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Portuguese · Baixa médica

Ask for a day off or holiday: what to say in Portuguese

You want to ask for a day off or a holiday.

Baixa médica5 linesLevel A2For life in Portugal The rest of the dialogue is in the app
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How it's done. Holidays (férias) are usually agreed in advance in the schedule; for a single day off, ask a few days ahead.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
Posso tirar férias em agosto?
POH-soo tee-RAHR FEH-ryuhz ayn uh-GOSH-too?
Can I take my holiday in August?
THEY SAY
Em agosto já há muita gente de férias.
Ayn uh-GOSH-too zhah uh MWEE-tuh zhaynt d FEH-ryuhsh.
In August a lot of people are already on holiday.
in the app
2
YOU REPLY
Obrigado. Pode ser em setembro?
Oh-bree-GAH-doo. Pod sehr ayn sih-TEM-broo?
Thank you. Could it be in September?
THEY SAY
Deixe-me ver o mapa de férias.
Daysh-m vehr oo MAH-puh d FEH-ryuhsh.
Let me check the holiday schedule.
They might also say:
Pode, mas avise com mais antecedência.
Pod, mahz uh-VEEZ kohn mighz ahn-tih-sih-DAYN-syuh.
You can, but give more notice.
in the app
3
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.

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

Posso
POH-soo
verb
(I) can
tirar
tee-RAHR
verb
to take (leave)
férias
FEH-ryuhz
noun
holiday, holidays
agosto
uh-GOSH-too
noun
August
já
zhah
adverb
already
há
uh
verb
there is, there are

12 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?

All 21 rescue phrases in Portuguese →

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Found a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it. This is language help, not medical or legal advice.Report
The rest of the dialogue is in MovkoDownload