Brazilian Portuguese Phrases Tourists Get Wrong, From Obrigada to 'CPF na nota?'
You are at the till of a padaria in São Paulo and the cashier asks a question no phrasebook prepared you for: "CPF na nota?" You have no idea what a CPF is or whether saying no gets you into trouble. It happens at almost every till in Brazil, and the answer is one word. That question, and the ending on "thank you" that Brazilians notice most, are the traps this post is about.
Every phrase below is part of the free Portuguese Trip Kit, fifty Brazilian Portuguese phrases in five days with pronunciation.
"Obrigado" or "obrigada" depends on you, not them
"Obrigado" (oh-bree-GAH-doo) and "obrigada" (oh-bree-GAH-dah) both mean thank you, and the ending follows the speaker, not the person being thanked. A man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada, whoever they are talking to. Tourists flip it to match the person in front of them, and it is the mistake Brazilians notice most. In fast speech you will hear it clipped to "brigado", and the reply is "de nada" or the very Brazilian "imagina", don't mention it.
"Desculpe" is for after the bump, "com licença" is for before
"Desculpe" (jees-KOOL-pee) covers a small bump, a mild apology, or opening a question to a stranger. What it does not do is call a waiter. Brazilians use "moço" or "moça", young man or young woman, plus "por favor", or simply catch the waiter's eye. "Desculpe" across a restaurant sounds like an apology. "Desculpa" is the friends version, and "sinto muito" is a real apology.
To get past someone, the word is "Com licença" (kohn lee-SEHN-sah): squeezing through a bus or a crowd, walking in front of someone, stepping into a room, leaving a conversation. "Com licença" before, desculpe after you have bumped. On a packed bus you will hear just "licença". The reply "pois não" means go ahead, not no, so move.
"Um cafezinho" may already be sweetened
Ask for "Um cafezinho, por favor" (oon kah-feh-ZEEN-yoo, por fah-VOR) and you get a small cup of strong black coffee. The trap is the sugar. The free thermos coffee at shops, offices and petrol stations often comes already sweetened, and a padaria will ask "com ou sem açúcar?", with or without sugar. If that matters, say "sem açúcar" when you order.
Milky coffee is "café com leite", but the padaria glass has its own names: a "pingado" in São Paulo, mostly milk with a splash of coffee, or a "média" in Rio, half and half. For an espresso, ask for "um expresso". In Portugal the words shift: "um café" is an espresso there, and in Lisbon it is "uma bica".
The bill will not come until you ask
Sitting for an hour over an empty glass is normal in Brazil, and the bill will not appear on its own. When you are ready, catch the waiter with "moço" or "moça", or the air-writing gesture, and say "A conta, por favor" (ah KOHN-tah, por fah-VOR). The waiter brings the card machine to the table and asks "vai pagar como?", how are you paying.
The 10% "serviço" is optional on paper only
The bill arrives with the service already added, a line reading "Serviço 10%" (sehr-VEE-soo, dehz por SEHN-too) or "taxa de serviço". Almost every Brazilian restaurant adds it. It is legally optional, which is why the bill says "opcional", and that word makes tourists argue about it or tip on top of it. Neither is right. Everyone pays it, it is the waiter's tip, and you leave nothing more. Refuse it, with "sem o serviço", only for truly bad service.
"Couvert" on the same bill is the bread-and-appetiser starter, charged per person and refusable if you send it back untouched. "Couvert artístico" is a per-head fee for live music.
"CPF na nota?" Just say "não"
"A nota, por favor" (ah NOH-tah, por fah-VOR) asks for the receipt, but the phrase you actually need is the answer to "CPF na nota?" The cashier wants your Brazilian tax number to print on the receipt, part of a tax-refund scheme for locals. You do not need one. Say "não" and the transaction moves on. You need not take the receipt, the "nota fiscal" or "cupom", but keep it for returns or expense claims.
Nothing to stamp, and you pay on the bus, not before it
There is no machine to validate a ticket. In Brazil you pay by tapping at the turnstile, the "catraca", with a transport card (Bilhete Único in São Paulo, Jaé in Rio) or, on the metro and most buses now, a contactless bank card. The sign says "Aproxime o cartão" (ah-proh-SHEE-mee oo kar-TOWN), tap your card, and the driver or attendant says "passa o cartão".
The bus is the trap: you pay on board, at the turnstile behind the driver, not before boarding. Cash is on its way out: Rio is phasing it out of its buses, and São Paulo drivers take it but carry little change, so have a contactless card ready rather than coins.
The other forty-two
These eight phrases are days one to four of the Portuguese Trip Kit: ten phrases a day for five days, each with a readable respelling, a tip like the ones above, and audio. Day one works in the browser without an account, and the sheet prints on three pages.