Learn how to ask about prices
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Portuguese Survival Phrases brought to you by PortuguesePod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Brazil. You will be surprised at how far a little Portuguese will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by PortuguesePod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| This lesson covers a phrase for all you shoppers out there. Today, we'll look at the phrase, "How much does it cost?" You can use this phrase at the market, at the restaurant, on the bus, at your hotel, on the beach, and many other places. You know, depending on your shopping habits, this may just be the most useful phrase we cover! |
| In Brazil, "How much does it cost?" is Quanto custa? |
| Quanto custa? |
| Let's look at the first word: quanto. |
| Quanto means "how much" in English and is used for amounts like price, size, and time. |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: |
| And one time fast: quanto. |
| Then we have custa, which means "cost." |
| custa |
| custa |
| custa |
| In daily life, this word is almost exclusively for money and prices. |
| So, altogether we have, Quanto custa, which literally means, "How much does it cost?" |
| Context is very important in Portuguese. So, if you are looking at a shirt and you ask, Quanto custa? the salesman will understand by context that you are asking about the shirt. You don't need to be specific or say, "How much is THIS?" He knows what you're talking about. |
| CULTURAL INSIGHTS |
| I'm married so at one time I needed to get an engagement ring. I looked around a lot in the United States but soon realized I could get one for much cheaper in Brazil. So, on a trip to Brazil I went to a market and visited several jewelry shops. I have very pale skin so the vendor immediately identified me as American and in their mind, rich. This isn't true. I would look at rings and ask, Quanto custa? and they would give some extremely high price. One place tried to charge me one thousand dollars for a simple gold ring. Needless to say, I went to quite a few shops. Finally, I found one that would make the kind of ring I wanted but still keep the price within reason. So much within reason that I bought my wedding ring from the same store, both of them for less than four hundred dollars. |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for saying it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so boa sorte! |
| “How much does it cost?” - Quanto custa? |
| Quanto custa? |
| Quanto custa? |
| Alright, that's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by PortuguesePod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
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