Olá bom dia! Tudo bem? Yes, it's Monday again, segunda-feira, a clear opportunity to start the week speaking Portuguese. So who are you speaking to today? Where are you speaking to them, and what are you going to say to them in Portuguese? There's also talk in the air about a book club (see last week's Expats Portugal Dream Team session where Gilda P' mentioned the President's book fair in his back garden!). Would you find a book club useful? How would you like to see it work? And if reading is a hobby of yours and you're interested in Portuguese history, you might like to tune into the Good Morning Portugal! show this morning to hear author Tim Richardson speak about his book 'Forgetting Nicholas Trant'. Oh, and here's a new special ops module for you, should you be going to a bookshop or your local library.

I went to pay for a bottle of gas yesterday. In Portuguese, of course. In fact, there's no other option. The first part of the story is that when I first went to buy gas on Friday, the system wasn't working. The man, Senhor Amilcar, couldn't charge me. and said, "Oh, it will be delivered this afternoon. Come back and pay on Monday." I went back to pay yesterday and was told, in the usual 'barrage' of Portuguese, that (from what I could discern) the price of gas had gone down. What a lovely experience: 1. To be trusted to come back and pay later, with much-needed gas delivered regardless. 2. That a drop in the price of gas has been passed on to me, the customer. There's no reason why they had to change, lower, their price. (Or maybe there is. I don't know, perhaps there is an energy supply law in Portugal), but still they honoured and shared the drop in price, which delights me. I mentioned the word "barrage." And I don't mean that in any negative way. What I mean is, buying gas, I'm able to sit down in the office, the escritório of the gas shop, and have our man in there, in his 70s perhaps, freely flow in Portuguese at me. It's a chance to soak up and relax into a wave of conversational and daily colloquial Portuguese without feeling startled. He just keeps talking and I sit back and let it wash over me. I relax and see what I can discern, smiling and laughing, responding appropriately to the tone, the atmosphere, and to the conviviality in the room. I like buying gas in my town for so many reasons. Here's a gas-buying mission module for you. I hope you have a similar experience.

Olá bom dia! Tudo bem? I was disappointed yesterday to see so few sharing what Portuguese you plan to speak: what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and where you want to say it. Let's do it again today. Please add in the comments of this thread exactly this 👆 If you don't speak Portuguese, you won't speak Portuguese. Let's see what we can do today. Reminder let's keep it simple: - What do you want to say? - Who do you want to say it to? - Where do you want to say it? Pop it in the comments here 👇 Go for it. If you need materials, resources, let me know. But PLEASE get out there and... Show up. Wing it. Adapt. And above all TALK! #SWAT Boa sorte e divertem-se! PS You joined a Speak Portuguese group. What's stopping you? Quick poll 👇

Welcome to a new week of SPEAKING Portuguese, we have a new format... As of today we have taken away the goal of 90 days and we are focusing on speaking Portuguese today, AND every day. This daily post is where you can share: - WHAT you intend to say in Portuguese today - WHO you intend to speak to - WHERE you want to say it, - And, of course, the community for inspiration, support and encouragement 🤗 Today's mission of the day is available to all members and it's an important "What to Do in an Emergency" module, which you can find in the classroom here. To get the best out of this community, please take part, take a (baby) step, every day, and we'll check in on Friday about your weekly progress PLUS a party call for Premium members. So please don't scroll, enrol! WRITE IN THE COMMENTS 👇 What is it you want to say? Who do you want to say it to? Where do you want to say it? And let's help each other speak Portuguese now, today, every day...

📍 A letra mais rara do alfabeto português - e a que mais confunde os estrangeiros quando tentam soletrar o seu nome ao telefone. 🎂 O Y tem uma história complicada em português. Veio do grego antigo - ípsilon significa literalmente "i simples" ou "i esguio." Durante séculos, o português usado o Y em palavras como syndicato e kiosque - mas a reforma ortográfica de 1940 expulsou-o oficialmente do alfabeto. Regressou apenas em 2009, com o Acordo Ortográfico, juntamente com o K e o W. Cinquenta e nove anos de exílio. Bem-vindo de volta, ípsilon. 💡 O Y quase não aparece em palavras portuguesas nativas. Encontra-se principalmente em nomes estrangeiros - YouTube, Yoko, Beyoncé — e em palavras técnicas de origem grega, como yoga. Mas o nome da letra - ípsilon - é onde a confusão começa. Para soletrar em português, precisa de saber os nomes de todas as letras. E alguns são completamente inesperados: o H chama-se agá. O J é jota. O R é erre. O X é xis. E o Y é ípsilon - três sílabas que apanham toda a gente de surpresa. A próxima vez que precisar de soletrar o seu nome num banco, numa clínica ou num aeroporto, esta lista vai salvar-lhe a vida. 🍽️ Pratique o alfabeto completo em voz alta - usa a mesma melodia do Twinkle Twinkle. Grave-se no WhatsApp e ouça. Os nomes das letras que mais confundem: agá (H), jota (J), erre (R), xis (X) e ípsilon (Y). Domine estes cinco e a vida em Portugal fica muito mais fácil. 🗣️ Vocabulário - o alfabeto completo em português: - a, bê, cê, dê, é, efe, gê - A B C D E F G - agá, i, jota, capa, ele, eme, ene - H I J K L M N - ó, pê, quê, erre, esse, tê - O P Q R S T - u, vê, dáblio, xis, ípsilon, zê - U V W X Y Z 💬 "Como se escreve o seu nome?" (Tente soletrar o seu nome em português usando os nomes das letras acima. É mais difícil do que parece!) ❓ Hora do quiz: O que significa ípsilon em grego antigo?