Types of Homes and Rooms

If you plan to comprarto buyCommunity Slow audio Play audio Verb or arrendarto rent (property)Community Slow audio Play audio Verb a home in Portugal, here are some of the main types of housing you have to choose from:

Types of Housing

• um quartoA single roomCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine – A private bedroom for yourself in a house shared with other people.
• um apartamentoa flat, apartmentCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine – A complete, unshared home, but in um prédioa buildingCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine shared with others.
  • You could also categorize this as um estúdioa studioCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine apartment which has fewer divisions, or perhaps an apartment with two floors, which, just like in English, is called um duplexa duplexCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine .
• uma vivendaA detached houseCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine – A house that is not connected to any other others, which might even contain um quintala gardenCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine .
• casas geminadassemi-detached housesCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Feminine – Somewhere in between a detached house and an apartment, which share a single common wall to form a two-unit building.
• uma quintafarmCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine – A larger property in which the residential function of the building is combined with agricultural work.

Aquele casal comprou um apartamento no sétimo andar.That couple bought an apartment on the seventh floor.Community Slow audio Play audio
A minha família tem uma quinta no campo.My family has a farm on the countryside.Community Slow audio Play audio

Types of Rooms

Now that you’ve described the type of home, let’s take a look inside:
a cozinhakitchenCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
a sala de estarliving roomCommunity Slow audio Play audio
a sala de jantardining roomCommunity Slow audio Play audio
o quartobedroomCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
a casa de banhobathroomCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
a despensapantryCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
a varandabalconyCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
o sótãoatticCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
a cavebasementCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
o corredorhallway, corridorCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
a entradaentranceCommunity
The building itself might also contain a um elevadoran elevator, liftCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine , as an alternative to taking as escadasthe stairsCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Feminine . Both of them let you access all of os andaresthe floorsCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Masculine of a building.
You might also have uma garagema garageCommunity Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine for your car, bike, or simply for extra storage space.
A minha casa tem dois quartos com varandas.My house has two bedrooms with balconies.Community Slow audio Play audio
A casa de banho é no fim do corredor.The bathroom is at the end of the hallway.Community Slow audio Play audio

House Types by Number of Rooms in Portugal

There’s a simple system in Portugal to describe how many rooms a house has. First, you count the number of bedrooms and precede it with the letter “T” (for any house type) or a “V” (used occasionally, only for detached houses).
Only the bedrooms are counted because it’s assumed that every house has a kitchen, living room and bathroom. So, for example, if you had an apartment with two bedrooms, it would be a T2.
If you had a villa with 4 bedrooms, it would be a V4.
A studio apartment with no separate bedrooms would be a T0. This terminology is ubiquitous in property listings in Portugal.
That’s it for now! Practice this vocabulary and learn more by continuing to the next Lesson in this unit, or you can learn more about renting and home buying in Portugal here:

• Buying a House 1 | Buying a House 2 | Renting an Apartment | Home Sweet Home | Home Interior | Furniture & Appliances