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How to Say ‘From the driver’ in Portuguese

Ao motorista

ow moo-tor-EE-shtah

[ow moo-tor-EE-shtah]

💬 Usage Tip: [a] + [o] becomes [ao], so [ao motorista] is literally "to the driver," but here it means buying from the driver. You'll see the same merger in [ao lado] and [ao Porto].

Phrase Breakdown

Ao

[ow]

To the driver.

Contraction of "a" + "o" = "ao" (to the) + "motorista" (driver). Means you buy/pay with the driver.

Example

Podes pagar ao motorista quando entrares no elétrico.

You can pay the driver when you get on the tram.

motorista

[moo-tor-EE-shtah]

Driver.

The person who drives the tram/bus (same word for all genders).

Example

O motorista do elétrico pode vender bilhetes.

The tram driver can sell tickets.

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