A1 (Beginner)Lesson 8: Travel Prep
Simple problem-reporting and help phrases cover closed places, broken things, missing items, and fast clarification. Short phrases like preciso de ajuda, não entendo, and pode repetir? are essential when something goes wrong.
Use preciso de… to say what you need (preciso de ajuda — "I need help")
Report an issue with tem um problema com… ("there's a problem with…")
Ask for clarification with não entendo and pode repetir?
Describe what's wrong with estar: está fechado, está quebrado, não está aqui
Core words to recognize fast: precisar, ajuda, problema, farmácia, médico, polícia
In a stressful moment, a short clear phrase beats a long, perfect one
Things go wrong on every trip — a key that won't open, a bus bathroom that's fechado, a reservation that has mysteriously vanished. The traveler who can calmly say tem um problema and preciso de ajuda gets it sorted in a minute; the one who freezes ends up miming a broken shower to a very confused receptionist. A handful of short, clear phrases is the difference between a quick fix and a long, sweaty game of charades.
preciso de ajuda | tem um problema | não entendo | pode repetir? | está fechado / quebrado / aqui
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When something goes wrong, nobody expects a tourist to build a perfect sentence. Brazilians handle travel hiccups with a handful of short, fixed phrases — learn these and you can deal with almost anything.
| Phrase | What it means |
|---|---|
| Preciso de… | I need… (+ noun) |
| Tem um problema com… | There's a problem with… |
| Não entendo | I don't understand |
| Pode repetir? | Can you repeat? |
| Mais devagar, por favor | Slower, please |
| Está fechado / quebrado | It's closed / broken |
Preciso de ajuda com a minha reserva, por favor. (I need help with my reservation, please.)
Pode repetir o número do portão? (Can you repeat the gate number?)
Desculpe, não entendo. Pode falar mais devagar? (Sorry, I don't understand. Can you speak more slowly?)
Meu português ainda é básico. (My Portuguese is still basic.)
Tem um problema com a minha reserva. (There's a problem with my reservation.)
O banheiro está fechado. (The bathroom is closed.)
O ar-condicionado não funciona. (The air conditioning isn't working.)
Minha bagagem não está aqui. (My luggage isn't here.)
"Lost" agrees with who is talking, not with the street: a man says estou perdido, a woman says estou perdida. Both mean "I'm lost."
Não entendo means "I don't understand" (the words); não escuto bem means "I can't hear well" (the sound). A noisy bus calls for não escuto; fast Portuguese calls for não entendo.
The textbook word for "there is" is há, but out loud Brazilians overwhelmingly say tem: tem um problema, tem uma farmácia aqui? ("is there a pharmacy here?"). Both are correct — tem just sounds more natural.
Quebrado describes broken objects (o telefone está quebrado — "the phone is broken"), but said about a person, estou quebrado colloquially means "I'm broke" (out of cash). For "I'm hurt", say estou machucado / machucada instead.
When a trip goes sideways in Brazil, three short numbers beat any phrase you could memorize: 190 reaches the police (Polícia Militar), 192 the SAMU ambulance service, and 193 the fire brigade (Corpo de Bombeiros), who also handle most rescues. The calls are free, so they work even when your pre-paid credit doesn't — worth saving before you ever need them.
Sources: Secretaria de Segurança Pública do DF, Governo do Paraná
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