Unit 20 of 20A25 lessons · 40 words
Finding a home in European Portuguese
Arrendar casa
Find and rent a flat in Portugal: adverts and viewings, bills, repairs, neighbours and moving day. This is an A2 unit of the Bica course, in the Portuguese spoken in Portugal: below are all its words, example sentences you can listen to, and the grammar notes.
Words and phrases
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
o T0 | studio flatSaid tê zero: a flat with no separate bedroom. |
o T1 | one-bedroom flatSaid tê um: one bedroom, plus a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. |
o T2 | two-bedroom flatSaid tê dois. The number is the number of bedrooms. |
mobiladoalso mobilada | furnishedUm apartamento mobilado comes with furniture (a mobília). |
por mêsalso ao mês | a month |
o prédio | buildingA building with flats. O edifício is more formal. |
a varanda | balcony |
o elevador | lift |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
disponível | availablePlural: disponíveis. |
a partir de | fromFor a starting point in time: a partir de março = from March. |
o fiadoralso a fiadora | guarantorSomeone who promises to pay the rent if you don't. Many landlords ask for one. |
o bairro | neighbourhoodSome of Lisbon's old neighbourhoods: o Bairro Alto, Alfama, a Mouraria. |
luminosoalso luminosa | brightA favourite word in Portuguese flat adverts. |
sossegadoalso sossegada | quietFor places and people: um bairro sossegado. |
equipadoalso equipada | equippedIn adverts, cozinha equipada = a kitchen with an oven, a hob and a fridge. |
o aquecimento | heatingMany Portuguese homes have no central heating, so ask before the winter. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
o gás | gasA conta do gás = the gas bill. |
a internet | internetFeminine in Portuguese: a internet. Online = na internet. |
as contas | billsPagar as contas = to pay the bills. A conta da luz = the electricity bill. |
as despesas | expensesIn flat adverts, despesas incluídas = bills included. |
a botija de gásalso a botija | gas bottleMany Portuguese homes cook with bottled gas. You swap an empty botija for a full one at a shop or a petrol station. |
o contador | meterO contador da luz = the electricity meter. |
o débito direto | direct debit |
gastar | to spendMoney, and also water or electricity: gastar muita luz. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a torneira | tap |
pingar | to dripA torneira está a pingar. = The tap is dripping. |
o canalizadoralso a canalizadora | plumber |
o eletricistaalso a eletricista | electrician |
arranjar | to fixAlso "to get, to find": arranjar emprego = to find a job. |
mandar arranjar | to have fixedMandar + infinitive = to have something done by someone else. |
o esquentador | water heaterThe gas heater that gives you hot water in many Portuguese homes. |
a máquina de lavaralso a máquina de lavar roupa, a máquina da roupa | washing machine |
a humidade | dampA common problem in older Portuguese homes. Mould is o bolor. |
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
o condomínio | service chargeA building's owners' association, and the monthly fee everyone pays for cleaning, the lift and repairs. |
o barulho | noiseFazer barulho = to make noise. |
a mudança | moveA removal company is uma empresa de mudanças. |
mudar-se | to moveEu mudei-me para Lisboa. = I moved to Lisbon. |
a caixa | boxIn a shop, a caixa is also the till: pagar na caixa. |
a carrinha | van |
as escadasalso a escada | stairsSubir as escadas = to go up the stairs. |
Example sentences
- Nós precisamos de um T2.We need a two-bedroom flat.Precisar de: don't forget the de.
- Eu estou à procura de um T1 em Lisboa.I'm looking for a one-bedroom flat in Lisbon.Estar à procura de = to be looking for.
- O apartamento é mobilado?Is the flat furnished?
- Posso ver o apartamento?Can I see the flat?Posso…? = Can I…? It comes from poder.
- Quando é que o apartamento está disponível?When is the flat available?
- Está disponível a partir de março.It's available from March.Months are written with a small letter: março.
- As despesas estão incluídas na renda?Are the bills included in the rent?In adverts, despesas incluídas = bills included.
- Eu pago as contas por débito direto.I pay the bills by direct debit.
- Quem paga a água e a luz?Who pays for the water and electricity?A luz is the everyday word for electricity.
- A torneira da cozinha está a pingar.The kitchen tap is dripping.Estar a + infinitive for what is happening now: está a pingar.
- Eu vou chamar o canalizador.I'm going to call the plumber.
- O esquentador está avariado.The water heater is broken.
- O meu vizinho faz muito barulho.My neighbour makes a lot of noise.
- Os vizinhos do lado são muito simpáticos.The next-door neighbours are very nice.Do lado = next door.
- Quanto é o condomínio?How much is the service charge?In a block of flats, every owner pays o condomínio each month for cleaning, the lift and repairs.
Every lesson page has all of its sentences: Flat hunting · Viewing a flat · Bills · Repairs · Neighbours and moving
Unit notes
Flat sizes: T0, T1, T2
Portuguese adverts describe a flat with a T and a number. The number is how many bedrooms it has: a T0 is a studio, a T1 has one bedroom, a T2 has two, and so on. The living room, kitchen and bathrooms are not counted. Say them as a letter and a number: tê um, tê dois. They don't change in the plural: os T2.
You will also see T2+1, a two-bedroom flat with an extra small room, and V3, a house (moradia) with three bedrooms.
Other words to look for in an anúncio: arrenda-se (for rent), mobilado (furnished), cozinha equipada (fitted kitchen) and despesas incluídas (bills included).
- Nós precisamos de um T2.We need a two-bedroom flat.
- Eu estou à procura de um T1 mobilado.I'm looking for a furnished one-bedroom flat.
Há or tem?
To describe a flat, you can say what it has, with ter: O apartamento tem uma varanda. O prédio não tem elevador.
Or you can say what there is, with há: Há uma varanda na sala. Não há elevador. Often both work and mean the same thing.
The difference is the subject. With tem, something has something: the flat, the building, the kitchen. Há has no subject at all: Há humidade na casa de banho. To ask, just raise your voice at the end: Há aquecimento?
- O apartamento tem uma varanda grande.The flat has a big balcony.
- Não há elevador no prédio.There's no lift in the building.
- Há humidade na casa de banho.There's damp in the bathroom.
Mandar arranjar: having things done
To say that you get someone else to do something, use mandar + infinitive. Compare Eu arranjei a torneira ("I fixed the tap" myself) with Eu mandei arranjar a torneira ("I had the tap fixed" by a plumber).
It works with many verbs: mandar fazer (to have something made), mandar limpar (to have something cleaned).
Arranjar means "to fix", and also "to get" or "to find": arranjar emprego (to find a job), arranjar casa (to find a place to live).
- O senhorio vai mandar arranjar o esquentador.The landlord is going to have the water heater fixed.
- Nós mandámos arranjar a janela.We had the window fixed.
- Eu arranjei a torneira.I fixed the tap.
Vamos mudar-nos: plans with ir
For plans, Portuguese uses ir + infinitive, like "going to" in English: Eu vou alugar uma carrinha. Nós vamos mudar de casa.
With a pronoun verb like mudar-se (to move), the pronoun goes after the infinitive: Eu vou mudar-me. You can also attach it to ir: Eu vou-me mudar. With nós, vamos loses its -s before nos: Nós vamo-nos mudar. All of these are correct.
Mudar de casa = to move house. Mudar-se para = to move to a place.
- Nós vamos mudar-nos para o Porto em junho.We're going to move to Porto in June.
- Eu vou alugar uma carrinha.I'm going to hire a van.
- Quando é que tu vais mudar de casa?When are you going to move house?
Precisar de: what you need to rent
Precisar always takes de, before a noun and before a verb: Nós precisamos de um T2. Eu preciso de pagar a renda. The de joins the article: Eu preciso do contrato. Nós precisamos da chave.
To rent a flat in Portugal you usually need a NIF, proof of income and a caução (deposit), often one or two months of rent. Many landlords also ask for a fiador (guarantor), or for several months of rent in advance.
- Eu preciso de um fiador.I need a guarantor.
- Nós precisamos de caixas para a mudança.We need boxes for the move.