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Lesson 5

Introductions: Name, Nationality, Profession

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Olá! In our last lesson, we learned how to start and end conversations with essential greetings and farewells. Now that you can confidently say Olá and Tchau, it's time to handle the conversation in between.

This lesson builds directly on that foundation. After greeting someone, the next logical step is to introduce yourself. Our goal is to learn the key phrases for stating your name, nationality, and profession in Brazilian Portuguese. This will involve learning some fundamental vocabulary and mastering the most important verb for describing identity: ser. Your fluency in French will be a great asset here, as you'll see familiar grammatical concepts like gender agreement appear again.

The Foundation of Identity: The Verb ser

To talk about who you are—your name, your nationality, your profession—you need the verb "to be." In Portuguese, there are two main verbs for "to be": ser and estar. We will explore their differences in detail in a later module, but for now, we will focus on ser.

Ser is used to describe permanent or inherent characteristics, such as your identity, origin, and profession. It's the verb you use for things that define you.

First, let's learn its present tense conjugation.

Pronoun Verb Ser Translation
Eu sou I am
Você é You are (singular, common)
Ele/Ela é He/She is
Nós somos We are
Vocês são You are (plural)
Eles/Elas são They are

To understand why ser is the correct verb for introductions, please review the following resource. It provides a detailed comparison, but for today, focus on the uses listed under SER.

Lição 1 – Português para principiantes

This reading from a university course text explains the fundamental difference between ser and estar. It will provide the grammatical foundation for everything we cover in this lesson.

In the section "Grammar – Gramática," begin reading at the verb conjugations. Then, carefully study the table that follows, paying close attention to the examples in the SER column, especially those for Equating and Origin. This will clarify why ser is used for stating your profession and nationality.

1. Stating Your Name

The first step in any introduction is sharing your name. There are two very common ways to ask and answer this. The video below clearly demonstrates these phrases in action.

Introduce Yourself in Brazilian Portuguese: A Complete Guide | SEP17

This video from the "Easy Portuguese" channel provides a clear and practical guide to self-introductions.

Watch the first part of the video, from "Como você se chama?", to hear the pronunciation of the key phrases for asking and stating your name.

To summarize, you can ask someone's name in two main ways:

  • Qual é o seu nome? (Literally: "What is your name?")
  • Como você se chama? (Literally: "How do you call yourself?")

And you can reply with:

  • Meu nome é... ("My name is...")
  • Eu me chamo... ("I call myself...")

Both forms are extremely common, so you can choose whichever feels more natural to you.

2. Stating Your Nationality

Next, you'll often be asked where you are from. The concept of nationality adjectives changing to match gender (masculino/feminino) and number (singular/plural) will be very familiar to you from French.

The following video is dedicated to this topic and explains the rules very clearly.

Learn how to talk about your nationality in Portuguese!

This video from "Speaking Brazilian Language School" focuses specifically on how to talk about your nationality, including the essential grammar of gender agreement.

First, watch the beginning to learn the key question and the two ways to answer it. Then, pay close attention to the explanation of gender and number agreement, where the host explains rules like brasileiro/brasileira and francês/francesa.

As you saw in the video, the main question is:

  • De onde você é? ("Where are you from?")

You can answer this by stating your country or your nationality:

  1. Eu sou de... + country name (e.g., Eu sou do Brasil, Eu sou de Marrocos).
  2. Eu sou... + nationality adjective (e.g., Eu sou brasileiro, Eu sou marroquino).

Notice the adjective changes for gender. A man would say Eu sou marroquino, while a woman would say Eu sou marroquina. This pattern (-o for masculine, -a for feminine) is the most common one.

Now, let's gather the vocabulary you need. The following resource provides lists of common countries and their corresponding nationalities.

Lição 1 – Português para principiantes

This is the same university text we used earlier. Now, we'll use its vocabulary lists.

Find the headings Countries and Nationalities and review the vocabulary provided. You don't need to memorize all of them, but find a few that are relevant to you.

3. Stating Your Profession

The final piece of a basic introduction is your profession. Like nationality, this is considered a core part of your identity, so we use the verb ser.

The common questions are:

  • Qual é a sua profissão? ("What is your profession?")
  • O que você faz? ("What do you do?")
  • Com o que você trabalha? ("What do you work with?")

To answer, you simply say:

  • Eu sou... + profession (e.g., Eu sou professor, Eu sou engenheira).

Important Note: Unlike English, you do not use an article (like "a" or "an") when stating your profession with ser. It is Eu sou advogado (I am a lawyer), not Eu sou um advogado. This is a direct and common structure.

For a list of common professions, let's return to our vocabulary resource one last time.

Lição 1 – Português para principiantes

This list will give you the vocabulary to talk about your own profession or understand someone else's.

Find the list under the heading Professions and familiarize yourself with the terms. Note how many change with gender (e.g., professor/professora) while others are neutral (e.g., estudante, jornalista).

Putting It All Together: A Model Conversation

Now that you have all the components, let's see how they fit into a natural dialogue. The following text provides a clear and simple example of two people meeting for the first time.

Introduce Yourself in Portuguese

This article from Rio & Learn demonstrates how to use the phrases we've learned in a conversational context.

Focus on the section "Two people introducing themselves." First, review the list of questions. Then, read the sample dialogue between Robert and Carlos to see how an introduction flows.

Your Turn to Practice

Let's combine everything you've learned. Imagine you've just met someone at a café in Brazil. Create your own short introductory script using the phrases from this lesson. Include:

  1. A greeting.
  2. Your name.
  3. Your nationality (using marroquino or marroquina).
  4. A profession of your choice from the list you reviewed.

Example:

Olá, tudo bem? Meu nome é [Your Name]. Eu sou de Marrocos, sou marroquino/a. Eu sou estudante.

Conclusion

You have now moved beyond simple greetings and can share key information about yourself. This is a massive step toward holding real conversations and achieving your goal of fluency.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Verb of Identity: Use ser (eu sou, você é) to state your name, nationality, and profession as these are core parts of your identity.
  • Your Name: Ask with Qual é o seu nome? and answer with Meu nome é....
  • Your Origin: Ask with De onde você é? and answer with Eu sou de [country] or Eu sou [nationality].
  • Gender Agreement: Remember that nationality and many profession words must agree in gender with the person they describe (e.g., engenheiro vs. engenheira), a concept familiar from French.
  • Your Profession: Ask with Qual é a sua profissão? and answer with Eu sou [profession], without an article.

In our next lesson, we will continue to build your conversational toolkit by learning essential polite expressions like por favor (please) and obrigado/a (thank you), which are crucial for smooth and friendly interactions.