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Portuguese · Lavandaria

Have trousers taken up or clothes mended: what to say in Portuguese

You need trousers hemmed or clothes mended.

Lavandaria7 linesLevel A1For life in Portugal The rest of the dialogue is in the app
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How it's done. A clothes alteration shop is arranjos de costura; a zip in Portuguese is fecho.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
YOU START
Pode fazer a bainha destas calças?
Pod fuh-ZEHR uh buh-EE-nyuh DESH-tuhsh KAHL-suhsh?
Can you hem these trousers?
THEY SAY
Quanto é que quer encurtar?
KWAHN-too eh k kehr ayn-koor-TAHR?
How much do you want to shorten it?
They might also say:
Posso, sim. Quanto é que quer encurtar?
POH-soo, seen. KWAHN-too eh k kehr ayn-koor-TAHR?
Yes, I can. How much shorter do you want it?
in the app
2
YOU REPLY
Uns três centímetros.
Oonsh tresh sayn-TEE-mih-troosh.
About three centimetres.
THEY SAY
Está bem. Vista para eu marcar.
Shtah bayn. VEESH-tuh pruh eh-oo muhr-KAHR.
All right. Put them on and I'll mark it.
in the app
3
YOU REPLY
Quanto custa?
KWAHN-too KOOSH-tuh?
How much does it cost?
THEY SAY
São cinco euros.
Sow SEEN-koo EH-oo-roosh.
It's five euros.
in the app
4
YOU FINISH
Obrigado, até logo!
oh-bree-GAH-doo, uh-TEH LOH-goo!
Thank you, see you later!
Or say:Obrigado!
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.

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

Words worth knowing

Pode
Pod
verb
can
fazer
fuh-ZEHR
verb
to do, to make
bainha
buh-EE-nyuh
noun
hem (fazer a bainha - to hem)
calças
KAHL-suhsh
noun
trousers
é
eh
verb
is
quer
kehr
verb
want

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

If you did not understand

Pode mostrar-me?
Pod moosh-TRAHRM?
Can you show me?

All 21 rescue phrases in Portuguese →

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The rest of the dialogue is in MovkoDownload