Class #5 with Foster, July, 13, 2026

note: this is a recording of your private coaching session with Foster. No one will see it except you, Alexia, and Foster 🙏

Video

Audio

Session summary

We warmed up with some playful, exaggerated pronunciation drills (Buddy made an appearance, of course, and earned a "não aguento, ele é tão fofo"). From there we moved through a wide mix of practical vocabulary: talking about your work retreat and getting teased for your accent, the many faces of pegar and ficar, and asking about prices and directions (metrô, museu). We closed with a solid stretch on nasal vowel pronunciation, the sound that most separates Portuguese from Spanish, and you're already producing it correctly in words like conheço without realizing it.

😆 Warm-up and reacting to things

Ele tava sonhando — He was dreaming (said about Buddy)

Não sei o que aconteceu — I don't know what happened

Não aguento — I can't take it, I can't stand it (also: não posso aguentar)

Não aguento o Buddy pq ele é tão fofo — I can't handle Buddy because he's so cute

fofo / fofinho — cute (fofinho adds extra emphasis/diminutive warmth)

ao mesmo tempo — at the same time

✈️ Work retreat and getting teased

Estou viajando — I'm traveling

colegas (de trabalho) — coworkers

Estou com meus colegas de trabalho — I'm with my coworkers

retiro (da empresa) — (company) retreat

mas nós nos divertimos — but we had fun (casual: mas a gente se divertiu)

voltamos — we get back, we return

zoando meu sotaque — making fun of my accent (playful teasing)

sacanear — to tease, mess with someone (same friendly register as zoar, can tip harsher depending on tone)

brincando — joking around, kidding

não aguento mais o meu chefe — I can't stand my boss anymore

🎯 Pegar and ficar

pegar — to get/grab; to catch (bus, ride, illness); to hook up with someone (casual); to understand/catch on; to pick someone up (Pega isso pra mim; Peguei o ônibus; Peguei um resfriado; Não peguei o que você disse; Vou te pegar às 8)

pode pegar esse prato pra mim — can you grab that plate for me

Portunhol — the Spanish-Portuguese mix that happens naturally when a Spanish speaker learns Portuguese (nothing to fight, just something to notice as it fades)

🤔 Guessing and mixing things up

chutar — to guess (casual/idiomatic — literally "to kick")

eu chutei — I guessed

estou chutando muito — I'm guessing a lot

misturando / é uma mistura — mixing things up / it's a mix

confundindo — confusing, mixing up

💶 Asking prices and directions

Quanto custa o metrô? — How much does the metro cost?

Qual é o preço do metrô? — What's the price of the metro?

Quanto é? — How much is it?

Onde fica o museu novo? — Where is the new museum?

✅ Certainty and noticing things

Eu só quero ter certeza — I just want to make sure

Tenho certeza / tenho certeza absoluta — I'm sure / I'm absolutely certain

adicionar — to add

Eu também percebi... — I also noticed/realized...

reparar — to notice, take note of (more common everyday use than its other meaning, "to repair") posso fazer uma pergunta? — can I ask a question?

🎵 Nasal vowels

The sound that separates Portuguese most clearly from Spanish. Words like também, conheço, and bonito all carry that nasal quality where the mouth stays open while air passes through the nose. You're already hitting it naturally in a lot of words without thinking about it, conheço being a great example. Music is one of the best ways to internalize it since the sound is easier to isolate when it's sung.

📚 Homework

1. Speak to yourself daily. Put on headphones, hit record, and talk as if you're on a phone call, but in Portuguese. Listen back after. Uncomfortable at first, genuinely useful once it clicks.

2. Nasal vowel practice with music. Foster will send a song and a couple of resources built around the nasal sound — a faster way to train your ear than drilling in isolation.

SONG WITH TONS OF NASAL VOWELS TO PRACTICE THE ÃO SOUND 🙂

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