Tu, você or o senhor? How to address people in Portugal

One of the trickiest things for learners isn't grammar: it's knowing how to address someone without sounding rude or too familiar.

Tu: friends, family, people your age

Tu takes its own verb form (tu falas, tu queres). Use it with friends, family, children and, usually, people of your age in informal settings. If someone says Podes tratar-me por tu, you've been invited to use it.

O senhor / a senhora: polite and safe

With strangers, older people, in shops and offices, the safe choice is o senhor / a senhora, with the verb in the third person: O senhor sabe onde é a estação? Very often people simply drop the pronoun: Sabe onde é a estação?

Você: careful

Você exists and is very common in Brazil, but in Portugal, said directly to someone, it can sound distant or even rude to some people. Using the verb without a pronoun avoids the problem.

Names and titles

Using someone's name with the third person is common and friendly: A Ana quer café? In formal contexts you'll hear titles: senhor doutor, senhora engenheira.