How to Order at a Restaurant

Learn how to order at a restaurant

Dialogue

Want to Understand & Master the Portuguese Dialogue 100%?

Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Select your level

Or sign up using Facebook

By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.

Already a Member?

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Select your level

Or sign up using Facebook

By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.

Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Select your level

Or sign up using Facebook

By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.

Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order at a restaurant in Portuguese.

For example, "Excuse me, the menu, please." is

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

Samuel Santos is at a restaurant with his wife.

He asks for the menu.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Cardápio.

"menu"

Cardápio.

É pra já.

"Yes, immediately."

É pra já.

Listen to the conversation.

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

É pra já.

Once more with the English translation.

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

É pra já.

"Yes, immediately."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Samuel asks for a menu?

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

This starts with, com licença, "excuse me." Com licença.

First is com, "with." Com. Com.

Next is licença, meaning "consent" in this context. Licença. Licença.

All together, com licença literally means "with permission," but it translates as "excuse me."

This expression is generally used to get someone's attention, such as when you want to pass by them or before asking a question to someone you don't know. Here, Samuel uses it to get the attention of the waiter who is nearby.

Next is o cardápio, meaning "the menu." O cardápio.

Let's start with cardápio, "menu." Cardápio. Cardápio.

In Portuguese, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Cardápio is masculine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before this is o, "the," think of this like the English "the," as in "the menu." O. O.

O is also masculine and singular to agree with cardápio.

Together, it's o cardápio, "the menu." O cardápio.

Last is por favor, "please." Por favor. Por favor.

All together, it's Com licença. O cardápio, por favor. "Excuse me, the menu, please."

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember the waiter's response,

"Yes, immediately."

É pra já.

First is é, literally " is." É. É.

É is from the verb ser, meaning to be. Ser.

Next is pra já, literally, "for now" but translates as "immediately". Pra já.

This starts with pra, "for." Pra. Pra.

Next is já, "now." Já. Já.

Together, pra já, "immediately." Pra já.

All together, É pra já, literally "it is for now." But it translates as, "Yes, immediately."

É pra já.

The pattern is

Com licença. ITEM, por favor.

"Excuse me, ITEM, please."

Com licença. ITEM, por favor.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the object you are requesting.

Note: This pattern requires a noun phrase.

Imagine you'd like to ask for "the check," a conta. A conta.

Let’s start with conta, "check." Conta. conta.

Conta is feminine and singular.

Before this is a, "the." A. A.

A is feminine singular to agree with conta.

Together, a conta.

Say

"Excuse me, the check, please."

Ready?

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

"Excuse me, the check, please."

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

In Portuguese, there are two sets of articles. Definite articles are like "the" in English, and indefinite articles are like "a" or "an."

While the pattern in this lesson works with both kinds of articles, this lesson will focus on definite articles like the English "the."

When specifically referring to something, such as when asking for "the menu," use the definite article. In Portuguese, the definite article will depend on the gender of the item.

The definite article for singular masculine nouns is o, and for singular feminine nouns, a.

For example:

o cardápio, "the menu," o cardápio;

a conta, "the bill," a conta;

Again, the key pattern is

Com licença. ITEM por favor.

"Excuse me, ITEM, please."

Com licença. ITEM, por favor.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

"Excuse me, the check, please."

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

Com licença. A carta de vinhos, por favor.

"Excuse me, the wine list, please."

Com licença. A carta de vinhos, por favor.

Com licença. O prato do dia, por favor.

"Excuse me, the dish of the day, please."

Com licença. O prato do dia, por favor.

Com licença. Um café, por favor.

"Excuse me, a coffee, please."

Com licença. Um café, por favor.

Did you notice how the last speaker used a slightly different pattern?

Com licença. Um café, por favor.

"Excuse me, a coffee, please."

Let's start with the word café, "coffee." Café. Café.

Café is masculine and singular, so the article Um, "a," will agree with café.

Um, "a." Um. Um.

Um is an indefinite article. When introducing a general item, such as when asking for "a coffee," use an indefinite article.

Together, it's um café, "a coffee." Um café.

All together, Com licença. Um café, por favor. "Excuse me, a coffee, please." Com licença. Um café, por favor.

The indefinite article for singular masculine nouns is um, and for singular feminine nouns, uma.

For example:

uma garrafa d'água, "a bottle of water," uma garrafa d'água;

um café, "a coffee," um café.

Let's review the new words.

Carta de vinhos.

"wine list"

Carta de vinhos.

Prato do dia.

"dish of the day"

Prato do dia.

Garrafa d'água.

"a bottle of water"

Garrafa d'água.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "please?"

Por favor.

And how to say "menu?"

Cardápio.

Do you remember how to say "the menu?"

O cardápio.

Do you remember how. Samuel says,

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

Com licença. O cardápio, por favor.

Do you remember how the waiter says,

"Yes, immediately."

É pra já.

Do you remember how to say "check?"

Conta.

And how to say "the check?"

A conta.

Do you remember how to say "wine list?"

Carta de vinhos.

And how to say "the wine list?"

A carta de vinhos.

Do you remember how to say "dish of the day?"

Prato do dia.

And how to say "the dish of the day?"

O prato do dia.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Susana Santos , and you're at a restaurant. Get the waiter's attention, and ask for the check, or a conta in Portuguese.

Ready?

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

É pra já.

Listen again and repeat.

Com licença. A conta, por favor.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're thirsty. Ask for the wine list, or a carta de vinhos in Portuguese.

Ready?

Com licença. A carta de vinhos, por favor.

É pra já.

Listen again and repeat.

Com licença. A carta de vinhos, por favor.

Let's try one more.

Imagine you're Samuel Santos , and you'd like to order the dish of the day, or o prato do dia in Portuguese.

Ready?

Com licença. O prato do dia, por favor.

É pra já.

Listen again and repeat.

Com licença. O prato do dia, por favor.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to order at a restaurant in Portuguese, an essential skill for dining at a restaurant.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

Comments

Hide