How to Say ‘You tap/press the card.’ in Portuguese
Encostas o cartão.
💬 Usage Tip: “Encostar” = to touch/lean against. Here it means “tap it against the reader.”
🇵🇹 In Portugal: When validating, people say “encosta aqui” (tap here). Wait for the green light/beep before moving on.
Word-by-Word Breakdown
Encostas
[en-KOSH-tash]
you tap; you press; you place (against)
From “encostar” (to put/lean against). In metro context it’s the action of tapping/holding the card against the reader.
Encostas o cartão no leitor para validar.
You tap the card on the reader to validate.
o
[oo]
the
Masculine singular definite article used before “cartão”.
Encostas o cartão e esperas pelo sinal.
You tap the card and wait for the signal.
cartão
[car-TOWN]
card
A travel card (e.g., Andante card) that you validate by tapping at the gates/validator.
Encostas o cartão na máquina para entrar.
You tap the card on the machine to enter.
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