🇵🇹 Lisbon · Portuguese
Learn European Portuguese in Lisbon
Choose your first conversation
European Portuguese swallows its vowels and keeps its own words — a bica, not a cafezinho; «se faz favor», a polite please common at the counter — though «por favor» works too. João's café teaches the Lisbon variant on its own terms, side by side with our Brazilian scenes so you hear exactly where the two Portugals part ways.
Boa tarde! Uma bica?
How Lisbon actually talks
What you'll pick up
- The closed Lisbon vowels and consonant clusters Brazilian-tuned ears miss
- European vocabulary: a bica, an imperial (a «fino» in Porto), «está-se bem»
- European forms («tu fazes», the clitic placement) coached without dogma — Brazilian answers still count
Where you'll practise in Lisbon
82 missions across 9 scenes and 1 guided tour. Each mission is a real errand with a goal, a person who talks back, and a debrief afterwards in your own language.
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Aeroporto do Tejo — balcão Voo Atlântico balcão de check-in
Rui, Check-in and gate agent for Voo Atlântico at Aeroporto do Tejo, Lisbon · 8 missions · A1–C1
- Check in for your flight A1 — Hand over your passport, pick a seat, get your boarding pass.
- Deal with an overweight bag A2 — Your bag's too heavy — pay the fee or repack, then answer two quick security questions.
- Sit together B1 — Check in, ask for the seat next to your friend, handle the snag, add a bag, read your pass back.
+ 5 more at this scene
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Cerâmica Chuva Miúda atelier de cerâmica
Belmira, Workshop foreman at a small azulejo and ceramics atelier in Marvila, Lisbon · 8 missions · A1–C1
- É o meu primeiro dia A1 — Name, first day, where does the bag go. The four sentences that start any job.
- As perguntas do primeiro dia A2 — Hours, lunch, the toilet, and who to call if you're sick. Ask now, not in week three.
- A primeira tarefa B1 — She shows it once. Ask about the bit you missed, say the steps back, and ask for what you still need.
+ 5 more at this scene
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Barbearia do Nuno barbearia
Nuno, Barber-owner of a small barbearia in Lisbon · 10 missions · A1–C1
- Your weekend A1 — While cutting your hair, Nuno asks about your weekend. Tell him three tiny simple facts.
- Book an appointment A1 — No slot today. Say a simple day that works for you.
- Get to know Nuno A2 — While he cuts your hair, ask Nuno how long he's had the shop and where he learned to be a barber.
+ 7 more at this scene
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Explore all 9 scenes
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Pastelaria do João pastelaria
João, Owner of a Lisbon pastelaria · 10 missions · A1–C1
- Not my coffee A1 — A tall milky galão arrived instead of the little bica you asked for. Put it right with João, in a few short words.
- Just a coffee A1 — Order one bica at the pastelaria counter and pay. The gentlest first step.
- Ask about João A2 — It's quiet. Ask João what he likes most about the pastelaria, and what he does on a day off.
+ 7 more at this scene
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CTT – Loja da Baixa loja dos CTT
Graça, Clerk at a CTT post-office counter in Lisbon · 10 missions · A1–C1
- Need a bigger box A1 — Your parcel doesn't fit the envelope you brought. Say so and buy a bigger box.
- Come back tomorrow A1 — The queue is long. Tell Graça a simple time you'll come back.
- The missed delivery A2 — You got a notice that a delivery was missed because you weren't home. Show it to Graça and collect your parcel.
+ 7 more at this scene
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Mercearia Flor da Graça mercearia
Conceição, Owner of an old-fashioned corner grocery (mercearia) in the Graça district of Lisbon · 9 missions · A1–C1
- What you bought A1 — While weighing your order, Conceição asks what you bought yesterday. Name three tiny simple things.
- A loaf of bread A1 — Your very first Portuguese errand: say hello, ask for bread, pick which kind, pay a few coins.
- The shopping list A2 — Three items across the counter — tinned, weighed by hand, and bottled. Ask for each one, say how much, and pay.
+ 6 more at this scene
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Pensão Rosa dos Ventos pensão
Duarte, Owner and front-desk keeper of a nine-room guesthouse (pensão) in Lisbon · 9 missions · A1–C1
- Your key, please A1 — Back at the guesthouse in the evening: say good evening, ask for your key, ask about breakfast, say goodnight.
- Meet Duarte A1 — No check-in yet — just find out the desk-keeper's name and how long he's run the pensão.
- Plan checkout A2 — Duarte asks what time you'll check out tomorrow. Agree on a simple time.
+ 6 more at this scene
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Tasca da Rosa tasca
Rosa, Owner and cook of a Lisbon tasca · 10 missions · A1–C1
- Your day A1 — While your food cooks, Rosa asks about your day. Name three tiny simple things.
- Wine and a snack A1 — Order a glass of house wine and a simple petisco at the tasca, and pay.
- Table and dish of the day A2 — Get a table, order the prato do dia and a drink at the tasca, and pay.
+ 7 more at this scene
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Marulho Móvel loja de telemóveis
Hélder, Assistant at a small independent mobile-phone shop in Arroios, Lisbon · 8 missions · A1–C1
- Um carregamento A1 — Ask for a top-up, give the number, say ten, pay. Wait for the message.
- Um cartão português A2 — New in Lisbon, no NIF yet. Pré-pago or contract? How many gigas? Test it at the counter.
- Vou passar um mês fora B1 — A month away, a visitor in your flat. Plan both lines with Hélder: what to do now, what to do later, when to return.
+ 5 more at this scene
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Tours
- Sabores de Lisboa with João, Owner of a Lisbon pastelaria — 4 stops: A pastelaria, A bifana, A ginjinha and O mercado.
Words that change in Lisbon
João speaks the way Lisbon does, not the way a textbook does. A few of the swaps you'll hear from the first minute — the full list lives in the app's «Talk like a lisboeta» guide:
| They say | It means | You'll hear |
|---|---|---|
| autocarro | bus elsewhere: ônibus | Apanho o autocarro para a Baixa. Portugal says "autocarro" and you "apanha" (catch) it; "ônibus" is Brazilian. |
| comboio | train elsewhere: trem | O comboio para Cascais sai do Cais do Sodré. "Trem" is Brazilian; in Portugal a train is always a "comboio". |
| paragem | bus stop elsewhere: ponto de ônibus | A paragem é já ali, ao virar da esquina. "Paragem do autocarro"; a Brazilian would say "ponto". |
| pequeno-almoço | breakfast elsewhere: café da manhã | Tomo o pequeno-almoço na pastelaria. The European word for breakfast. "Café da manhã" marks you as Brazilian-trained at once. |
| casa de banho | bathroom / toilet elsewhere: banheiro | Onde é a casa de banho, se faz favor? Say "casa de banho" — in Portugal a "banheiro" is a lifeguard. |
| telemóvel | mobile phone elsewhere: celular | Fiquei sem bateria no telemóvel. Portugal "telemóvel", Brazil "celular". |
| frigorífico | fridge elsewhere: geladeira | Põe o leite no frigorífico. Portugal "frigorífico", Brazil "geladeira". |
| sumo | juice elsewhere: suco | Um sumo de laranja natural, se faz favor. Portugal "sumo", Brazil "suco". |
- fixe — cool / great The everyday Portuguese "cool" (pronounced "feesh"). Brazilians say "legal".
- giro / gira — cute / nice / good-looking Things, places and people can all be "giro". Brazil says "bonito" or "legal".
- pá — man / mate (tag word) Clipped from "rapaz". A constant tag in casual Lisbon speech, to anyone. Not a real vocative — nobody is being called a boy.
- Epá! — man! / oh come on! / wow The interjection form of "pá": surprise, mild frustration, emphasis.
The full «Talk like a lisboeta» guide — every word, phrase and habit of speech the Lisbon characters use, with what the other Portugueses say instead.
Questions people ask about Lisbon
Which Portuguese will I hear in Lisbon?
European Portuguese. João and the other locals in the Lisbon scenes speak the way people in Lisbon actually speak — accent, pace, register and vocabulary. They'll say autocarro for bus, comboio for train and paragem for bus stop, and the coach tells you when a word is local rather than universal.
Do I need to speak Portuguese already?
No. Missions in Lisbon run from A1 (first words: greet, order, ask for the bill) to C1 (argue a point, handle a complication, hold a real conversation). You pick a level, the scene meets you there, and the coach explains anything you missed in your own language.
What will I actually do in the Lisbon scenes?
82 missions across 9 scenes — Aeroporto do Tejo — balcão Voo Atlântico, Cerâmica Chuva Miúda, Barbearia do Nuno and Pastelaria do João and more. Each mission is an errand with a goal: order, negotiate, describe a symptom, get directions, small-talk your way through a wait. The person you're talking to has their own agenda, so it never goes exactly to script. There is also a guided tour — Sabores de Lisboa — where the guide talks and you ask.
Is it free?
You can start speaking without creating an account. A free account keeps your notebook and progress and comes with 10 minutes of live conversation a week, refilled every Monday; the app tells you where you stand.
How does the feedback work?
João answers in Portuguese, and a separate coach watches the conversation and flags what to fix — grammar, a word choice that isn't Lisbon's, pronunciation — in your language, without interrupting the scene. Words you didn't know go into your notebook with the Lisbon pronunciation, and after each mission you get a debrief you can review.