Aquatic Animals & Fish Vocab List

For next time you go to the Beach in Brazil, remember this basic Portuguese vocabulary list for aquatic animals & fish:

frutos do mar – seafood

marisco – clam

carangueijo, siri – crab

lagosta – lobster

mexilhão – mussel

ostra – oyster

ouriço-do-mar – sea urchin

camarão – shrimp

caracol – snail

estrela-do-mar – starfish

golfinho – dolphin

manati – manatee

lontra – otter

foca – seal

enguia – eel

água-viva – jellyfish (*literally means: “living water” and to express that a jellyfish stung you, you must say “a água-viva me quemou!” – literally: “the jellyfish burned me!”)

polvo – octopus

tartaruga – turtle (a tartaruga-marinha – is a sea turtle)

tubarão – shark

baleia – whale

peixe – fish

peixe espada – swordfish

bacalhau – cod

ova de peixe – roe

atum – tuna

peixe-dourado – goldfish

piranha – piranha

Vocab Lessons: Animals: Collective Nouns

While these nouns aren’t as vital to daily conversation as some other nouns you’ll learn here, they’ll help you sound like a much more experienced speaker. Today, we’re going to learn about animal collective nouns, called coletivos in Portuguese.

alcateia – pack (of wolves, hyenas, wild dogs)

cáfila – caravan of camels

cardume – school of fish

enxame – swarm (of insects, like bees)

manada – herd of animals (including but not limited to elephants, cattle, donkeys, and horses)

matilha – pack of dogs

ninhada – litter (of baby dogs or cats); brood

rebanho – flock of sheep or goats

revoada, bando, nuvem – flock of birds

panapaná – swarm (of butterflies)

*Sources:

http://www.transparent.com/portuguese/

Vocab Lessons: Animals: Cats (Gatos) & Dogs (Cachorros)

Cat or Feline Related Protuguese Vocabulary

"a pantera cor de rosa" - the pink panther

gato – cat

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

osséa – bony

Brazilian Portuguese Vocabulary Lesson: Animals: Birds (Aves)

BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE BIRD VOCABULARY

pássaro or ave – bird

pássarinho – a small bird

pinto – a chick

a águia (-s) – eagle

a cegonha (-s) – stork

a gaivota (-s) – seagull

o gavião (-ões) – hawk

o corvo (-s) – crow

o falcão (-ões) – falcon

o beija-flor (-es) – hummingbird

o avestruz (-es) – ostrich

o papagaio (-s) – parrot

o pinguim (pingüins) – penguin

a codorna (-s) – quail

o pica-pau (-s) – woodpecker

this is the talking parrot from brazil's daytime talkshow "mais voce" - this show is a staple like oprah, but co-hosted by a puppet bird (weird?)

RELATED WORDS

o poleiro (-s) – perch

a garra (-s) – claw, talon (*can also be used figuratively to mean “enthusiasm,” or “drive” i.e. “ele mostrou garra empenho e carisma para envergar a nossa camisola” – “he showed enthusiasm, commitment and carisma to wear our jersey”)

a gaiola (-s) – cage

o bico (-s) – beak

o ninho (-s) – nest

o bando (-s) – flock (for birds)

a pena (-s) – feather

 

VERBS

gorjear – to chirp, twitter