Portuguese for Plebs

In preparation for Bitcoin Atlantis, the Bitcoin conference on Madeira, I started learning Portuguese with Duolingo. Without missing a day, I advanced to the Diamond League – they really cracked gamified language learning. Now I can say many useless things, like "My cat doesn't eat apples", or "The monkey reads small books". But I also gathered essentials for everyday use, as well as the most interesting phrases for me as a pleb.

In a creative night session one day before the flight, I turned my notes into a Portuguese for Plebs cheat sheet and printed 500 copies to share to Bitcoiners on the island. In case you need it digitally, here is a high-res JPEG preview; below you can download the original PDF to print and share yourself.

Portuguese uses male and female endings – usually the male singular ends with "o" and female singular ends with "a", depending on if you talk about a male or female. The first word on the list is used a little different, though: Obrigado is always said by men, Obrigada only said by women – no matter to whom.

More Portuguese Pleb Phrases

Basics & Intros

• Nice to meet you, I'm Jones. What's your name?
  Prazer, eu sou Jones. Como é que te chamas?
• I hope we don't need to use sign language :)
  Espero que não precisemos de usar linguagem gestual :)

Charming Compliments

• You're very cool!
  Tens muita pinta.
• Wow, you look gorgeous!
  Eita, que gata/gato você está!
• You're as sweet as honey cake! (a traditional Madeiran dessert)
  És tão doce como o bolo de mel!
• I tip my hat to you! (classy way to show respect)
  Tiro o meu chapéu para ti!
• My darling, I love you!
  Minha querida, amo-te!

Food & Drinks

• I raise my glass to you!
  Levanto a minha taça a ti.
• I'd love to try a traditional Madeiran dish. What do you recommend?
  Adoraria experimentar um prato tradicional madeirense. O que você recomenda?

Bitcoin

• Not your keys, not your coins.
  Nem as suas chaves, nem as suas moedas.
• We Are All Satoshi.
  Somos todos Satoshi.
• Bitcoin fixes this.
  A Bitcoin resolve este problema.
• Don't trust, verify.
  Não confie, verifique.
• I had a horrible boating accident.
  Tive um acidente de barco horrível.
• Be your own bank.
  Seja o seu próprio banco.
• Everything divided by twenty-one million Bitcoin.
  Tudo dividido por vinte e um milhões de Bitcoin.
  

Adventures

• The views here are breathtaking!
  As vistas aqui são de tirar o fôlego!
• I see why they call Madeira the "Pearl of the Atlantic"!
  Eu vejo porque chamam a Madeira de "Pérola do Atlântico"!
• Could you recommend a good hike that isn't too touristy?
  Poderia recomendar uma boa caminhada que não seja tão turística?
• Are there any hidden gems on the island that I should know about?
  Existem algumas jóias escondidas na ilha que eu deveria conhecer?
• This place is so peaceful, I feel very relaxed here.
  Este lugar é tão tranquilo que me sinto muito relaxado aqui.
• I wish I could stay longer, I'm really enjoying it here.
  Eu queria poder ficar mais tempo, estou adorando aqui.

Have fun and smile

• I like big oranges.
  Gosto de laranjas grandes.