Invitations and making arrangements in Brazilian Portuguese

Level A2

Invitations and making arrangements in Brazilian Portuguese

Learn to invite someone out, give a brief reason when you cannot come, and agree on a place and time. In everyday conversation, você is common, while o senhor and a senhora are respectful forms of address. Formal examples may use estaria, gostaria, and seria to make requests more polite. To decline, Desculpa is a casual apology; a phrase such as Agradeço o convite is a more formal way to thank someone for an invitation. Vou estudar expresses a future plan, and preciso trabalhar gives a reason.

Words for being free and meeting up

Ask whether someone is free

forma de tratamento está livre dia e período?

Invite someone for coffee or lunch

forma de tratamento quer atividade dia?

Accept an invitation and state a preferred time

“Sim, adoraria” means “Yes, I'd love to”; adoraria expresses enthusiasm and can be used in both casual and formal conversation. In “Onde a gente vai?”, a gente means “we” and takes a singular verb: vai, not vamos. This use of a gente is especially common in everyday speech.

“Sim, seria ótimo” is a polite way to say that the suggestion would be lovely. In “À uma da tarde seria melhor”, seria melhor means “would be better,” so the speaker is suggesting a preferred time. Portuguese uses à uma for “at one” but às duas and às três for “at two” and “at three.”

Decline politely and give a short reason

pedido de desculpas ou agradecimento, não posso. plano ou motivo.

Suggest another day or time

Que tal dia e período?

Agree on where and when to meet

Vamos nos encontrar lugar horário.

Confirm the plan and say goodbye

“Às três tá bom pra mim” confirms that three o'clock works for you; tá and pra are everyday spoken forms of está and para. Use these shortened forms in casual conversation, while “Por mim, tudo bem” is suitable for a more formal exchange as well. “Até sábado” means “See you on Saturday,” with até expressing “until” rather than the English preposition “on.”

“A gente se vê lá!” is a casual “See you there!” rather than a word-for-word prediction about seeing. For an arranged meeting, se encontrar uses a pronoun that English “meet” does not need: “Vamos nos encontrar em frente à farmácia às três.” In the phrase “A gente pode se encontrar aqui às duas?”, se is used with a gente.

Conversation: arrange coffee with a friend

Conversation: make a polite lunch arrangement

Practise this lesson

Next lessons