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A1 · Beginner

Public Transport Survival

Ride the metro, comboio, and autocarro like a local — buy and validate tickets, find your paragem, and dodge the Brazilian words that confuse.

📝 Vocabulary

PortugueseEnglishNotes
Um bilheteA ticket
O passeThe travel passThe rechargeable card commuters use
Carregar o cartãoTo top up the card
O metroThe subway / metro
O comboioThe trainEP word — 'trem' is Brazilian
O autocarroThe busEP word — 'ônibus' is Brazilian
O elétricoThe tramLike Lisbon's famous number 28
A paragemThe (bus) stop
ValidarTo validateTap your card on every ride — inspectors do check
Entrada / SaídaEntrance / Exit

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💡 Grammar Notes

Masculine vs. Feminine

Portuguese nouns have gender. Look at the articles (the words for "the"):

  • O (masculine): o metro, o comboio, o autocarro.
  • A (feminine): a estação, a paragem, a saída.

Most words ending in -o are masculine and most ending in -a are feminine, though there are exceptions!

Does This Go To...?

The survival questions for any platform or paragem:

  • "Este comboio vai para o Porto?" (Does this train go to Porto?)
  • "Qual é a linha para o aeroporto?" (Which line goes to the airport?)
  • "Onde fica a paragem do autocarro?" (Where is the bus stop?)

And the answer you hope for: "Vai, sim." (Yes, it does.)

Ir de + Transport

To say how you travel, use ir (to go) + de + the vehicle:

  • "Vou de metro." (I go by metro.)
  • "Vamos de comboio para Sintra." (We're going to Sintra by train.)
  • "Ela vai de autocarro." (She goes by bus.)

One exception: walking is a pé (on foot), not "de pé":

"Fica perto — vou a pé." (It's close — I'll walk.)

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