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Portuguese · Café / Pastelaria

The seller asks what to write on the cake: what to say in Portuguese

You're ordering a cake, and the assistant asks about the writing on it.

Café / Pastelaria4 linesLevel A2For life in Portugal The rest of the dialogue is in the app
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How it's done. The shortest greeting on a cake is Parabéns! ("Congratulations!"); it's also what people say aloud for a birthday.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.

Cheat sheet for your visit

The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.

1
THEY SPEAK FIRST
THEY SAY
Quer alguma frase no bolo?
Kehr uhl-GOO-muh frahz noo BOH-loo?
Would you like something written on the cake?
They might also say:
O que é para escrever?
Oo k eh pruh shkrih-VEHR?
What should it say?
Tem algum nome para pôr?
Tayn uhl-GOON nohm pruh por?
Is there a name to put on it?
YOU REPLY
Só «Parabéns», por favor.
Soh «Puh-ruh-BAYNSH», poor fuh-VOR.
Just "Parabéns", please.
Or say:«Parabéns, Sofia!», por favor.
«Puh-ruh-BAYNSH, Soo-FEE-uh!», poor fuh-VOR.
THEY SAY
Fica pronto no sábado de manhã.
FEE-kuh PROHN-too noo SAH-buh-doo d muh-NYAHN.
It'll be ready on Saturday morning.
They might also say:
Pode levantar a partir das dez.
Pod lih-vahn-TAHR uh puhr-TEER duhzh desh.
You can pick it up from ten.
in the app
2
YOU FINISH
Perfeito, obrigado.
Pir-FAY-too, oh-bree-GAH-doo.
Perfect, thank you.

The course is in the app

This dialogue is part of the course “Portuguese for life in Portugal”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.

On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.

Words worth knowing

Quer
Kehr
verb
want
frase
frahz
noun
phrase, inscription
bolo
BOH-loo
noun
cake, pastry
Só
Soh
adverb
only, just
favor
fuh-VOR
noun
favour, kindness
Fica
FEE-kuh
verb
will be

10 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.

If you did not understand

Pode escrever, por favor?
Pod shkrih-VEHR, poor fuh-VOR?
Can you write it down, please?

All 21 rescue phrases in Portuguese →

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