Here’s a very comprehensive Portuguese vocab list for when you plan on cooking for your friends in Brazil and want to know the words for major appliances, smaller appliances, pots and pans, utensils (utensílios de cozinha) and everything else! Memorizing this list will really impress everyone, so good luck!
a panela – general word for pan
a frigideira – a frying pan, skillet
panela de pressão – pressure cooker
a caçarola or tacho – a sauce pan or frying pan
o pote– pot, jar
a jarra – jar, jug
a colher (-es)– spoon
a colher madeira – wooden spoon
o garfo – fork
a faca – knife
o amolador – knife sharpener
a espátula – spatula
o batidor – wisk
rolo de abrir massas – rolling pin
o cortador de pizza – pizza cutter
colher sorvete – ice cream scoop
o amassador de batatas – potato masher
o descascador – peeler
a seca salada – salad spinner
o espremedor de alho – garlic crusher
o funil – funel
o ralador – grater (for cheese)
a concha – serving spoon, scoop (also means “shell”)
o abridor de lata – can opener
o abridor de garrafas – bottle opener
escorredor de água – a strainer
porta condimentos – condiment holder, spice rack
colher medidora (colheres de medida) – measuring spoon(s)
copo medidor or xícara de medida – measuring cup
a colher de chá – teaspoon
termômetro de forno – oven thermometer
a tábua de corte – cutting board
a xícara – teacup / coffee cup
o pires – saucer (for a tea cup)
o prato – plate
a tigela – bowl
a taça – wineglass
a caneca – mug
o copo – cup, drinking glass
a pia – sink
a geladeira – refrigerator
a forma de gelo – ice tray
o forno – oven
o fogão – stove
a torradeira – toaster
a microondas – microwave
cafeteira – coffee maker, coffee pot
a chaleira – kettle
a maquina de lavar vasilha – dishwasher (yes, that’s a mouthful, it literally means “the machine to wash dirty dishes” but you really wont have to say it much because few homes in Brazil actually have one.
detergente – dish detergent
a batedeira – mixer
o liquidificador – blender
a lata de lixo – trash can (or just “lixo” – trash)
a misteira or sanduicheira – sandwich grill, like a George Forman type device (these words mean the same thing, but depending on which part of Brazil you are in, you will want to say one or the other. For example, in the state of Bahia, they say the word “sanduicheira,” i learned this when i was making myself a grilled panini one year after coming home to a friend’s house starving one night during carnaval. However, in the state Minas Gerais, they only say “misteira” and may not even know what a sanduicheira is.)
In Honor of Spring, I thought I’d post a song called “Aguas de Março,” (“Waters of March”) sung beautifully by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim, with the complete lyrics translated into English. An added bonus, this song has a bunch of GREAT vocab words! Enjoy!
É pau, é pedra, A stick, a stone,
é o fim do caminho It’s the end of the road, É um resto de toco, It’s the rest of a stump, é um pouco sozinho It’s a little alone
É um caco de vidro, It’s a sliver of glass, é a vida, é o sol It is life, it’s the sun, É a noite, é a morte, It is night, it is death, é um laço, é o anzol It’s a string, it’s the hook (fishing hook)
É peroba do campo, It’ the mahogany of the feild é o nó da madeira It’s the knot of the wood, Caingá, candeia, é o Matita Pereira
É madeira de vento, The wood of the wind, tombo da ribanceira the fall of the shore É o mistério profundo, it’s the profound mystery é o queira ou não queira
É o vento ventando, It’s the wind blowing, é o fim da ladeira It’s the end of the slope, É a viga, é o vão, it’s a beam, it’s the bay festa da cumeeira
É a chuva chovendo, its the rain raining é conversa ribeira the riverside conversation Das águas de março, of the waters of march é o fim da canseira its the end of the weariness
É o pé, é o chão, it’s the foot, it’s the ground, é a marcha estradeira Passarinho na mão, a little bird in one’s habd pedra de atiradeira a slingshot’s stone
É uma ave no céu, it’s a bird in the sky é uma ave no chão it’s a bird on the ground É um regato, é uma fonte, it’s a brook, its a fountain é um pedaço de pãoit’s a peice of bread
É o fundo do poço, it’s the bed of the well é o fim do caminho its the end of the path No rosto o desgosto, the dismay in the face é um pouco sozinho it’s a little lonely
É um estrepe, é um prego, é uma conta, é um conto it’s an account, its a tale É uma ponta, é um ponto, its a tip, it’s a point é um pingo pingando it’s a drop dripping
É um peixe, é um gesto, it’s a fish, it’s a gest é uma prata brilhando it’s a shining silver É a luz da manhã, it’s the light of the morning é o tijolo chegando it’s the brick arriving
É a lenha, é o dia, it’s the firewood, it’s the day é o fim da picada it’s the end of the sting É a garrafa de cana, it’t the bottle of cane juice o estilhaço na estrada the splinter on the walkway
É o projeto da casa, it’s the house project é o corpo na cama it’s the body in bed É o carro enguiçado, it’s the car not working é a lama, é a lama it’s the mud, it’s the mud
É um passo, é uma ponte, it’s a step, it’s a bridge é um sapo, é uma rã it’s a toad its a frog É um resto de mato, its a rest of brush na luz da manhã in the light of the morning
São as águas de março it’s the waters of march fechando o verão concluding the summer É a promessa de vida it’s the prommise of life no teu coração in your heart
É uma cobra, é um pau, it’s a snake, it’s a stick é João, é José it’s João, it’s José É um espinho na mão, it’s a thorn in the hand é um corte no pé it’s a cut in the foot
É um passo, é uma ponte, it’s a step, it’s a bridge é um sapo, é uma rã it’s a toad, it’s a frog É um belo horizonte, it’s a beautiful horizon é uma febre terçã
São as águas de março it’s the waters of march fechando o verão concluding the summer É a promessa de vida the promise of life no teu coração in your heart
Raul Seixas is hands down one of my favorite Brazilian rock atrists. This song is one of his best, in my opinion, and also one of the most popular, it even made an appearance in the fantastic film, City of God, (Cidade de Deus) from 2002.
Finding great music and learning the lyrics is one of the most effective ways to learn another language, so I have translated the lyrics for this monumental song below (though I must say, the lyrics sound much better in Portuguese, but at least you get the idea). Please feel free to email me with your requests for lyrics translations @ portugueseblogger@gmail.com!
Raul Seixas – Metamorfose Ambulante
prefiro ser – i prefer to be essa metamorfose ambulante – this wandering metamorphasis eu prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
do que ter aquela velha opinião – rather than having that old opinion formada sobre tudo -formed about everything do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
eu quero dizer – i want to say agora, o oposto do que eu disse antes – now, the opposite of what i said before eu prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo
Sobre o que é o amor – about what love is Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou – about how i don’t know who i am
Se hoje eu sou estrela – if today i am a star Amanhã já se apagou – tomorrow i already burned out Se hoje eu te odeio – if today i hate you Amanhã lhe tenho amor – tomorrow i have love for you
Lhe tenho amor – i have love for you Lhe tenho horror – i am horrified Lhe faço amor – i make love to you Eu sou um ator – i am an actor
É chato chegar – it’s annoying to arrive at A um objetivo num instante – an objective in an instant Eu quero viver – i want to live Nessa metamorfose ambulante – in this wandering metamorphasis
Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo
Sobre o que é o amor – about what love is Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou – about how i don’t even know who i am
Se hoje eu sou estrela Amanhã já se apagou Se hoje eu te odeio Amanhã lhe tenho amor
Lhe tenho amor Lhe tenho horror Lhe faço amor Eu sou um ator
Eu vou lhe desdizer -i’ll recant to you Aquilo tudo que eu lhe disse antes – all that which i told you before Eu prefiro ser Essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo Do que ter aquela velha opinião Formada sobre tudo
Here is a quick easy vocab list – Brazilian Portuguese words for home furniture, appliances and accessories categorized by room. Feel free to e-mail me your words at portugueseblogger@gmail.com! Thanks!
General:
os móveis – furniture
A Sala – The Living Room:
a poltrona – armchair
a lâmpada – lamp
o sofá
a almofada – big pillows, like the throw ones you may have on a couch
O Quarto – The Bedroom:
o abajur – table lamp
a cômoda – chest of drawers
a cama – bed
0 lençol – bed sheet (lençois – sheets)
o colchão – matress
o edredon – duvet
o cobertor – blanket
o acolchoado – quilt, bedspread, comforter
a cabeceira – night stand
o travesseiro – pillow
a fronha – pillowcase
o armário / a guarda-roupa – armoire, wardrobe, closet
Portuguese Nouns are either Masculine or Feminine. In English, our words don’t have gender and so this will get some getting used to. Fortunately, the gender of most nouns in Brazilian Portuguese is quite predictable. For example, the world for girl, “menina” is obviously going to be feminine (a menina, uma menina, duas meninas). You will also come to realize that many nouns end in –o or –a. So, for the most part, nouns ending in an ‘a’ will be feminine and those ending in an ‘o,’ masculine.
Of course, there are exceptions to this. For example: for weeks I thought that the word in Portuguese for “day,” – dia – was a feminine word. However, I was soon corrected. O Dia is a masculine in Portuguese, other words like cometa, the Portuguese word for “comet” are also masculine. If you are a perfectionist, go ahead and memorize all of these rule-breakers. But my strategy was more trial and error based, I preferred to just follow my –a ending = feminine, -o ending = masculine rule until I got corrected. This allowed me to speak faster and focus on other things like my sentence structure. And not to worry, people will still understand you if you get a gender wrong here or there. But for those of you who wanted a list of nouns that break the rules, I have made one here. Please feel free to e-mail me if you know of any more!
Rules:
The Noun is Feminine…:
-if it ends with –a (usually *see list at the bottom for notable exceptions).
-if it ends with –dade. Examples: lealdade – loyalty, liberdade – liberty.
-if it ends with –dão. Example: solidão – lonliness.
-if it ends with –gem. Example: viagem – journey/ trip.
-if it ends with –ise. Example: crise – crisis.
-if it ends with –ite. Example: bronquite – bronchitis.
-if it ends with –são (corresponding with english’s –sion). Example: decisão – decision.
-if it ends with –tude. Example: juventude – youth.
The Noun is Masculine…:
-if it ends with –o (usually *see list at the bottom for notable exceptions).
-if it ends with –ão (cidadão – citizen, cartão – card/credit card).
-if et ends with –dor or –tor. Examples: cantor – singer, traidor – traitor.
Exceptions:
-Even though they end in –o, words which end with – ção or –são (corresponding to English nouns ending in –tion/-sion) are feminine! Examples: ação – action, tripulação – crew
-the word mão – hand, is feminine!
-the word tribo – tribe, is feminine!
-Words ending in –o that are abbreviations of longer feminine nouns can be feminine! Example: foto – photo, is feminine, because this word is really an abbreviation of the word “fotografia”. Also, moto – motorcycle is feminine because it comes from “motocicleta” (which nobody says).
-sometimes if a word ends with –ma, it can be masculine. Examples: umdilema – a dilemma, umsistema – a system, um problema – a problem, pyjama – pyjamas, um alerta – an alert/warning, um mapa – a map, um cometa – a comet, um planeta – a planet, um tapa – a slap, and samba – samba (the Brazilian dance), o clima – the climate.
-Nouns ending in a stressed ‘a’ (á) are at times masculine! Examples: maracujá – passion fruit, sofá – sofa, tamanduá – anteater, chá – tea.
-Even though it ends in ‘a,’ o Irã – Iran (the country) is masculine!
Another problem is, sometimes, we can get confused about whether a noun is masculine or feminine (ends in an -a or an -o). The ending can make a huge difference in the meaning of a word, so be careful. Examples:
bola – ball, bolo – cake foca – seal (the animal), foco – focus tira – cop, tiro – (gun)shot vaga – space (as in parking space), vago – vague (which is actually an adjective) verba – financial budget, verbo – verb
pantera – panther (a pantera cor-de-rosa – the pink panther)
onça – jaguar
“bafo de onça” – literally meaning: “jaguar breath,” this is a way of describing someone who has really bad breath (“ele tem bafo de onça!” – “he has terrible breath!”)
tigre – tiger
leão – lion
leopardo – cheetah/leopard
gato doméstico – domestic cat
gatos selvagens – wild cats
patas – paws
bigodes – whiskers (this is also the Brazilian Portuguese word for mustache)
um gato preto – a black cat
Dog or Canine Related Portuguese Vocabulary
cachorro – dog cão (pl. cães) – big dogs/hounds/canines
This story is deeply upsetting. You may hear about drug related violence in Brazil on a daily basis, clashes between the police and the favela’s drug lords, politicians being murdered on occasion, certainly brutality and torture in Brazilian prisons…but school shootings are really unheard of, and this bizarre and inexplicable tragedy has shocked the entire country:
Brazil School Shooting Highlights Incidents Around The World
Wellington Menezes Oliveira, 24, opens fire inside the Tasso da Silveira school in Realengo near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing 12 people before taking his own life. Oliveira is believed to be a former student.
A Brazilian gunman’s deadly rampage at a Rio de Janeiro public school left 11 children dead and sent shockwaves throughout the South American nation, which had never seen a tragedy of this nature before.
As the Associated Press is reporting, at least other 18 people, mostly Tasso de Oliveira students, were injured and taken to local hospitals, where at least four remained in grave condition. The culprit is thought to be a former student, who also died.
It was a grisly reminder that schools, colleges and universities across the world have been the scenes of some horrific shootings in recent years. Not surprisingly, the case has drawn immediate comparisons to the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, in which 13 people died, as well as similar shootings in Finland and Germany.
A passive sentence is one in which the subject is the recipient of the action. In Brazilian Portuguese, past participles are used with the verb “ser” (to be) to denote the passive voice. Here are some phrases demonstrating the verb forms which are used when speaking in the passive voice:
“o dinheiro vai ser gasto pelas mulheres” – “the money will be spent by the women”
“o menino seria expulso da escola” – “the boy will be expelled from the school”
“a casa seria limpa pela faixineira” – “the house will be cleaned by the housekeeper”
“os filmes eram entregues pelo homen” – “the movies were returned by the man”
“a mesa foi posta pelas empregadas” – “the table was set by the maids”
“as criancas eram enxuntas pela toalha” – “the children were dried by the towel”
“os livros foram escritos pelas poetas” – “the books were written by the poets”
Also, note that past participles agree in gender with the subject of the passive sentence.
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