Shopping for clothes in Portuguese: sizes and trying on

Short answer: item, size, colour and fit

Identify the item before asking for another version: “Tem esta camisa em azul?” and “Tem esta camisa num tamanho maior?” change different details. One requests a different colour, the other a different size. Saying only another can leave the request incomplete. Point to an item in a role-play and add the information needed to distinguish what you want from what you already have.

A size label does not guarantee identical fit between brands. This guide provides neither international size conversions nor body-measurement charts. The task is to ask, understand and confirm the item. It also does not explain return or refund rights; those require their own information and should not be inferred from an invented language-learning dialogue or treated as promises from a retailer.

Request another colour or size

Use “Tem esta camisola em verde?” for a colour and “Tem o tamanho M?” for the label. If unsure of the size, “Tem um tamanho maior?” compares it with the current item. Maior and menor need a reference: the listener must know whether you mean the garment in your hand or another one you looked at earlier during the conversation.

The dialogue begins with a small shirt and a request for a larger one. It does not claim that every shop stocks the item. Invent a limited set of cards with colours and sizes for practice. The employee can only offer the cards available, so the customer needs to understand unavailability and decide which question to ask next rather than always receiving yes.

• Compare sizes with mais and menos

Try it on and find the fitting room

“Posso experimentar?” asks permission to try the garment on; “Onde ficam os provadores?” asks for the fitting rooms. Listen before proceeding: the reply may give a location or an extra instruction. The model does not establish universal procedures, item limits or chain-store rules. In an actual shop, confirm what applies in that particular place instead of assuming the dialogue describes its policy.

Try a brief role swap. One partner requests a shirt, asks for a size and finds the fitting room; the other gives short answers. Then add a question about colour. Avoid combining everything into one request while the other person is still answering your first question. The sequence makes it easier to identify exactly where understanding was lost and to ask a focused follow-up.

Describe how a garment fits

“A camisa fica-me apertada” and “A camisa fica-me larga” describe different fits: tight and loose. “Fica-me bem” can express that it fits or looks good in context. Tight does not automatically mean small in every dimension: add “nas mangas” if the sleeves are the issue. Keep the garment as the reference and avoid making personal judgements about someone else’s body during the exercise.

“É demasiado comprida” describes length; “Tem uma mais curta?” requests a shorter alternative. Match the difficulty to a useful request. Another colour will not necessarily solve tight sleeves. Give a partner a card describing a fit problem and ask for a coherent follow-up question. The answer should address that difficulty rather than merely repeat a phrase they remember from the table without relating it to the situation.

Worked exercises: which alternative should you request?

The blue shirt is tight and the character wants to keep the colour. Ask “Tem esta camisa num tamanho maior?” If the size is fine but they prefer green, ask “Tem esta camisa em verde?” The same garment appears in both situations but the requested change differs. Confirm which detail should remain before proposing a replacement or interpreting the assistant’s response as suitable.

Complete the second dialogue below. A customer looking for the fitting room should ask where the provadores are rather than how much the shirt costs. For an overly long garment, “Tem uma mais curta?” is coherent. Other clear solutions are possible. The exercise checks whether a request matches the problem rather than requiring an exact word-for-word copy of a single model answer.

Role-play without inventing commercial rules

Make three clothing cards with fictional items, colours and sizes. One partner chooses, imagines trying an item on and requests a change. The other confirms the information available. Finish with a decision: take it or keep looking. A simple “Obrigada, vou pensar” can decline an alternative without creating a purchase or promise in this practice conversation, which remains entirely imaginary.

Continue with the A2 learning path and question-words guide to request missing details. These original examples support an everyday language task. CEFR and Camões provide educational references, not approval of these lines by a retailer or examining body. The material does not replace shop information and is not an official CIPLE examination or a guarantee of shopping outcomes.

• Ask about a size and location

Sources and scope of this guide

Official sources support the stated legal, language and certification facts. Plans, examples and checklists are independent editorial suggestions, not instructions from an authority.

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