is in Brazil and in , and breakfast is in Brazil and in . pays in euros.