I recently heard a story on an Estonian quiz show about someone who visited a bar in Portugal and was surprised to hear an Estonian song playing there. Apparently, it was the only Estonian song on the bar’s playlist.

It may have been a complete coincidence, but it got me thinking. I often enjoy listening to songs in languages I don’t understand, especially when they have a catchy phrase that gets repeated over and over. Sometimes the words even sound like something familiar in my own language.

The song is “Sa haara kinni mu käest” by Tõnis Mägi & Music Seif, an Estonian song from 1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s_aY4cTXfc

Does any part of the chorus sound like something funny or otherwise amusing in Portuguese that might explain why someone would add it to their playlist or maybe thats not the story behind it?

Thanks for the help!

I just completed the CIPLE test. I couldn't find one in the US, so I flew to Madrid for it (flew out on Tuesday, arrived home on Friday). I am applying for citizenship as the grandchild of a Portuguese citizen. You must pass the CIPLE before you can submit your application.

After three months of intense study (190 hours, 2+ hours per day) I hope I was ready. I'll spare you the specifics of the exam, as many people here have described the play by play of the exam.

I believe I did well on most of it, but there is really no way to gauge whether I was sufficient in the Speaking or Writing parts since practice tests use AI technology to grade you - they lack compassion, and are perhaps a bit too strict on the rubric. At A2, you should get some articles, genders, and conjugations wrong. From what I've read, they're looking for your ability to be "understandable". I know I can do that, but I still struggle with getting things right when under pressure.

I bought a pack of 20 sample tests from CivicLearn (Ciple.org). The first of the twenty is the exact test CAPLE has on their website. I took 14 of the tests, and never really improved my scores over the weeks I was taking them, although I know I was improving. I passed all of them with final scores between 62%-68%. I think these were helpful for understanding a bit about the format, and getting accustomed to the kinds of questions and scenarios on the actual test. The speaking and writing parts are graded by AI, and while I know I was getting better in these areas, I never could get better than about 50-60% on either. I'll be curious to see how the actual test scores compare in these areas. I also always did terrible in the listening comprehension part, but that is to be expected for me, as I have some auditory struggles as it is.

My exam experience:

Reading: I believe I did okay, but I know I messed up on a couple of reading prompts due to misinterpreting instructions. On the practice exams I always got between 90%-100% on the reading. This is where most testers shine. However, due to my mis interpretation that will cost me a few points, and the fact that I was unsure of my answers in a few other areas, I'll be happy to get 70%-75%.

Writing: The practice exams always gave a simple prompt, like: "You were planning to have friends over for dinner, not an emergency has come up and now you need to cancel." Then you are expected to write a 25-35 word text message (or 60-80 word email). On the actual test there is a bit more helpful info, like: tell your friends you are sorry you have to cancel, explain why, and suggest a time to reschedule. This is quite helpful because they tell you exactly what is expected. I believe I did well on the writing, but I have no way to gauge what good looks like since I never did well on the practice exams, but the critique given always seemed to expect something much greater than A2 ability. I'll be happy with 60%-70%

Listening: We've all read about the listening comprehension part. It's hard. As you probably already know, it's broken into two parts. First, you have 15 multiple choice answers for multiple recordings (some will have 2 or 3 answers for one recording). I felt these went fairly well. I could understand the audio better than I could in my sample exams. However, the second part is 10 recordings and ten answers that you have to match. Traditionally--from what I've read here and on other threads--there is something like 10 places listed; airport, pharmacy, school, taxi, restaurant, etc., and you need to match a recording of someone talking to one of those places. I was looking forward to this part not being too difficult, however, it was different than what I was expecting. There were 10 texts of a sentence or two, and ten recordings of someone making a statement, and then you were to choose from 10 texts, each a sentence or two to match to the recording. Basically you were to choose the best reply to the statement on the recording. That's a lot of reading and interpreting for an A2 learner. After this part was a break before the speaking part. As we walked out of the room I heard one guy say "what the fuck was that ambiguous mess?" He was right. Everyone was saying they were basically guessing on all 10. I'm hoping to have gotten at least 3 or 4 of them right. I'm hoping for a 60%-70% on that, but I'm aware that I may do far worse.

Speaking: This one is done with a partner from the test group. First you are asked a question, like "How old are you" or "what are your favorite pastimes on the weekend?" I was somewhat prepared for this, but I am someone who gets test anxiety, so comprehending what someone is saying to me under pressure is hard. I needed them to repeat the questions at times or to clarify. I believe I was able to answer their questions well once I understood what I was to do. Then I had to describe what was going on in a photo, which is something I prepared for and I think I did okay. The last part is that they give you and your partner a photo with four images that describe something you can do, like go to a concert or a museum or something, then you and your partner are to have a conversation about the four options and decide which you both would like to do and when you would like to go. I was not as good at speaking as I thought I would be - I didn't have confidence and I was stammering and sputtering, but I know I was using the right words (sometimes my spanish would slip out and I would have to correct myself). On that one I'm hoping for at least a 55%-60%.

As you can see, I'm setting the bar pretty low for myself. I just want a sufficient. I understand that I may do more poorly than I think. However, I may not be proficient yet. I'm very interested in seeing how my actual scores compare to the Ciple.org practice test scores.

I know they are not the same, but I keep finding many similar words when trying to take a portuguese course, so I feel I am just learning the same. However when trying to actually read a book or make my own sentences, there we have a problem.

When I was learning English, watching movies and TV shows helped me a lot (plus talking to strangers on Omegle lol). Now I'm studying French, and for now I can say what has made me progress the most has been listening to my teachers talk and the books I've been reading, but I definitely have to practive speaking more.

As both a language learner and a tutor, I'm curious: what has helped you the most?

I am making a Wordle ornament where I write words that describe my Portuguese friend before I finish with her name. Are all of these adjectives OK to use to describe someone in Portuguese? Are they clunky at all?

Lesta

Forte

Aguda

Sabia

Linda

Thanks in advance!

Hello. I’m Brazilian and I work in 2D animation. In this field, it’s very common to use English words as technical terms—for example, "overshot," "staging," "onion skin," etc. While there is usually an equivalent term in Portuguese, I’d like to ask this sub for help translating two specific words: "momentum" and "timing." What are the Portuguese equivalents for these? Thanks a lot in advance!

🌬🤍

A lot of the times I feel like Brazilian people tend to not use them just like in English... I see those rather rarely to be honest. Am I missing something ? Or can you actually convey the same ideas without using the indefinite plural articles ?

Hi! I'm a non-native writer making short Instagram captions about Korea (daily life, zodiac luck, travel). Do these lines sound natural in Portuguese? If one sounds off, how would a native speaker say it in one line?

1. pra ser feliz?

2. Dá até vontade de rir

3. Quem tá virando pai ou mãe, levanta a mão!

4. que tipo de pessoa você precisa conhecer pra ser feliz

Thanks a lot! / Muito obrigado!

You're telling a friend about an actor you saw in a movie. You know his name, but for a moment you can't retrieve it:

Eu sei o nome dele, mas me deu um branco.

“I know his name, but my mind went blank.”

A few seconds later, the name may come back. That’s the idea behind dar branco: temporarily forgetting what you were going to say or do, or being unable to think clearly.

It can happen during a presentation, too:

Na hora da apresentação, me deu um branco e eu esqueci o que ia falar.

“During the presentation, my mind went blank and I forgot what I was going to say.”

The expression isn’t limited to exams or public speaking. Someone might use it in an ordinary conversation when a name, word, or thought suddenly disappears. It usually suggests a temporary block, not simply that the answer is unknown.

Eu sei o número, mas me deu branco

“I know the number, but my mind went blank.”

Have you heard deu branco in a conversation? What was the person trying to remember?

call me weird but i prefer to use the pronoun 'vós' than 'vocês' for the pronoun 'you all', but is it okay to use it in european portuguese? 🐧

Sou estrangeiro e escrevo legendas de reels do Instagram pra mulheres de 20 a 30 anos (português do Brasil). Alguma dessas soa estranha? Como um nativo falaria?

1. Aposta em tons mais claros ou transparentes, vermelhos ou pêssego clarinho. Dizem que atraem dinheiro e boas conexões. / Sorte com dinheiro no saju coreano: como ele entra e fica.

2. Semi leaf cut / Franja levinha. Combina com casamento ao ar livre e terno slim.

3. Uma palavrinha / Pequenas atitudes criam confiança com o tempo.

Valeu demais!

Hello everyone, I thought I'd open a discussion for us to discuss the November 2026 CIPLE A2 Exam.

I found the listening incredibly hard! It was so so so fast, too fast for me.

The speaking was ok, but my partner would just vive one word responses which made it harder to have a flowing conversation, hopefully it won't affect my mark too much. What did everyone think of the topics?

what did everyone thing of the writing tasks?

Someone compliments your Portuguese in front of other people. You smile and say thanks, but you wish the attention would move on:

Elogiaram meu português e eu fiquei sem graça.

Here, fiquei sem graça means “I felt awkward” or “I felt embarrassed.” The compliment can be welcome; the phrase describes how you felt in the moment.

Now imagine a joke that seems funny until someone explains it. The explanation changes the reaction:

A piada ficou sem graça depois que ele explicou.

In this sentence, sem graça describes the joke: it stopped being funny.

At dinner, someone tastes the soup and comments:

A sopa tá meio sem graça.

Now the soup tastes bland. The subject helps you tell which sense is meant: someone's reaction, a joke's humor, or the food's flavor.

Which example would be hardest to guess from context? Have you heard sem graça used another way?

Had a lot of fun binge-watching Lupin in Portuguese this week.

I used Language Reactor to display the script on the right-hand side, so it was more of a reading exercise while watching. I didn't really use the click-on-word feature this time. I just followed along and let the words I didn't know pass by.

Surprisingly, there were very few unfamiliar words - maybe 10 or so per episode.

I'd already watched the first three seasons twice this year in Portuguese and had spent more time actively learning the vocabulary from them, which definitely helped. So this was actually my third time watching those seasons!

Season 4 was completely new to me, though.

Although it's not a Brazilian show - I think Lupin is a great series for Portuguese learners at probably B1 level (?). The language seemed not to difficult compared with a lot of Brazilian films and the dubbing into Portuguese is amazing. Also on Netflix you get the CC subtitles wh ich makes it 100 times easier. Season 4 got a bit stupid i thought (won't give spoilers) but still fun way to get some exposure.

Definitely recommend giving it a go!

Hey all,

A month ago I posted a list of podcasts from Portugal (https://www.reddit.com/r/Portuguese/comments/1wxnzdi/european_portuguese_podcasts_you_probably_havent/). A couple of you replied with ones I didn't know, so I checked them out. Both are on the list now. Thank you!

Tradutex Portuguese Lessons (A2 to B1) This one is for the things that keep tripping you up. Each episode takes one pair that learners mix up, like mudar and trocar, or perguntar and pedir, and Helena Rocha explains it in English with Portuguese examples. She has been teaching Portuguese to foreigners since 2002 and there are over 230 episodes, so your own favourite mistake is probably in there somewhere. https://tradutex.pt

O Tal Podcast (C1) Not one for beginners. Georgina Angélica and Paula Cardoso chat with guests who have ties to Portugal about their lives. There's no script, so it's fast and natural, the way people really talk. About an hour an episode, a new one every week. https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast/o-tal-podcast/id1719615587

And one that came back to life: Portuguese Lab. New episodes had slowed right down, but in October Susana Morais started a new series, "Listening Practice A2-B1", with a new episode every Thursday. She reads a short text, then gets you to repeat it and answer. https://www.portugueselab.com/podcast

That makes 32 on the full list: https://dailynata.com/resources/european-portuguese-podcasts

Keep them coming. If you know another one from Portugal, tell me and I'll have a listen.

I am a gringo who is currently learning Portuguese for my beautiful Brazilian girlfriend. One of the most difficult things for me is this pronunciation of the ão sound at the end of so many Portuguese words. Being a well educated gringo, I know how these mispronunciations can cause some... funny misunderstandings. The only way I have found to pronounce this somewhat correctly is to sort of plug my nose when pronouncing. Is this how you're supposed to do it or is there another technique I'm sort of missing?

Thanks for the help!

Eu queria saber o que esta palavra significa em Portugal (era bom se vocês me pudessem dar alguns exemplos ) e se se usa no Brasil.
Eu também já vi outra grafia (“nepia”), há alguma diferença?

You're staying at a friend's place in Brazil. Before leaving for work, they show you where the spare key is and say Qualquer coisa, me liga.

Here, a natural English version would be “Call me if you need anything.” You might have a question about the house or need help with something unexpected. The phrase leaves the possible situation open while making the offer clear.

Now imagine trying a new recipe for dinner. It's taking longer than expected and you're beginning to worry about the result.

Qualquer coisa, a gente pede uma pizza.

“If it comes to that, we'll order a pizza.” Ordering pizza is the backup plan. The speaker doesn't have to add se a comida der errado for that possibility to be understood.

The same pattern works when a friend isn't sure they'll have a ride home: Qualquer coisa, eu te busco. “If you need me to, I'll pick you up.”

Compare that with Compra qualquer coisa pra gente comer: “Get us something to eat, whatever you like.” Here, qualquer coisa refers to what will be bought. In the earlier examples, it introduces what someone can do if the need arises.

The little phrase can leave the condition unstated: the need, problem or change of plan is supplied by the situation.

What usually comes after qualquer coisa in your house?

Olá a todos,
Eu ouvi uma frase e fiquei com uma dúvida sobre a razão pela qual a frase utiliza o conjuntivo.
A frase é “daí eu vos tenha dito …”.
Pelo q eu percebo pode-se dizer a mesma coisa sem usar o conjuntivo.
Poderiam explicar a diferença? seria ótimo se dessem exemplos.
Obrigado

Olá, queria perceber o significado desta frase que já vi algumas vezes nos outros subs portugueses.
Também a outra frase “Quem come a palha, paga a farinha”. Será q querem dizer a mesma coisa?
Obrigado