Portuguese · Picking up your child
You are running late: call the nursery: what to say in Portuguese
You're going to be late collecting your child and phone the nursery.
💡
How it's done. If you're running late, be sure to phone: the nursery has a fixed closing time, and the staff will wait.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
Jardim de infância, boa tarde.Zhuhr-DEEN d een-FAHN-syuh, BOH-uh tahrd.
Nursery, good afternoon.
They might also say:
Estou? Diga.
Shtoh? DEE-guh.
Hello? Go ahead.
YOU REPLY
Boa tarde, sou o pai do Ivan. Vou chegar atrasado.
BOH-uh tahrd, soh oo pigh doo Ee-VAHN. Voh shih-GAHR uh-truh-ZAH-doo.
Good afternoon, I'm Ivan's parent. I'm going to be late.
THEY SAY
Quanto tempo mais ou menos?KWAHN-too TEM-poo mighz oh MEH-noosh?
About how long?
2
YOU REPLY
Uns quinze minutos. Desculpe!
Oonsh keenz mee-NOO-toosh. Dish-KOOLP!
About fifteen minutes. Sorry!
THEY SAY
Fechamos às sete, está bem?Fih-SHAH-mooz uhsh set, shtah bayn?
We close at seven, is that all right?
3
YOU REPLY
Chego antes das sete.
SHEH-goo AHN-tizh duhsh set.
I'll be there before seven.
THEY SAY
Combinado.kom-bee-NAH-doo.
Agreed.
They might also say:
Está combinado.
shtah kom-bee-NAH-doo.
It's agreed.
4
YOU FINISH
Obrigado!
oh-bree-GAH-doo!
Thank you!
Or say:Muito obrigado!
MWEE-too oh-bree-GAH-doo!
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
Jardim
Zhuhr-DEEN
noun
garden, park
infância
een-FAHN-syuh
noun
childhood (jardim de infância - nursery school)
boa
BOH-uh
adjective
good (feminine)
tarde
tahrd
noun
afternoon
sou
soh
verb
(I) am
pai
pigh
noun
dad, father
26 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
Pode falar mais devagar, por favor?
Pod fuh-LAHR mighzh dvuh-GAHR, poor fuh-VOR?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
Similar situations
The teacher asks you to sign a formPicking up your child · A1 in the app
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→The teacher asks you to bring a change of clothesPicking up your child · A1 in the app
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