Portuguese Phrase
Usa um telefone público.
Meaning
The sentence is a direct instruction telling someone to make a call using a public telephone. It is concise and often used in urgent or practical situations where a personal phone is unavailable.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to advise someone to place a call from a pay‑phone, for example in a travel guide, a safety briefing, or a casual conversation about finding a way to call home.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Usaumtelefonepúblico.
Imperative of usar
‘Usa’ is the informal singular imperative of the verb ‘usar’ (to use). It tells the listener to perform the action.
Indefinite article ‘um’
‘um’ is the masculine singular indefinite article, equivalent to ‘a’ or ‘an’ in English.
Noun gender agreement
‘telefone’ is a masculine noun, so the article and any adjectives must also be masculine singular.
Adjective agreement
‘público’ is an adjective that agrees in gender and number with ‘telefone’, therefore it appears in the masculine singular form.
🗨In Conversation
Meu celular acabou a bateria e preciso falar com a minha mãe.
My cell phone died and I need to talk to my mom.
Usa um telefone público ali na esquina.
Use a public phone over there on the corner.
✕Common Mistakes
Usa um telefone.
Missing the adjective ‘público’; without it the sentence just says ‘use a phone’, which loses the specific meaning.
Usa um telefone privado.
‘Privado’ means private; it changes the meaning entirely.
Usa um telefone públicos.
The adjective must agree in gender and number; ‘públicos’ is plural and does not match the singular noun.
↔Alternatives
Utilize um telefone público.
Utilize a public phone.
Faça uma chamada em um telefone público.
Make a call on a public phone.
Ligue usando um telefone público.
Call using a public phone.
Cultural Tip
Public phones are far less common in Brazil than they once were, but you can still find them in bus terminals, shopping malls, and some street corners, especially in larger cities. They usually accept coins (R$0.50‑R$1.00) or prepaid cards called ‘cartões de telefone’. When you use one, remember to speak clearly and keep the conversation short, as the cost is per minute.