Introduction
Learning how to ask someone to repeat themselves is one of the most useful early skills in Brazilian Portuguese. This article explains simple, polite ways to say please repeat that, gives short sample sentences, useful vocabulary, pronunciation tips, and common beginner mistakes to avoid.
- Core phrase to ask someone to repeat
- Useful vocabulary to understand the phrase
- Example phrases for beginners
- Pronunciation tips for beginners
- Practical everyday examples and contexts
- Beginner tips for sounding polite and natural
- Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
- Additional useful phrases related to repetition
- Conclusion
Core phrase to ask someone to repeat
The most natural and versatile beginner phrase is Por favor, repita, por favor. This directly means please repeat, please and works in many everyday situations.
Other short and very common alternatives are Repete, por favor and Você pode repetir?. All three are polite and easy to remember.
Literal translations and when to use each one
Por favor, repita, por favor — Formal and clear. Use with teachers, service staff, older people, or when you want to sound polite. Repita is the formal imperative of repetir.
Repete, por favor — Informal and direct. Use with friends, classmates, or people near your age. Repete is the familiar imperative.
Você pode repetir? — Polite and conversational. Literally can you repeat? Use this when asking for help or verification. It sounds natural in most contexts.
Useful vocabulary to understand the phrase
repetir — to repeat
por favor — please
pode — can, from poder
você — you (standard spoken form in Brazil)
mais devagar — more slowly
o que você disse — what you said
Breaking down the grammar simply
repetir is the verb to repeat. In commands or requests, Brazilians use different forms depending on formality. For polite formal requests use repita. For informal or friendly requests use repete. Alternatively, use an indirect question construction like você pode repetir? which uses the present tense of poder plus the infinitive repetir.
Example phrases for beginners
Short, polite request: Por favor, repita, por favor
Informal request to a friend: Repete, por favor
Polite question: Você pode repetir?
Ask someone to say it slower: Você pode repetir mais devagar?
Ask someone to repeat one word: Como é essa palavra?
Useful when you heard a single word but not the pronunciation.
Ask to repeat exactly what was said: O que você disse?
Sample short dialogues a beginner might encounter
At a café:
Barista: Tem um lanche novo hoje.
You: Você pode repetir?
In class:
Teacher: A tarefa é ler o capítulo três.
You: Por favor, repita, por favor
On the phone:
Operator: Seu número é nove, dois, oito…
You: Repete, por favor
Pronunciation tips for beginners
Pronounce repetir like reh-peh-CHEER with the stress on the second syllable in Brazilian Portuguese. Repita is reh-PEE-tah and repete is reh-PEH-chee depending on regional accent, but these approximations work for beginners.
Você sounds like voh-SEH. Por favor sounds like pohr fah-VOR with a soft r at the end in many Brazilian accents.
Mais devagar sounds like mys deh-vah-GAR. Practice slow rhythm and stress the last syllable in devagar.
Common polite modifiers to add
Se não for incômodo — if it is not inconvenient. Use when asking someone to repeat a longer explanation politely.
Desculpe, não entendi — excuse me, I did not understand. Use this before asking for repetition to show you tried to follow.
Com licença — excuse me. Use when interrupting to ask someone to repeat.
Practical everyday examples and contexts
Ordering food:
You missed part of the menu description. Say Você pode repetir, por favor? The server will likely repeat more slowly or point to the item.
At work or school:
If a colleague explains a procedure and you missed a step, say Desculpe, você pode repetir mais devagar? This asks both for repetition and a slower pace.
On public transportation:
If an announcement is garbled, ask a fellow passenger O que ele disse? or politely ask the driver Você pode repetir a parada? meaning can you repeat the stop.
Short written examples and signs
On a phone message:
Na caixa postal: deixe sua mensagem após o bip. If you miss the instruction, you might text the sender: Você pode repetir a informação?
On a form or schedule:
If you do not understand a line on a schedule, ask: Como é a hora de saída? which requests clarification rather than repetition, but shows the same basic approach.
Beginner tips for sounding polite and natural
Always add por favor for extra politeness when asking strangers for repetition. It costs nothing and signals respect.
Use desculpe before your request to soften it: Desculpe, você pode repetir? This is helpful in formal or quiet contexts.
Mirror the speaker’s formality. If they use você and casual speech, using repete is fine. If they speak formally, choose repita.
How to ask for specific help when repeating
If you want them to repeat only one word, say Como é essa palavra?
If you need a slower repetition: Você pode repetir mais devagar, por favor?
If you want them to repeat with spelling: Você pode soletrar, por favor? Soletrar means to spell.
Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them
Using literal English word order sometimes leads to awkward phrases. Avoid directly translating please repeat that as por favor repetir isso which is understandable but unnatural. Prefer the forms given above.
Overusing informal imperatives like repete with strangers can sound too familiar. When in doubt, use você pode repetir? or por favor, repita.
Mispronouncing você as voh-chee or voh-seh can confuse listeners. Aim for voh-SEH with a clear s sound.
Quick practice exercises for beginners
Listen to short audio clips in Brazilian Portuguese. Pause and ask yourself Você pode repetir? then replay the clip and repeat aloud.
With a language partner, have one person read a short sentence and the other ask for repetition using the phrases in this article. Swap roles every line.
Record yourself saying Por favor, repita, por favor and Repete, por favor, then compare with native speaker recordings online to adjust rhythm and intonation.
Additional useful phrases related to repetition
Fala mais devagar, por favor — Speak more slowly, please.
Você pode escrever, por favor? — Can you write it down, please? Useful when audio repetition is still unclear.
Repete só a última parte, por favor — Repeat only the last part, please. This narrows the request.
Conclusion
Knowing a few polite ways to say please repeat that in Brazilian Portuguese makes everyday interactions much easier. Start with Por favor, repita, por favor, Repete, por favor, and Você pode repetir?, add simples modifiers like mais devagar or desculpe when needed, and practice with short, realistic exercises to build confidence fast.
