A Música do Bairro
Ana descobre o fado ao ouvir música na rua em Alfama.
ouvir—to hear / to listenRead 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
Ana mora em Alfama, o bairro mais antigo de Lisboa. Gosta muito de ouvir os sons da rua pela janela do seu quarto. De manhã, ouve os pássaros a cantar nas árvores do jardim. Ouve também o barulho dos autocarros e das pessoas que passam. Para Ana, estes sons são a música da cidade.
Ana lives in Alfama, the oldest neighbourhood in Lisbon. She loves to listen to the sounds of the street from her bedroom window. In the morning, she hears the birds singing in the garden trees. She also hears the noise of buses and people passing by. For Ana, these sounds are the music of the city.
Uma tarde, Ana ouve uma guitarra portuguesa a tocar na rua. O som é muito bonito e diferente. Ana nunca ouviu fado ao vivo antes. Ela abre a janela e ouve com atenção. Uma mulher canta com uma voz muito forte e triste. Ana fica parada a ouvir durante vários minutos.
One afternoon, Ana hears a Portuguese guitar playing in the street. The sound is very beautiful and different. Ana has never heard fado live before. She opens the window and listens carefully. A woman sings with a very powerful and sad voice. Ana stands still listening for several minutes.
The remaining 9 paragraphs are in the reader, with audio for every sentence and tap-to-translate on every word.
Vocabulary Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ouvir | to hear / to listen |
| música | music / song |
| bairro | neighbourhood |
| mora | lives (3rd person singular present of morar) |
| morar | to live (reside) |
| Alfama | Alfama (historic neighbourhood in Lisbon) |
| mais | more / most |
| antigo | old / ancient |
| Lisboa | Lisbon |
| gosta | likes (3rd person singular present of gostar) |
| gostar | to like |
| muito | very / a lot |
| sons | sounds (plural of som) |
| som | sound |
| rua | street |
| janela | window |
| seu | her / his / your (possessive) |
| quarto | room / bedroom |
| de manhã | in the morning |
| manhã | morning |
| ouve | hears / listens (3rd person singular present of ouvir) |
| pássaros | birds (plural of pássaro) |
| pássaro | bird |
| cantar | to sing |
| árvores | trees (plural of árvore) |
| árvore | tree |
| jardim | garden |
| também | also / too |
| barulho | noise |
| autocarros | buses (plural of autocarro) |
| pessoas | people (plural of pessoa) |
| passam | pass (3rd person plural present of passar) |
| passar | to pass / to go by |
| estes | these (masculine plural) |
| cidade | city |
| tarde | afternoon |
| guitarra portuguesa | Portuguese guitar |
| tocar | to play (an instrument) / to touch |
| bonito | beautiful / pretty |
| diferente | different |
| nunca | never |
| ouviu | heard (3rd person singular preterite of ouvir) |
| fado | fado (Portuguese music genre) |
| ao vivo | live (performance) |
| antes | before |
| abre | opens (3rd person singular present of abrir) |
| abrir | to open |
| com atenção | carefully / attentively |
| mulher | woman |
| canta | sings (3rd person singular present of cantar) |
| voz | voice |
| forte | strong / powerful |
| triste | sad |
| fica | stays / remains (3rd person singular present of ficar) |
| ficar | to stay / to remain / to become |
| parada | still / standing still (feminine) |
| durante | during / for (a period of time) |
| vários | several / various |
| minutos | minutes (plural of minuto) |
| desce | goes down (3rd person singular present of descer) |
| descer | to go down / to descend |
| escadas | stairs / steps |
| vai | goes (3rd person singular present of ir) |
| ir | to go |
| melhor | better / best |
| há | there is / there are |
| pequeno | small / little |
| grupo | group |
| fadista | fado singer |
| cantora | singer (female) |
| fecha | closes (3rd person singular present of fechar) |
| fechar | to close |
| olhos | eyes (plural of olho) |
| toda a gente | everyone / everybody |
| em silêncio | in silence |
| bonita | beautiful / pretty (feminine) |
| ouvi | heard (1st person singular preterite of ouvir) |
| nada | nothing |
| assim | like this / like that / so |
| diz | says (3rd person singular present of dizer) |
| dizer | to say / to tell |
| baixinho | quietly / softly |
| senhora | lady / madam |
| ao lado | next to / beside |
| querida | dear (feminine) |
| aqui | here |
| ouvimos | we hear / we listen (1st person plural present of ouvir) |
| todos os dias | every day |
| responde | replies / answers (3rd person singular present of responder) |
| responder | to reply / to answer |
| sorriso | smile |
| posso | can / am able to (1st person singular present of poder) |
| poder | to be able to / can |
| pergunta | asks (3rd person singular present of perguntar) / question |
| perguntar | to ask |
| casa de fado | fado venue / fado house |
| ali | there / over there |
| rua de baixo | street below / lower street |
| hoje | today |
| à noite | at night / tonight |
| noite | night / evening |
| podes | you can (2nd person singular present of poder) |
| melhores | best (plural of melhor) |
| fadistas | fado singers (plural of fadista) |
| volta | returns (3rd person singular present of voltar) |
| voltar | to return / to go back |
| casa | house / home |
| telefona | phones / calls (3rd person singular present of telefonar) |
| telefonar | to phone / to call |
| amiga | friend (female) |
| ouviste | did you hear (2nd person singular preterite of ouvir) |
| alguma vez | ever / sometime |
| estou | I am (1st person singular present of estar) |
| estar | to be (temporary state / location) |
| incrível | incredible / amazing |
| já | already / yet |
| algumas | some (feminine plural) |
| vezes | times (plural of vez) |
| rádio | radio |
| então | then / so |
| vem | come (2nd person singular imperative / 3rd person singular present of vir) |
| vir | to come |
| comigo | with me |
| esta | this (feminine) |
| vamos | let's / we go (1st person plural present of ir) |
| chegam | arrive (3rd person plural present of chegar) |
| chegar | to arrive |
| entram | enter (3rd person plural present of entrar) |
| entrar | to enter / to go in |
| ouvem | hear / listen (3rd person plural present of ouvir) |
| logo | immediately / right away / soon |
| afinar | to tune (an instrument) |
| lugar | place |
| acolhedor | welcoming / cosy |
| mesas | tables (plural of mesa) |
| cobertas | covered (feminine plural past participle of cobrir) |
| toalhas | tablecloths / cloths (plural of toalha) |
| toalha | tablecloth / cloth |
| vermelhas | red (feminine plural of vermelho) |
| duas | two (feminine) |
| amigas | friends (feminine plural of amiga) |
| sentam-se | sit down (3rd person plural present reflexive of sentar-se) |
| sentar-se | to sit down |
| perto | near / close |
| palco | stage |
| bem | well |
| homem | man |
| serve | serves (3rd person singular present of servir) |
| servir | to serve |
| vinho | wine |
| petiscos | snacks / bar food (pt-PT) |
| começa | begins / starts (3rd person singular present of começar) |
| começar | to begin / to start |
| palavras | words (plural of palavra) |
| tenta | tries (3rd person singular present of tentar) |
| tentar | to try |
| perceber | to understand / to grasp |
| significado | meaning |
| fala | speaks / talks (3rd person singular present of falar) |
| falar | to speak / to talk |
| saudade | longing / nostalgia (untranslatable Portuguese word) |
| mar | sea |
| amor | love |
| consegues | can you / are you able to (2nd person singular present of conseguir) |
| conseguir | to manage / to be able to |
| sussurra | whispers (3rd person singular present of sussurrar) |
| sussurrar | to whisper |
| ouço | I hear / I listen (1st person singular present of ouvir) |
| ficam | stay / become (3rd person plural present of ficar) |
| emocionadas | moved / emotional (feminine plural) |
| emocionado/a | moved / emotional |
| depois | after / afterwards |
| espectáculo | show / performance |
| guitarrista | guitarist |
| vossa | your (2nd person plural possessive) |
| pela primeira vez | for the first time |
| obrigado | thank you (said by a male) |
| alma | soul |
| Portugal | Portugal |
| quem | who / whoever |
| vez | time / occasion |
| quer | wants (3rd person singular present of querer) |
| querer | to want |
| sempre | always |
| músico | musician |
| orgulho | pride |
| caminho | way / path |
| sair | to leave / to come out |
| tasca | tavern / small traditional restaurant |
| jovens | young people / youths |
| popular | popular / folk |
| portuguesa | Portuguese (feminine adjective) |
| param | stop (3rd person plural present of parar) |
| parar | to stop |
| momento | moment |
| tanta | so much (feminine) |
| isso | that |
| adoro | I love / I adore (1st person singular present of adorar) |
| adorar | to love / to adore |
| consegue | manages / can (3rd person singular present of conseguir) |
| dormir | to sleep |
| ainda | still / yet |
| na cabeça | in one's head |
| cabeça | head |
| pega | picks up / grabs (3rd person singular present of pegar) |
| pegar | to pick up / to grab |
| telemóvel | mobile phone |
| procura | searches / looks for (3rd person singular present of procurar) |
| procurar | to search / to look for |
| encontra | finds (3rd person singular present of encontrar) |
| encontrar | to find |
| lista de músicas | playlist |
| hora | hour |
| Amália Rodrigues | Amália Rodrigues (famous Portuguese fado singer) |
| enche | fills (3rd person singular present of encher) |
| encher | to fill |
| coração | heart |
| manhã seguinte | next morning |
| seguinte | following / next |
| despertador | alarm clock |
| sete | seven |
| horas | hours / o'clock |
| levanta-se | gets up (3rd person singular present reflexive of levantar-se) |
| levantar-se | to get up |
| vozes | voices (plural of voz) |
| agora | now |
| tudo | everything |
| maneira | way / manner |
| como se fosse | as if it were |
| soou | sounded (3rd person singular preterite of soar) |
| soar | to sound |
| tão | so / such |
| descreve | describes (3rd person singular present of descrever) |
| descrever | to describe |
| explica | explains (3rd person singular present of explicar) |
| explicar | to explain |
| sobre | about |
| segundo | according to |
| faz | does / makes (3rd person singular present of fazer) |
| fazer | to do / to make |
| famosa | famous (feminine) |
| qual | which / what |
| lhes | to them (indirect object pronoun) |
| minha | my (feminine possessive) |
| professor | teacher (male) |
| disse | said (3rd person singular preterite of dizer) |
| ontem | yesterday |
| ouviram | heard (3rd person plural preterite of ouvir) |
| ouves | you hear (2nd person singular present of ouvir) |
| daqui | from here |
| só | only / just |
| que | what / how (exclamatory) |
More A2 stories
All A2 stories →More Everyday Life stories
All Everyday Life stories →Related grammar
Related vocabulary
- Culture & Arts · B2
- 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.