Língua da Gente — Qual Andar a Senhora Quer?

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: Where is this conversation happening? What floor does the passenger want? How do the two people say goodbye?

Língua da Gente · Episode 36

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💬 The Conversation

Read along while listening again. Notice the ordinal number and the formal address forms — both are essential in this kind of service interaction.

A

Bom dia, qual andar a senhora quer?

Good morning, what floor would you like?

B

O décimo primeiro, por favor.

The eleventh, please.

A

Tá, chegamos, bom dia pra a senhora.

OK, we have arrived, have a good day ma'am.

B

Obrigada, para você também.

Thanks, same to you too.

📖 Números ordinais — Ordinal numbers

B asks for the "décimo primeiro" floor — the 11th. Ordinal numbers in Portuguese agree in gender with the noun they describe: o décimo andar (m.) but a décima aula (f.). Here's the full set you need for building floors:

#	Masculino	Feminino	Example (andar)
1º	primeiro	primeira	o primeiro andar — 1st floor
2º	segundo	segunda	o segundo andar — 2nd floor
3º	terceiro	terceira	o terceiro andar — 3rd floor
4º	quarto	quarta	o quarto andar — 4th floor
5º	quinto	quinta	o quinto andar — 5th floor
6º	sexto	sexta	o sexto andar — 6th floor
7º	sétimo	sétima	o sétimo andar — 7th floor
8º	oitavo	oitava	o oitavo andar — 8th floor
9º	nono	nona	o nono andar — 9th floor
10º	décimo	décima	o décimo andar — 10th floor
11º	décimo primeiro	décima primeira	o décimo primeiro andar — 11th floor
20º	vigésimo	vigésima	o vigésimo andar — 20th floor

🇧🇷 Térreo vs. 1º andar In Brazil, the ground floor is called térreo (or andar térreo) — not the first floor. So the floor above ground level is o primeiro andar. This matches European numbering and differs from American English (where "first floor" = ground floor). If you take an elevator in a Brazilian building: térreo = G, primeiro andar = 1st above ground, and so on.

📖 A senhora / O senhor — Formal address

The elevator operator uses "a senhora" throughout — a respectful form of address for a woman he doesn't know. This is essential in formal service contexts in Brazil.

Form	Used for	Example
a senhora	woman — formal / polite	Qual andar a senhora quer? (What floor would you like?)
o senhor	man — formal / polite	O senhor precisa de ajuda? (Do you need help?)
você	anyone — neutral / informal	Qual andar você quer? (What floor do you want? — casual)

A senhora / o senhor take third-person singular verb forms — the same as ele/ela/você. So: "A senhora quer?" / "O senhor precisa?" — no special conjugation needed.

💡 When to use formal address In Brazil, use a senhora / o senhor in service interactions (elevators, shops, restaurants, hotels), when speaking to people older than you, or in any situation where showing respect matters. In casual conversation among friends, peers, or younger people, você is always fine. Notice that at the end of the dialogue, B says "para você também" — she replies with the informal você, which is common: the person providing a service is often more formal than the customer.

🔊 "Tá, chegamos" — elevator speech Tá = contraction of está, used here as "OK" / "Alright." Chegamos = first person plural of chegar in the preterite — literally "we arrived", meaning "we're here" or "here we are." The elevator operator uses nós chegamos (we arrived) even though he's speaking to the passenger — a polite way of including both people in the arrival, as if they traveled together.

📖 Para você também — Reciprocating good wishes

When A wishes B "bom dia", B responds with "obrigada, para você também" — thanks, same to you. This formula works for any good wish.

Someone says…	You reply…
Bom dia!	Bom dia! / Para você também!
Boa tarde!	Boa tarde! / Igualmente!
Bom final de semana!	Obrigado, para você também!
Feliz aniversário!	Obrigada! (Can't reciprocate this one — it's your birthday!)

Igualmente (likewise / equally) is another common and slightly more formal way to reciprocate. Both para você também and igualmente are perfectly natural in Brazilian Portuguese.

1 What floor? — Quiz

Choose the correct ordinal number for each floor.

3rd floor

✅ Correct! Terceiro/terceira = 3rd. Remember: ground floor = térreo, so the 3rd floor is the third above ground level.

o décimo primeiro andar

✅ Correct! Décimo (10) + primeiro (1) = 11th. For compound ordinals above 10, you combine them just like in English.

Qual andar a senhora quer?

✅ Correct! A senhora is a formal second person — it literally means "the lady" but functions as "you" (formal, to a woman). The verb quer (3rd person singular of querer) is used with it.

Obrigada, para você também.

✅ Correct! Para você também = same to you / and you too. A very common and natural way to return a greeting or good wish.

2 Complete the Dialogue

Fill in the blanks with the missing words.
Word bank: andar · décimo · senhora · chegamos · também

— Bom dia, qual a senhora quer?

— O primeiro, por favor.

— Tá, , bom dia pra a .

— Obrigada, para você .

3 Formal or Informal?

Select whether each situation calls for a senhora / o senhor (formal) or você (informal).

You're a hotel receptionist greeting a guest checking in.

You're chatting with a classmate about the weekend.

You're a waiter taking the order of an older customer you've never met.

You're asking your friend's address to send a birthday card.

4 Your Turn — No elevador

Write in Portuguese.
You work as a receptionist in a hotel. Write a short exchange (4–5 lines) with a guest. Use a senhora or o senhor, mention a floor with an ordinal number, and include a polite goodbye.