cartão-presente
The English phrase "gift card" is translated into Portuguese as cartão-presente.
cartão-presente refers to a card issued by retailers. In many retail contexts, both Brazilians and Portuguese speakers also commonly use the English term "gift card".
Meaning: a card issued by retailers (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a compound noun where cartão means card and presente means gift.
Which one should you use?
While cartão-presente is the standard term, you may encounter Vale-Presente, which translates to "gift voucher" or "gift ticket" and Cartão Presente, which is used in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Vale-Presente is used in Brazil. Cartão Presente is used in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural, "gift cards" is cartões-presente, where only the first noun is inflected.
Did you know?
- In Portuguese, the word presente can mean 'gift' or 'present' in the temporal sense. This creates a linguistic coincidence where a cartão-presente could be interpreted as a 'current card'.
- A Portuguese speaker distinguishes between a presente (a paid gift) and a brinde (a free promotional gift) when describing what they are giving.
- The term Vale-Presente is deeply connected to Brazil's history of 'vales', which were traditional paper slips used for meals and transport long before the digital age.
Examples in context
- Posso comprar um vale-presente para a minha amiga na sua loja?Can I buy a gift card for my friend at your store?
- Vou te dar um cartão de presente para agradecer por me ajudar.I'm going to give you a gift card to thank you for helping me.
- Comprei um vale de presente em uma loja de roupas para minha irmã.I bought a gift card at a clothing store for my sister.
- Eu comprei um cartão-presente para ela.I bought a gift card for her.
- Onde posso resgatar este cartão-presente?Where can I redeem this gift card?
- Eles oferecem um cartão-presente de dez euros.They offer a ten euro gift card.
Example conversation
Camila is giving a birthday present to Gabriel.
- CamilaFeliz aniversário, Gabriel! Aqui está o seu presente.Happy birthday, Gabriel! Here is your present.
- GabrielObrigado, Camila! O que é isso?Thank you, Camila! What is this?
- CamilaÉ um cartão-presente daquela livraria.It is a gift card from that bookstore.
- GabrielQue legal! Eu adoro ler livros.How cool! I love reading books.
