Pronounced roughly “oh-LAH”. In Portugal, the “á” is clearly stressed.

A friendly, neutral greeting you can use anytime; pair it with “Bom dia/Boa tarde” if you want to sound extra local.

“Vais” = “you go/are you going” (informal singular, tu). More formal: “Vai para Lisboa?” (você).

In Portugal it’s common to ask travel plans casually, especially when you’re both clearly heading somewhere (station, platform, etc.).

Short question: subject “tu” is implied. You can add emphasis: “Vais hoje mesmo?” = “today for sure?”.

Locals often keep questions short in quick transit chats—less is more at the metro.

Word order is flexible; “Hoje vais para Lisboa?” is also natural and slightly more emphatic on “today”.

Portugal has strong Porto–Lisboa travel flow; people often confirm the day/time because plans can change with trains.

Often pronounced like “seem” (nasal-ish). You can soften it: “Sim, sim.” = “Yes, yes.”

Portuguese “Sim” can sound calm/flat to foreigners—don’t mistake it for disinterest!

From verb “ir” (to go). “Vou” can mean “I’m going (there)” or “I’m going to…” depending on context.

You’ll hear “Vou já” = “I’m going now / coming right away” in everyday talk.

Nice natural confirmation. You can also say “Sim, vou sim” for extra emphasis.

Repeating the verb after “sim” is very common in Portuguese and sounds more natural than a plain “Sim.”

With cities, Portuguese usually uses “no/na”: “Estou no Porto.” “Em Porto” sounds non-native here.

Locals typically say “no Porto” (and often add the article: “o Porto”).

“no” = “em + o” (in + the). Many place names take an article in PT-PT.

People often say “o Porto” and “a Lisboa” in conversation, especially with “em”: “no Porto”, “em Lisboa”/“na Lisboa” (the latter is more colloquial/regional).