Ask a Professor for a Recommendation Letter in Portuguese — Practice

Make a polite request with room to decline

Carta de recomendação is a recommendation letter. Ask whether the professor feels comfortable writing one: Você se sentiria à vontade para escrever…? This gives the person a genuine option to say no.

Remind them which class, research project, or semester you shared. Do not assume that a professor can provide a reference on short notice.

Explain the opportunity and deadline

Name the program, scholarship, or position and give the exact date the letter is due. Ask what submission method the organization requires, then share its instructions with the professor.

Give as much notice as you reasonably can. The professor may need to decline if the timing does not allow a thoughtful letter.

Offer a concise packet of useful information

Offer your CV, a short summary of your goals, and any work from the professor's course that may help them remember your contributions. Ask what else they would find useful.

Send the files through an appropriate channel and confirm that the professor has the correct submission link or contact details.

Remember: Ask with enough notice, provide the opportunity and deadline, and let the professor decide whether they can write the reference.

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.

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. Would you feel comfortable writing a recommendation letter for me?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você se sentiria à vontade para escrever uma carta de recomendação para mim?

2. I was a student in your linguistics course last semester. (speaker: man)

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Fui aluno da sua disciplina de linguística no semestre passado.

3. The application is for a master's program in education.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A inscrição é para um programa de mestrado em educação.

4. The letter needs to be submitted by November 15.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A carta precisa ser enviada até 15 de novembro.

5. May I send my CV and a summary of my goals?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Posso enviar meu currículo e um resumo dos meus objetivos?

6. What other information would be useful for you?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Que outras informações seriam úteis para você?

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 with enough notice, provide the opportunity and deadline, and let the professor decide whether they can write the reference.

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 Ask a Professor for a Recommendation Letter in Portuguese 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.