Business Portuguese
Business Portuguese: Meeting and Email Phrases That Sound Professional
The vocabulary that separates textbook Portuguese from Portuguese you'd actually use in a meeting or a client email.
General conversational Portuguese won't automatically prepare you for a business context — meetings, emails, and negotiations use their own register, with more formal phrasing and a specific set of vocabulary you won't pick up from travel phrasebooks. This guide covers the essentials for sounding professional, not just understood.
Key Takeaways
- Business Portuguese leans more formal — expect more "o senhor/a senhora" and fewer contractions than everyday speech.
- Email openings and closings are fairly formulaic — learn the templates and you can write a professional email fast.
- Brazil and Portugal both use fairly similar business register, though Portugal tends slightly more formal overall.
- Meeting vocabulary is worth over-preparing — scheduling, agreeing, and following up come up in nearly every professional interaction.
Email Openings and Closings
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Dear Mr./Ms. [Name], | Prezado(a) Sr(a). [Name], |
| I hope this email finds you well | Espero que este e-mail o encontre bem |
| I am writing to... | Escrevo para... |
| Please let me know if... | Por favor, avise-me se... |
| Looking forward to your reply | Aguardo seu retorno |
| Best regards | Atenciosamente / Cumprimentos |
In the Meeting
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Shall we begin? | Podemos começar? |
| Let's move to the next point | Vamos ao próximo ponto |
| I agree / I disagree | Concordo / Discordo |
| Could you clarify that? | Poderia esclarecer isso? |
| Let's schedule a follow-up | Vamos agendar um retorno |
| I'll send you the details | Vou enviar os detalhes |
Negotiating and Following Up
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| What's your proposal? | Qual é a sua proposta? |
| We need to discuss the terms | Precisamos discutir os termos |
| That works for us | Isso funciona para nós |
| Let me get back to you on that | Deixe-me retornar sobre isso |
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