“Hora do Recreio!” — Playtime at School Song in Portuguese for Kids
In “Hora do Recreio!” (Playtime at School), kids sing key Portuguese words like o recreio, a campainha, o pátio and apanha-me, going back and forth between English and Portuguese, so the meaning is never a mystery. It's a early-learner (A1) song from Unit 31: At School, 2:12 long, made for ages 2–8.
- 🇵🇹 Portuguese (Portugal)
- Level: A1
- Unit 31 · Na Escola
- ⏱ 2:12
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“Hora do Recreio!” lyrics with English translation
Every line as it's sung, with its meaning beside it. Portuguese is shown in teal.
| Sung | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The bell rings! | A campainha toca! |
| A campainha! | The bell! |
| It’s playtime! É o recreio! | |
| Recess! | O recreio! |
| O recreio! | Recess! |
| The bell! | A campainha! |
| A campainha! | The bell! |
| Playground! | O pátio! |
| O pátio! | Playground! |
| Come and play! | Anda brincar! |
| Anda brincar! | Come and play! |
| Come and play! | Anda brincar! |
| Anda brincar! | Come and play! |
| Catch me! | Apanha-me! |
| Apanha-me! | Catch me! |
| You’re it! | És tu! |
| Agora és tu! | Now you’re it! |
| You’re it! | És tu! |
| Agora és tu! | Now you’re it! |
| O recreio! | Recess, hooray! |
| Recess, hooray! | O recreio, viva! |
| O pátio! | Playground! |
| Let’s run and play! | Vamos correr e brincar! |
| Apanha-me! | Catch me, catch me! |
| Catch me, catch me! | Apanha-me, apanha-me! |
| Agora és tu! | Now you’re it! |
| Now you’re it! | Agora és tu! |
| O recreio, come and play! | |
| Anda brincar, hooray, hooray! | |
| Jump rope! | A corda! |
| A corda! | Jump rope! |
| Jump, jump! | Salta, salta! |
| Salta, salta! | Jump, jump! |
| Hopscotch! | A macaca! |
| A macaca! | Hopscotch! |
| One, two, hop! | Um, dois, salta! |
| Um, dois, salta! | One, two, hop! |
| The slide! | O escorrega! |
| O escorrega! | The slide! |
| Whoosh, down we go! | Zás, lá vamos nós! |
| Lá vou eu! | Ready or not, here I come! |
| Ball! | A bola! |
| A bola! | Ball! |
| Kick the ball! | Chuta a bola! |
| Chuta a bola! | Kick the ball! |
| O recreio! | Recess, hooray! |
| Recess, hooray! | O recreio, viva! |
| O pátio! | Playground! |
| Let’s run and play! | Vamos correr e brincar! |
| Apanha-me! | Catch me, catch me! |
| Catch me, catch me! | Apanha-me, apanha-me! |
| Agora és tu! | Now you’re it! |
| Now you’re it! | Agora és tu! |
| O recreio, come and play! | |
| Anda brincar, hooray, hooray! | |
| The bell rings! | A campainha toca! |
| A campainha! | The bell! |
| One more game? | Mais um jogo? |
| Mais uma vez! | One more time! |
| Come and play! | Anda brincar! |
| Anda brincar! | Come and play! |
| Run to the ball, then race to the slide! | Corre para a bola, depois para o escorrega! |
| Corre, corre, vem brincar! | Run, run, come and play! |
| O recreio! | Recess, hooray! |
| Recess, hooray! | O recreio, viva! |
| O pátio! | Playground! |
| Let’s run and play! | Vamos correr e brincar! |
| Apanha-me! | Catch me, catch me! |
| Catch me, catch me! | Apanha-me, apanha-me! |
| Agora és tu! | Now you’re it! |
| Now you’re it! | Agora és tu! |
| O recreio, come and play! | |
| Anda brincar, hooray, hooray! | |
| Back to class! | Para a sala! |
| Vamos para a sala! | Let’s go back to class! |
| The bell! | A campainha! |
| A campainha! | The bell! |
| O recreio is done today! | |
| Vamos para a sala — hooray! | |
Key Portuguese words in this song
The 11 words and phrases this song is built around.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| o recreio | recess |
| a campainha | the bell |
| o pátio | the playground |
| apanha-me | catch me |
| agora és tu | you're it |
| a corda | jump rope |
| a macaca | hopscotch |
| o escorrega | slide |
| a bola | ball |
| anda brincar | come and play |
| vamos para a sala | back to class |
How to use this song with your child
- 1
Listen for “o recreio”
“o recreio” (recess) is sung on 8 lines of this song. Ask your child to clap or raise a hand every time they hear it; by the end they will be saying it with the song.
- 2
Split the parts
Once the song is familiar, you sing the English lines and your child sings the Portuguese ones, then swap. It turns listening into speaking.
- 3
Make it a routine
At 2:12, play it once a day at the same moment for a week. Act out playtime: run, hop and slide where the song says.
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