INTRODUCTION |
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself in Portuguese, and how to say where are you from. The Portuguese are a very curious people, and depending on which region they live in, they might be more or less sociable. But in general, they are nice and hospitable. A self introduction in Portuguese will be a pleasant surprise. So let’s jump right in! |
GRAMMAR POINT |
Let’s imagine that your name is John, and you are from Canada. You came to Portugal and met a person who asked you “What is your name?” that sounds like this in Portuguese: |
Como se chama? |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Co-mo se cha-ma? |
Once more: |
Como se chama? |
The first word como means “how”. |
(slow) como |
como |
Next is se chama, which is the conjugated form of the verb “to be called” |
(slow) se chama |
se chama |
Let’s hear the expression again: |
Como se chama? |
(slow) Co-mo se cha-ma? |
Como se chama? |
・ |
The answer to this question, in our case, will be: |
Eu chamo-me John., which means “I’m called John.” |
(slow) Eu cha-mo-me John. |
First, we have the little word eu which means "I." |
Then we have the word chamo-me which is the verb “to be called” conjugated to the first person. |
(slow) cha-mo-me |
chamo-me |
And the name comes at the end. |
Let’s hear that again: |
Eu chamo-me John. |
You can also answer this question only with your name. In this case, John. |
・ |
The next question you will usually be asked is “Where are you from?” |
The polite way to say “Where are you from?” is Você é de onde? Let’s hear the question one more time. |
(slow) Vo-cê é de on-de? |
Você é de onde? |
First we have você, the formal version of “you” |
(slow) vo-cê. |
você. |
Then we have é, which means "is". |
Next is de which is translated as “from” in this case. |
(slow) De. |
De. |
And last we have Onde, which means “where”. |
(slow) on-de. |
onde. |
Once again, altogether it is: |
Você é de onde? |
・ |
Our test answer will be “I’m from Canada” . In Portuguese that will sound like this: Eu sou do Canadá. |
(slow) Eu sou do Canadá. |
The first word eu is a pronoun that means “I”. |
(slow) Eu. |
Eu. |
Next we have sou which means “am”. |
(slow) So-u. |
Sou. |
Next we have do which means “from the”. |
(slow) Do. |
Do. |
And at the end we have the name of the country, in our case Canada: Canadá |
(slow) Canadá. |
Canadá. |
Let’s hear the whole phrase one more time. |
Eu sou do Canadá. |
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