CIPLE A2 Exam key terms

A small printed card or paper showing that you have paid to travel, enter a place or see a show. It gives details such as date, time and seat number.

A list or table showing the times when trains, buses, classes or offices run or open. You read it to plan when to leave or arrive.

A place where trains or buses stop so that passengers can get on and off. It usually has platforms, timetables and a ticket office or machines.

A form of transport that runs on rails between towns and cities. This is the usual Portuguese word for what English speakers call a train.

A large road vehicle that carries many passengers along a fixed route, stopping at marked places. You pay the driver or use a travel card.

To catch a bus, train or other transport, meaning to get on it before it leaves. The same verb is also used for catching a cold.

Late or delayed. It describes people, trains, buses or flights that arrive later than planned, or work that has not been done on time.

To arrive too late and miss a train, bus or plane, so that you cannot travel on it. The same verb also means to lose an object.

To arrange in advance to have a seat, table, room or ticket kept for you, usually by phone, online or in person at a counter.

An arrangement made in advance for a time to see a doctor, have a haircut or use a service. In Portugal people often say "fazer uma marcação".

A meeting with a doctor or other health professional at a health centre or hospital. The word also appears on letters and in phone calls about that appointment.

A doctor's written instruction for medicine that you take to a pharmacy. In a different context the same word means a set of cooking instructions.

A shop where you buy medicine and health products, often marked outside with a green cross. A pharmacist there can advise you about minor health problems.

Pains or aches in part of your body. At this level you should be able to say where it hurts, for example "tenho dores de cabeça".

A body temperature that is higher than normal, often a sign of illness. You can say "tenho febre" when explaining your symptoms to a doctor.

The list of food and drinks you can order in a restaurant, with the prices. In Portugal this word is more common than "menu" on signs and in speech.

A cheaper dish chosen by the restaurant each day, usually served with bread, soup or a drink. It is often written on a board at lunchtime.

The bill you pay at the end of a meal, or a bank account. Saying "A conta, por favor" is the standard way to ask for the bill.

The money a shop assistant gives back when you pay with more cash than the price. You may need to ask for it if it is not handed to you.

The Portuguese network of cash machines and card payment terminals. A "cartão multibanco" lets you take out money and pay in most shops.

To take cash out of your bank account, either from a machine in the street or over the counter inside a bank branch.

The full address where you live, including street, number, floor and postcode. It is asked for on forms, envelopes and registration documents.

A set of digits added to an address so that mail can be sorted, written in Portugal as four digits, a dash and three more digits.

A printed or online page with empty spaces that you must fill in with your personal details, often for a school, bank or public service.

To write the required information in the empty spaces of a form, using capital letters when the instructions ask you to do so.

Your name written in your own hand at the end of a letter, form or contract, showing that you agree with what it says.

The act of putting your name on an official list to join a course, club, exam or activity, often by completing a form and paying a fee.

The official registration of a student at a school, university or course at the start of the year. The same word also means a car's licence plate.

A series of lessons over weeks or months on one subject, such as a language course. It may take place at a school, a centre or online.

A formal meeting in which someone asks you questions, for example to decide whether to give you a job or a place on a course.

Paid work that you do regularly for an employer. Adverts about it usually describe the tasks, the working hours, the pay and the skills needed.

A written agreement between two people or organisations that sets out what each side must do, such as working hours, duties and pay.

A short public notice giving information or a warning, put on a door, a wall or a website, for example about a change of opening hours.

Closed. It appears on doors and signs to say that a shop, office or museum is not open at that moment, often with the time it opens again.

A polite request asking someone to say something again because you did not hear or understand it. Very useful in phone calls and listening tasks.

A question asking how a word or name is spelled. Useful when you take a message or write down an address that someone gives you.

Slowly, at a low speed. You can ask someone to speak "mais devagar" when they are speaking too fast for you to follow.