FLY BROTHER

Most major news outlets report about Brazil’s economic growth, income disparities, racial issues, beaches, soccer stars, and World Cup preparations in random, infrequent bursts. Now, two journalists with feet on the ground and caipirinhas on the brain are weighing in on the economic growth, income disparities, etc., etc., on their own blogs.

Yes, everybody and their mama who ever spent a week on the beach in Rio or ever took a guided favela tour has a blog about Brazil. But these guys are oftentimes the go-to sources for reliable facts and insight that those major news outlets rely on when reporting on the country. So, for the most part, dear reader, you can turn to this pair of muckrakers for consistent, insightful commentary—in English—on that enigmatic, entrancing South American powerhouse in the tutti-frutti hat.

Sir Andrew Downie (he’s not really a knight, but he’s got a courtly disposition and “Sir”…

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Vocab Lessons: Brazilian Portuguese Nature Vocabulary List

Portuguese Nature Vocabulary

galho – branch

“na meia de nada” – in the middle of nowhere

murchar – to wilt, wither

acampar-se – to camp

acampamento – campground

brotar – to sprout, bud, bloom

vala – ditch

passo – step, pace, walk, footstep, footprint

terreno – ground, land

trecho – passage, stretch of space

ramo – branch, buindle of flowers (also means: a particular line of work)

argila – clay

agua doce – fresh water

agua salgada – salt water

girasol – sunflower

Tips & Resources For Learning Portuguese Online

Best Resources For Learning Brazilian Portuguese Online

Best Portuguese To English Translation Site:

– Google Translate – Not always accurate, pretty bad for looking up slang…but of all the terrible online word-for-word translation sites, this one is the lesser evil 

Best Portuguese Slang Dictionary:

– Dicionário InFormal – This site is great for looking up slang words in Portuguese, also feel free to add your own definitions

Best Websites For Reading the News in Portuguese:

–Folia

– Globo / G1

Best Online Forum For Learning Portuguese (That is Really For Learning English…)

– English Experts – So, this website is basically made for obsessive Brazilian English-enthusiasts, and so they ask all sorts of questions like “how do you say this obscure portuguese phrase in english.” Therefore, as someone trying to learn Portuguese, you can navigate around this site learning the precise english translation for all sorts of cool portuguese expressions! Here is one example: this is a lesson on how to talk about the planets in English, it is perfect for learning Portuguese. 

Other Tips:

– Instead of reading articles on English Wikipedia, start reading up on things via Portuguese Wikipedia. It might take longer to read, but write down the words that you don’t know and learn them.

– Use YouTube to watch Brazilian music videos with subtitles (legendas or letras)

– Watch Brazilian TV! – You can find sites like Justin TV that will let you watch Globo, or just watch clips on YouTube from Programs like Fantastico, or Panico Na TV!