Introduction

Brazil's diversity is immense, whether you consider the Indigenous, African, and European roots of the majority of its inhabitants or whether you put the staggering biodiversity of Brazil's lush landscapes under a microscope. Latin America's most populous and largest nation is also the region's largest economy - and it just happens to be home to friendly people, stunning beaches, and great music.

Need I say more? (I can't stop gushing - did you know that Brazil is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the biggest street carnival in the world, in Salvador, Bahia?). Yes, it's time to learn Brazilian Portuguese.

Business or pleasure - the book in your hands is perfect as a solid crash course for learning Brazilian Portuguese, no matter your motive. I've stocked this book with cultural insights to complement the basics of the language. This third edition even has a chapter for businesspeople who are interested in speaking a bit of Portuguese to enhance their career. I've also updated the book to go over social media vocab, even including slang abbreviations you can use to react to posts online.

Portuguese is the sixth most-spoken language in the world, due in large part to Brazil's huge population that hovers now around 213 million. Be sure to check out Chapter 1 to find out which other countries in the world, including Portugal, speak Portuguese. I point out differences between the Portuguese that's spoken in Brazil and Portugal in Chapter 1, but this book focuses on Brazilian Portuguese.

A bonus to learning Brazilian Portuguese is that it can help you to understand a little French, Spanish, and Italian, too. They're all Romance languages, so many words of these languages sound similar.

The sounds of Brazilian Portuguese can be difficult to make for non-native speakers, but stick with it and have fun. I'm not promising fluency here, but you can find out how to make small talk with a Brazilian, ask for directions in a city, and even make some plans. So go buy yourself some Brazilian music and fill your space with the sounds of Brazil. You'll fall in love with this lyrical language.

About This Book

Here's the good news: This isn't a class you have to drag yourself to or a language book that's weighed down with complicated grammar rules, like so many others you may find in a bookstore or online. It's a reference book for learning to speak Brazilian Portuguese that you can pick up at your leisure. You're the boss. You may choose to leaf through, glancing only at chapters and pages that grab your attention. Or you can read the whole thing from start to finish. (From finish to start is okay, too - no one's looking.)

The first few chapters may be helpful to read first, though, because they offer basic information about pronunciation and point out words that appear throughout the book. Of course, if there's a chapter you just have to read first, it's okay. After all, if you're heading to Brazil for Carnaval or for business, I'm guessing you'll want to flip to those chapters right away.

Just keep in mind that more advanced instruction comes later in the book as your knowledge and ability progresses. However, all chapters contain background, grammar, and dialogues that reflect the information you need to know at a particular level and in the situation of focus.

Conventions Used in This Book

To make the book easy to follow, I've set up a few stylistic rules:

• Portuguese terms are set in boldface to make them stand out.
• Pronunciations and definitions, which are shown in parentheses, follow the terms the first time they appear in a section.
• Within the pronunciation, the part of the word that's stressed is shown in italics.
• English translations appear in italics.
• Verb conjugations (lists that show you the different forms of a verb) are given in tables in this order: I, you (singular), he/she, we, they, and you (plural). Pronunciations follow in a second column.

Here's an example of a conjugation chart for the word ser (seh) (to be). Because the subjects always come in the same order, you can see that words in this chart mean I am, you are, he/she is, we are, they are, and you are.

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu sou

eh-ooh soh

você é

voh-seh eh

ele/ela é

eh-lee/eh-la eh

nós somos

nohz soh-mooz

eles/elas são

eh-leez/eh-lahz sah-ooh

vocês são

voh-sehz sah-ooh

In each chapter, you can also find the following sections:

• Talkin' the Talk dialogues: The best (and most fun) way to learn a language is to hear real-life dialogues, so I include little conversations throughout the book. The dialogues come under the heading "Talkin' the Talk" and show you the Portuguese words, how to pronounce them, and their English translations. Most of these conversations exist as audio files you can find online on the website associated with this book (www.dummies.com/go/brazilianportuguesefd3e), so when you see an Audio Online icon, be sure to listen along.
• Words to Know blackboards: Knowing key words and phrases is also important in the quest to speak a new language. I collect important words that appear in the Talkin' the Talk dialogues (and perhaps add a few related terms) and put them in a special blackboard-shaped box that follows the dialogues.
• Fun & Games activities: At the end of each chapter, find an activity designed to help you practice some of the words and concepts featured in that chapter. Don't worry; the exercises cover the essentials of a topic - nothing too difficult. The answers to these exercises are in Appendix C so you can quickly find out whether you got the right answers!

Foolish Assumptions

To write this book, I had to imagine who my readers would be. Yes, you! I think if you've picked up this book, you're probably an open-minded person who enjoys learning. That's excellent. Here are some other things I imagine about you:

• You're interested in learning enough conversational Brazilian Portuguese to get by in most social situations, not fluency.
• You don't want to memorize long lists of vocabulary to learn Portuguese.
• You have little or no experience with the Portuguese language.
• You're interested in learning about Brazilian culture as well as its language.

The only thing I ask of you is to leave any foolish assumptions behind that might prevent you from getting the most out of this book. For example, it's nonsense that only younger people can learn languages. The desire to learn is all you need. And it doesn't matter how well you did in high school French or German, or whichever language classes you've taken before. This book is designed to take a fresh approach to learning languages, and I won't grade you.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided by topic into parts and then into chapters. Chapters are further divided into sections. The following sections tell you what types of information you can find in each part.

Part 1: Getting Started with Brazilian Portuguese

This part covers the basics of Portuguese - how to pronounce words, construct sentences, and so on. I also point out Portuguese words that are so close to English that you already know their meanings.

Part 2: Brazilian Portuguese in Action

Discover everyday words and phrases in Portuguese and practice speaking this language. Instead of focusing on grammar points and philosophizing about why the language is structured the way it is, I jump right in to show you how it works. This section highlights how to talk to new Brazilian friends and business associates.

Part 3: Brazilian Portuguese on the Go

Here are the tools you need to take your Portuguese on the road, whether you're trying to figure out which part of Brazil you want to visit or talking with a Brazilian about the bus schedule. These chapters are devoted to the traveler in you, the one who checks into hotels, hails a cab, and attends sporting events or Carnaval in Brazil.

Part 4: The Part of Tens

If you're looking for quick advice about Portuguese, this part is for you. Here, you can find ten ways to pick up Portuguese quickly, ten common slang expressions, and ten expressions to help you sound fluent (even if you're faking it).

Part 5: Appendixes

This part of the book is a straightforward reference - conjugation tables for the most common verbs and two mini-dictionaries: one translates common words from English to Portuguese; the other defines Portuguese words in English....