A1 Expression 中性

Fala inglês?

Do you speak English?

意思

Used to ask if someone is capable of speaking the English language.

🌍

文化背景

Brazilians are famously warm and will often say 'um pouquinho' (a little bit) even if they are quite fluent, out of modesty or fear of making mistakes. In Portugal, English proficiency is among the highest in Southern Europe. It is very common for people under 50 to be highly fluent due to non-dubbed media. In Luanda, English is becoming a popular second language due to the oil industry, but Portuguese remains the dominant lingua franca for all daily interactions. Because it is surrounded by English-speaking countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe), many Mozambicans in border areas or tourism speak excellent English.

🎯

The 'Um Pouco' trick

If someone says 'um pouco', they usually speak better than they admit. Keep your English simple and they will open up.

⚠️

Avoid 'Você' in Portugal

In Portugal, just say 'Fala inglês?' or 'O senhor fala inglês?'. Using 'você' can sometimes feel too pointed or aggressive to locals.

意思

Used to ask if someone is capable of speaking the English language.

🎯

The 'Um Pouco' trick

If someone says 'um pouco', they usually speak better than they admit. Keep your English simple and they will open up.

⚠️

Avoid 'Você' in Portugal

In Portugal, just say 'Fala inglês?' or 'O senhor fala inglês?'. Using 'você' can sometimes feel too pointed or aggressive to locals.

💬

Smile first

A smile and a 'Bom dia' before asking 'Fala inglês?' will get you a much better response than just the question alone.

💡

Listen for the 'Yes'

Many people will simply answer 'Yes' or 'Sim'. Be ready to continue the conversation in English immediately.

自我测试

How do you ask an elderly woman if she speaks English in a very polite way?

Com licença, _______ fala inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: a senhora

'A senhora' is the correct formal address for a woman.

Complete the sentence with the correct form of the verb 'falar'.

Desculpe, eu não ____ português. Você ____ inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: falo / fala

'Eu falo' (I speak) and 'Você fala' (You speak).

Complete the dialogue at the airport.

Turista: Bom dia! ______? Funcionário: Sim, eu falo. Em que posso ajudar?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: Fala inglês?

The employee's response 'Sim, eu falo' indicates the question was about language ability.

Match the phrase to the correct level of formality.

1. Fala inglês? / 2. O senhor fala inglês? / 3. Manja o inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A

'O senhor' is formal, 'Fala' is neutral/informal, 'Manja' is slang.

Match the Portuguese phrase to its English translation.

A. Vocês falam inglês? / B. Ele fala inglês? / C. Eu falo inglês.

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: A-3, B-2, C-1

Matching the subject and verb conjugation.

🎉 得分: /5

视觉学习工具

Formal vs Informal

Informal
Fala inglês? Speak English?
Formal
O senhor fala inglês? Do you (sir) speak English?

练习题库

5 练习
How do you ask an elderly woman if she speaks English in a very polite way? Choose A1

Com licença, _______ fala inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: a senhora

'A senhora' is the correct formal address for a woman.

Complete the sentence with the correct form of the verb 'falar'. Fill Blank A1

Desculpe, eu não ____ português. Você ____ inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: falo / fala

'Eu falo' (I speak) and 'Você fala' (You speak).

Complete the dialogue at the airport. dialogue_completion A1

Turista: Bom dia! ______? Funcionário: Sim, eu falo. Em que posso ajudar?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: Fala inglês?

The employee's response 'Sim, eu falo' indicates the question was about language ability.

Match the phrase to the correct level of formality. situation_matching A2

1. Fala inglês? / 2. O senhor fala inglês? / 3. Manja o inglês?

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A

'O senhor' is formal, 'Fala' is neutral/informal, 'Manja' is slang.

Match the Portuguese phrase to its English translation. Match A1

将左侧的每个项目与右侧的配对匹配:

✓ 正确! ✗ 不太对。 正确答案: A-3, B-2, C-1

Matching the subject and verb conjugation.

🎉 得分: /5

常见问题

12 个问题

No, it's not rude, but it's much more polite if you say 'Excuse me' (Com licença) first.

In Brazil, it's common. In Portugal, it's often dropped to sound more natural and polite.

Smile, say 'Obrigado' (Thank you), and try using a translation app or simple gestures.

That is the 'Tu' form, common in Portugal and parts of Brazil. It's very informal.

In big cities and tourist areas, yes. In small towns, it is much less common.

You would say 'Eu falo um pouco de inglês'.

Use 'O senhor fala inglês?'.

Use 'A senhora fala inglês?'.

Yes, that means 'Is English spoken (here)?', which is great for shops or hotels.

Yes, it becomes 'Vocês falam inglês?'.

This is a characteristic of the accent in Portugal and Rio de Janeiro. In São Paulo, it sounds like a normal 's'.

In Portuguese, names of languages are usually not capitalized (inglês, português, francês).

相关表达

🔗

Falo um pouco

builds on

I speak a little

🔗

Não entendo

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I don't understand

🔗

Como se diz... em inglês?

builds on

How do you say... in English?

🔗

Pode repetir?

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Can you repeat?

🔗

Mais devagar, por favor

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Slower, please

🔗

Sou americano/inglês

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I am American/English

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