What’s up friends, are you all good? How about learning a little bit more Portuguese? Let’s talk about asking and giving directions in Portuguese!
When you come to Brazil, one of the things you are going to do a lot is ask for directions. These questions here are going to help you to do so. Take a look and learn how to ask for Portuguese directions:
Asking for directions in Portuguese
| Onde tem um …? | Where is there a …? |
| Onde fica o … mais prรณximo? | Where is the closest …? |
| Como eu chego a/ao …? | How do I get to the …? |
| Como eu faรงo para chegar a/ao … | What do I do to get to the …? |
| Onde estรก o …? | Where is the …? |
Giving directions in Portuguese
These are the answers you are going to hear for the questions you ask. If you feel confident enough to help other people you can even use it to give directions.ย Let’s read and listen to the directions below:
| Vire ร direita (turn right) | Atravesse a ruaย (cross the street) |
| Vire ร esquerdaย (turn left) | Ao ladoย (next to) |
| Vire na prรณxima ruaย (turn on the next street) | Em frenteย (in front of) |
| Siga direto (go straight ahead) | Quadra (block) |
Dialogue to give directions in Portuguese
Pablo estรก perdido na cidade.
Ele acaba de parar o carro dele em uma rua e encontra um homem que estรก andando e pede algumas informaรงรตes:
Pablo:ย Olรก, boa tarde!
Homem: Boa tarde, Senhor!
Pablo: Meu nome รฉ Paulo e estou perdido. Gostaria de ter algumas informaรงรตes sobre como chegar a alguns lugares da cidade.
Homem: Claro, Senhor!
Pablo: Em primeiro lugar, gostaria de chegar ao Parque Nacional da Tijuca.
Homem: ร muito fรกcil! Basta o Senhor virar a prรณxima rua ร direita e o Senhor vai ver o parque logo no fim.
Pablo: Ah! Perfeito! ร muito fรกcil mesmo. Depois de sair do parque, eu gostaria de ir ao Zoolรณgico da cidade.
Homem: O Zoolรณgico fica na Rua Bartolomeu Gusmรฃo, ao lado do Museu Nacional.
Pablo: Tudo bem!ย Gostaria de ir ao banco agora. Como faรงo?
Homem: Basta o Senhor virar a prรณxima rua ร esquerda e o Senhor vai ver o banco ao lado da padaria.
Pablo: Perfeito!
Homem: O Senhor tambรฉm poderia aproveitar a visita ร cidade para visitar o nosso Museu do Samba que fica aย 15 minutos do zoolรณgico da cidade. O senhor precisa seguir esta rua direto e virar na terceira quadra ร esquerda.
Pablo: Ah! O museu parece ser uma รณtima ideia. Se eu precisar comprar algum medicamento. Como faรงo?
Homem: O senhor precisa virar na prรณxima rua ร direita. A farmรกcia fica ao lado do clube.
Pablo: Clube?! Hรก um clube na cidade?
Homem: Sim. Hรก um clube na cidade. O clube tem uma piscina, quadra de esportes e um รณtimo espaรงo para as crianรงas.
Pablo: Muito bom! Como faรงo para chegar ao clube?
Homem: O clube estรก aqui na nossa frente. Sรณ precisa cruzar a rua.
Pablo: Obrigado, Senhor!
Homem: De nada!
Dialogue inย English
Paulo is lost in the city.
He has just stopped his car on the street, he meets a man who is passing by and he asks for some information:
Pablo:ย Hello, good afternoon!
Man:ย Good afternoon, Sir!
Pablo:ย My name is Paulo and I am lost. I would like to have some information about how to find a few places in the city.
Man: Sure, Sir!
Pablo: First, I would like to go to the Tijuca National Park.
Man: It’s very easy! You just have to turn right on the next street and you will see the park at the end.
Pablo: Ah! Perfect! Thatโs really easy. After leaving the park, I would like to go to the City Zoo.
Man: The Zoo is located on Bartolomeu Gusmรฃo Street, next to the National Museum.
Pablo: Alright!ย I would like to go to the bank now. How do I get there?
Man: You just need to turn left on the next street and you will see the bank next to the bakery.
Pablo: Perfect!
Man: You could also visit our Museum of Samba since itโs only 15 minutes from the City Zoo. You just need toย go straightย down this street and turn left on the thirdย block.
Pablo: Ah! Sounds like a nice idea. And if I need to buy some medicine, where can I do that?
Man: You need to turn right on the next street. The drugstore is next to the country club.
Pablo:ย Country club?! There is a country club in the city?
Man: Yes, there is one in the city. This country club has a pool, sports courts, it’s a great place for the children.
Pablo: Great! How can I get there?
Man: The country club is here in front of us. You just need to cross the street.
Pablo: Thank you. Sir!
Man: You are welcome!
How about practicing the directions you’ve learned? Come study Portuguese with us in Brazil and we’ll walk on the streets practicing this vocabulary and much more.
Now it’s your turn!
Take a look at the pictures and tell us how to get to each place. In all examples the starting point will be Rio & Learn School. Choose always the shortest route.
How do you get to Copacabana’s beach?

Now… How do we go the the closest subway?
Lastly, how can we get to Forte do Leme?
Compass Rose in Portuguese
It’s not very common to see Brazilians giving directions using words such as North and South, but we often use it to talk about the different regions of Brazil. Here they are:
| Norte | North |
| Sul | South |
| Leste | East |
| Oeste | West |
| Centro | Center |
| Nordeste | Northeast |
| Sudeste | Southeast |
| Noroeste | Northwest |
| Sudoeste | Southwest |
Now, we have just learned more about how to ask for some information in Portuguese, and also about giving directions in your city in Portuguese. And you? Will you start practicing and asking for information right now or are you going to let your friends get lost?
Big hug!
Bye, bye!

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Answers
- Saia da escola, de costas para a escola, vire ร esquerda. Atravesse a rua e ande reto em direรงรฃo ร praia.
- Saia da escola e vire seu corpo para a direita. Siga reto na rua que vocรช estรก durante 8 minutos atรฉ chegar ao metrรด.
- Saia da escola, vire ร esquerda e caminhe atรฉ a praia. Chegando na praia, vire ร esquerda e caminhe atรฉ o final da mesma. Vocรช encontrarรก o Forte do Leme.
Online Academic Coordinator at Rio & Learn Portuguese School.
Experienced educational coordinator and teacher since 2007, adept in curriculum development, creating physical and digital educational materials, and leveraging online platforms to enhance learning outcomes


