Brazilian Portuguese Numbers Listening Practice: Prices and Times — Practice

Listen before reading the transcript

These individual recordings come from our Real Life Portuguese app practice library. They are separate lines, not one continuous conversation. Play a clip, answer its question, then open the transcript to check what you heard.

Listen for the number and what it refers to

To understand a number in Brazilian Portuguese, catch both the number and its context: a price, a meeting time, an approximate time or a quantity. Use the eight recordings below to practice those distinctions, then use the written phone-digit exercise to practice clear repetition.

The recordings are selected lines from the existing app practice library. The price in a recording is a teaching example, not a current product price. Phone-number practice below is written and uses a clearly fictional digit sequence; it is not an additional phone recording.

Listen once at 1× before checking the transcript. If you miss the key word, replay at 0.8× and return to 1×. Your goal is to understand the detail, not to guess from the topic alone.

Time: exact, approximate, or after a limit?

Às oito means at eight. Seis e meia means six thirty. Umas sete suggests around seven; depois das seis means after six, not exactly six. These distinctions change a plan even when you catch the same number.

Meio-dia is noon and meia-noite is midnight. For an ordinary hour, confirm de manhã, da tarde or da noite when the context does not make it clear. Do not infer morning or evening from an isolated clip.

Prices: identify the value before deciding

In the price clip, setenta reais means seventy reais. In a live exchange, you can repeat what you heard as a question: “Você disse setenta reais?”. If it was seventeen, the other person can correct you.

Setenta and dezessete are different words; do not rely on the fact that both contain a seven. Saying a number back clearly is a practical way to prevent misunderstandings. The written contrasts below are additional practice, not extra recordings.

Quantities: keep the noun with the number

Uns dois quarteirões means about two blocks. Uns makes the estimate approximate and quarteirões tells you the unit. A number without its unit is not enough to interpret the answer.

After a directions answer, repeat the useful action: “Então sigo por dois quarteirões?”. In a shop, check whether a price is for one item, a kilogram or the whole purchase. The same number can describe different things.

Written speaking practice: read phone digits clearly

Use digit-by-digit reading when you need accuracy. Zero, um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito and nove give you the basic set. Some speakers use meia for six when spelling out numbers; meia can also mean half or a sock in other contexts. Ask for clarification if needed.

For a fictional practice sequence, use 9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1. Say “nove, oito, sete, seis, cinco, quatro, três, dois, um”, then repeat it in groups. This is a practice sequence, not someone’s contact number and not a complete Brazilian telephone format.

If the person gives an unfamiliar grouping, ask “Pode repetir número por número?”. Then read back the digits you wrote. Only use an actual phone number when its owner has chosen to share it with you.

Use the result to choose your practice

If you missed the number itself, practice one contrast at a time. If you caught the number but chose the wrong answer, look for a marker such as depois, umas or reais. If the transcript was easy to read but hard to hear, repeat a short chunk without looking.

Finish by role-playing one plan, one price and one digit sequence. A useful reply confirms the detail; it does not pretend you understood. Use the app for another short listening session before returning to this exercise.

Remember: Ask your practice partner for a time. Repeat it with an exact/approximate distinction. Then do the same with a fictional price and the written digit sequence.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Choose the language for the situation

Now use the explanation to decide what fits the situation. Check the reason for the answer, not just the option you chose.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. At eight.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Às oito.

2. Would around seven work?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Umas sete, pode ser?

3. After six.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Depois das seis.

4. In the morning or at night?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   De manhã ou da noite?

5. Did you say seventy reais?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você disse setenta reais?

6. Seventeen or seventy?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Dezessete ou setenta?

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Ask your practice partner for a time. Repeat it with an exact/approximate distinction. Then do the same with a fictional price and the written digit sequence.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Brazilian Portuguese Numbers Listening Practice: Prices and Times lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.