O Último Dia da Livraria
Depois de quarenta anos, a livraria Palavras de Lisboa vai fechar. Mas na última noite, algo estranho acontece entre as prateleiras.
fechar—to closeRead this in the PortuStories app
European Portuguese audio (Google neural voice) · Tap any word to translate · SRS vocabulary · Comprehension quizzes
Story opening — Portuguese with English Translation
A livraria Palavras ficava na Baixa de Lisboa há quarenta anos. Era um espaço mágico com prateleiras até ao teto e um cheiro a papel velho que nunca desaparecia. Mas o senhor Araújo, o dono, tinha setenta e dois anos e os seus filhos viviam no estrangeiro. Tinha chegado o momento de fechar.
The Palavras bookshop had been in Lisbon's Baixa for forty years. It was a magical space with shelves reaching the ceiling and a smell of old paper that never disappeared. But Senhor Araújo was seventy-two and his children lived abroad. The moment had come to close.
No último dia antes de fechar, a loja encheu-se de clientes antigos. Pessoas que ali tinham comprado o primeiro livro da sua vida. Professores, estudantes, escritores. Todos queriam estar presentes no momento em que a Palavras fechava as suas portas para sempre.
On the last day before closing, the shop filled with old customers. People who had bought their first book of their lives there. Everyone wanted to be present for the moment when Palavras closed its doors forever.
The remaining 9 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| fechar | to close |
| fecho | I close (1st p. sing. pres. of fechar) |
| fecha | closes (3rd p. sing. pres. of fechar) |
| fechamos | we close (1st p. pl. pres. of fechar) |
| fecham | they close (3rd p. pl. pres. of fechar) |
| fechei | I closed (1st p. sing. pret. of fechar) |
| fechaste | you closed (2nd p. sing. pret. of fechar) |
| fechou | closed (3rd p. sing. pret. of fechar) |
| fecharam | they closed (3rd p. pl. pret. of fechar) |
| fechava | used to close (3rd p. sing. imperfect of fechar) |
| fechavam | used to close (3rd p. pl. imperfect of fechar) |
| fechado | closed (past participle / adj) |
| livraria | bookshop |
| prateleiras | shelves |
| prateleira | shelf |
| encerramento | closure, closing down |
| montra | shop window, display window |
| placa | sign (on a door) |
| vigiar | to watch over, to keep watch |
| sombra | shadow |
| flutuantes | floating |
| legado | legacy |
| arrepiada | with chills, horrified (f) |
| embargada | breaking (of voice) |
| galeria de arte | art gallery |
| páginas | pages |
| aplaudir | to applaud |
| aplaudiram | applauded (3rd p. pl. pret. of aplaudir) |
| aparente | apparent, obvious |
| eternamente | eternally, forever |
| pandemia | pandemic |
| Baixa de Lisboa | Baixa district of Lisbon (downtown) |
| telemóvel | mobile phone |
| nunca fechou um dia | never closed for a single day |
| cheiro a papel velho | smell of old paper |
| fechar as portas para sempre | to close the doors forever |
| em silêncio | in silence |
| à espera | waiting |
| voz embargada | voice breaking with emotion |
| intitular-se | to be titled / to be called |
| reagir | to react |
| reagindo | reacting (gerund of reagir) |
| alma | soul |
| mover-se | to move (oneself) |
| ficava | was located / used to be (3rd p. sing. imperfect of ficar) |
| ficar | to stay, to be (location) |
| ficou | stayed / remained (3rd p. sing. pret. of ficar) |
| ficaram | stayed (3rd p. pl. pret. of ficar) |
| mágico | magical |
| teto | ceiling |
| cheiro | smell, scent |
| papel | paper |
| velho | old |
| desaparecia | disappeared / used to disappear (3rd p. sing. imperfect of desaparecer) |
| desaparecer | to disappear |
| dono | owner |
| setenta | seventy |
| dois | two |
| filhos | children, sons |
| estrangeiro | abroad, foreign country |
| viviam | lived (3rd p. pl. imperfect of viver) |
| viver | to live |
| último | last, final |
| encheu-se | filled up (3rd p. sing. pret. reflexive of encher) |
| encher | to fill |
| clientes | customers |
| antigos | old, former (m pl) |
| tinham | had (3rd p. pl. imperfect of ter) |
| comprado | bought (past participle of comprar) |
| comprar | to buy |
| professores | teachers |
| estudantes | students |
| escritores | writers |
| presentes | present, there |
| portas | doors |
| para sempre | forever |
| exatamente | exactly |
| respondeu | replied (3rd p. sing. pret. of responder) |
| responder | to reply, to answer |
| calma | calm |
| razão | reason |
| mudar | to change |
| jornalista | journalist |
| jornal | newspaper |
| local | local |
| artigo | article |
| escrever | to write |
| entrevistar | to interview |
| entrevistando | interviewing (gerund of entrevistar) |
| contou | told (3rd p. sing. pret. of contar) |
| contar | to tell, to count |
| sequer | even, not even |
| Natal | Christmas |
| aconteceu | happened (3rd p. sing. pret. of acontecer) |
| acontecer | to happen |
| estranho | strange |
| fundo | back, bottom |
| caíram | fell (3rd p. pl. pret. of cair) |
| cair | to fall |
| mesmo tempo | same time |
| ninguém | nobody |
| vento | wind |
| olhou | looked (3rd p. sing. pret. of olhar) |
| olhar | to look |
| chão | floor, ground |
| disse | said (3rd p. sing. pret. of dizer) |
| dizer | to say |
| poesia | poetry |
| portuguesa | Portuguese (f) |
| coincidência | coincidence |
| sentir | to feel, to sense |
| sentiu | felt (3rd p. sing. pret. of sentir) |
| lugar | place |
| caminhou | walked (3rd p. sing. pret. of caminhar) |
| caminhar | to walk |
| virou | turned (3rd p. sing. pret. of virar) |
| virar | to turn |
| chave | key |
| grande | large, big |
| antiga | old, ancient (f) |
| ouviu-se | was heard (3rd p. sing. pret. reflexive of ouvir) |
| ouvir | to hear |
| clique | click (sound) |
| parecer | to seem |
| pareceu | seemed (3rd p. sing. pret. of parecer) |
| durar | to last, to endure |
| cerca de | about, approximately |
| trinta | thirty |
| espera | wait, waiting |
| quando | when |
| começaram | started (3rd p. pl. pret. of começar) |
| começar | to start, to begin |
| choravam | were crying (3rd p. pl. imperfect of chorar) |
| chorar | to cry |
| surpreso | surprised (m) |
| surpresa | surprise; surprised (f) |
| emocionado | moved, emotional (m) |
| sabia | knew (3rd p. sing. imperfect of saber) |
| saber | to know (a fact) |
| amigos | friends |
| nessa noite | that night |
| noite | night |
| acesa | on, lit (f) |
| dois da manhã | two in the morning |
| fotografou | photographed (3rd p. sing. pret. of fotografar) |
| fotografar | to photograph |
| foto | photo |
| figura | figure, shape |
| rodeada | surrounded (f) |
| publicou | published (3rd p. sing. pret. of publicar) |
| publicar | to publish |
| publicado | published (past participle) |
| título | title |
| verdadeiramente | truly, really |
| falava | spoke about (3rd p. sing. imperfect of falar) |
| falar | to speak, to talk |
| mistérios | mysteries |
| memória | memory |
| meses | months |
| transformado | transformed, turned into (past participle) |
| transformar | to transform, to turn into |
| quem entrava | whoever entered |
| sentir | to feel, to smell |
| sorriam | smiled (3rd p. pl. imperfect of sorrir) |
| sorrir | to smile |
| explicar | to explain |
| quarenta | forty |
| anos | years |
| senhor | Mr, sir, gentleman |
| nunca | never |
| sempre | always |
| ainda | still, yet |
| também | also, too |
| já | already, now |
| alguma forma | somehow, in some way |
| às vezes | sometimes |
More A2 stories
All A2 stories →More Mystery & Crime stories
All Mystery & Crime stories →Related grammar
Related vocabulary
- Hobbies & Free Time · A2
- Health & Doctor Visit · A2
Want audio + tap-to-translate?
The PortuStories app adds European Portuguese audio (Google's neural voice), word-by-word translation, SRS vocabulary tracking, and comprehension quizzes to every story.