At the Cafe
Here’s a useful café vocabulary list with common terms and types of coffee you can order in Portugal. View the vocabulary at the top, followed by flashcards with useful dialogues and translations.
At the Café
🔹 Mesa – Table🔹 Cadeira – Chair🔹 Esplanada – Terrace/outdoor seating🔹 Balcão – Counter🔹 Casa de banho – Bathroom🔹 Tomada – Power outlet🔹 Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi🔹 Reserva – Reservation🔹 Palavra-passe / Senha – Password
Coffee & Other Drinks
🔹 Café – Coffee / Espresso🔹 Café curto – Short espresso (less water, stronger)🔹 Café cheio – Long espresso (more water, milder)🔹 Café duplo – Double espresso🔹 Abatanado – One espresso served in a large cup (more water)🔹 Galão – Latte (served in a tall glass)🔹 Meia de leite – Coffee with milk (half coffee, half milk)🔹 Descafeinado – Decaffeinated coffee🔹 Carioca de café – Weak espresso (second extraction)🔹 Carioca de limão – Lemon Tea (made from lemon peel, served in a small espresso cup)🔹 Pingado – Espresso with a splash of milk🔹 Chá – Tea / Infusion🔹 Chá preto – Black tea🔹 Chá verde – Green tea🔹 Chá de camomila – Chamomile Infusion🔹 Chocolate quente – Hot chocolate🔹 Sumo de laranja natural – Fresh orange juice🔹 Água com gás – Sparkling water🔹 Água sem gás – Still water🔹 Água fresca – Cold water🔹 Água natural – Room temperature water🔹 Cerveja – Beer🔹 Imperial / Fino – Draught beer (‘fino’ is used in the North) 🔹 Sidra – Cider
Food & Pastries
🔹 Pastel de nata – Cream Pastry (also called Portuguese custard tart)🔹 Bolo de chocolate – Chocolate cake🔹 Sandes / Sanduíche – Sandwich🔹 Pão com manteiga – Bread with butter🔹 Torrada – Toasted bread with butter🔹 Tosta Mista – Ham and cheese toasted sandwich🔹 Croissant misto – Ham and cheese croissant
Sweeteners & Add-ons
🔹 Açúcar branco – White sugar🔹 Açúcar amarelo – Brown sugar🔹 Adoçante – Sweetener🔹 Pau de canela – Cinnamon stick🔹 Canela em pó – Cinnamon powder🔹 Leite – Milk🔹 Leite sem lactose – Lactose-free milk🔹 Leite de aveia – Oat milk🔹 Leite de amêndoa – Almond milk🔹 Leite de soja – Soya milk
Ordering & Payment
🔹 Pedir – To order🔹 Para consumir aqui – To consume here🔹 Para levar – To-go / To take away🔹 Conta – Bill / Check🔹 Troco – Change (cash)🔹 Multibanco – Multibanco (Portuguese payment system)🔹 Cartão (de crédito/débito) – Card (Credit/debit)🔹 Dinheiro – Cash🔹 MB Way – MB Way (Portuguese mobile payment system)