150 Tricky Words in Brazilian Portuguese

By Adam Lee
Edited by Islene Faanha

Copyright Adam Lee, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in written form.
1
Introduction

I created this book in order to teach you, a student of Brazilian Portuguese, over 150 Tricky
Words (spread out over 44 word sets) that I personally discovered during my language
learning process. Following this introduction, you will find the list Ive compiled, along with
examples to go with them.

The long list I created was born from the difficulties I went through in the first half of my
language learning journey. My intention is to make Brazilian Portuguese easier for those of
you who are finding yourselves in the same situation I was in, unsure of when to use one
word over another. My hope is that this book will bring you closer to joining the ranks of the
more than 190 million current speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, a language that has been
called both wild and sweet...and rightly so.

How to Use the Book

There are a few pointers I would like to give in order to help you navigate the book. It is laid
out in Word Sets which are groupings of words that have similar meanings.

The idea is to look at the Portuguese in this ebook and be able to learn it while knowing that
Ive added a few bridges, as it were, to bring together an English-speaking perspective and a
Brazilian one. Youll see this, for example, in Word Set 27, where I include Contente
(contented) with Contedo (content, substance) and Contexto (context). At first glance and
from an English perspective, it might seem that Contente could very well refer to something
like the content of a book, when in reality you should use Contedo. Word Set 26 also has
some of these additional vocabulary bridges.

Parenthesis

Some of the verb definitions have parentheses around them, this generally means the word in
question has other meanings and/or meanings that belong to another Word Set Ive covered.
Lastly, parenthesis might be used to add auxiliary information to the word definition.

Etc.

Any starred (*) items at the bottom of select Word Sets are there to give additional
2
information about a particular word or Word Set. Additionally, any word definitions in italics
are there as markers of informal speech or slang.

In terms of the Word Set Index below, make note that not all Tricky Words belong to the
same parts of speech and this is shown in the Index with a forward slash. As can be seen, this
ebook has a focus on nouns and adjectives, but there are plenty of parts of speech to learn
about.

INDEX OF WORD SETS

1. Marca, Grife 24. Meio, Metade

2. Molho, Caldo, Sopa 25. Esperto, Perito, Inteligente, (Experto)
3. Concerto, Show 26. Estranho, Esquisito, Desconhecido,
4. Tempo, Hora, Horrio, Fuso Horrio, Estrangeiro
Prazo 27. Contedo, Contente, Contexto
5. Bate-Papo, Conversa, (Conversao) 28. Calmo, Sossegado, Quieto, Tranquilo
6. Msica, (Cano) 29. Graa, Engraado
7. Pomar, Horta, Jardim 30. Particular, Privado
8. Dvida, Questo, Pergunta 31. Pronto, Prestes (a)
9. Sentido, Significado 32. Ansioso, Nervoso
10. Carinho, Afeto/Afeio, Cafun, 33. Velho, Idoso
Carente, Colo 34. Aqui, C
11. Academia, Ginsio 35. Devagar, Lento, Lerdo, Mole
12. Prova, Teste, Exame, Avaliao 36. S, Sozinho
13. Mato, Mata, Selva, Floresta 37. Direto, Direito, (Reto)
14. Campo, Interior, Roa, Serto 38. Como, Que Nem, (Igual a)
15. Barriga, Estmago, Pana 39. Alm (disso), Fora (isso)
16. Ouvido, Orelha 40. Ambos, Os Dois, Ou/Ou
17. Amostra, Exemplo 41. Sim, Isso!
18. Estresse, Tenso 42. A gente, Ns
19. Ajuda, Socorro, Apelo 43. Extras
20. Capa, Tampa, Cobertura 44. Word Endings
21. poca, Estao, Temporada
22. Coitado/Tadinho, (Pobrezinho)
23. Lotado, Cheio, Recheio

3
 Nouns

1.

Marca (f) - brand, manufacturer, (mark)

Ela se identifica com aquela marca.

(She identifies herself with that brand.)

Grife (f) - brand

O grupo formado por quatro jovens que se vestem com grifes famosas.
(The group is made up of four young men who wear brand-names.)

* Sometimes people use Marca (a general way to say brand) in place of Grife (a designer
label). ** Grife, by the way, is from the French griffe, but pronounced in Portuguese like
grief-y.

2.

Molho (m) - sauce

O molho branco a base de muitas receitas francesas.

(White sauce is the basis of many French recipes.)

Caldo (m) - broth, stock, soup

O caldo de galinha vai dar um bom gosto para o arroz.

(The chicken stock will make the rice taste good.)

4
Sopa (f) - soup

Dizem que sopa bom para quem est gripado.

(They say soup is good for someone whos sick.)

* Molho can also be dip, as in cheese dip, or gravy (as in molho de carne).

3.

Concerto (m) - concert

Eu gostei do violino no concerto.

(I liked the violin at the concert.)

Show (m) - concert, gig, musical performance, (cool)

Meu irmo foi no show do Lenine ontem.

(My brother went to the Lenine concert yesterday.)

* The preferred Brazilian term for a concert is Show, while Concerto consists of an orchestra.
** Conserto means repair or restoration, so be careful with the one letter difference.
*** Show is also a slang word for cool (from the phrase show de bola).

4.

Tempo (m) - time, weather

O tempo tem sido insuportvel esses ltimos dias.

(These last few days the weather has been unbearable.)

Eles precisam fazer a tarefa no menor tempo possvel.

(They need to do the task in the least time possible.)
5
Hora (f) - hour, time, moment

A hora de eu ir embora est chegando.

(The time for me to leave is arriving.)

Eu acordei algumas horas depois de voc.

(I woke up a few hours after you.)

Horrio (m) - timetable, schedule, customary time

No se pode sair do escritrio durante o horrio de trabalho.

(One cannot leave the office during work hours.)

O horrio do voo deve ser anunciado com antecedncia.

(The flight schedule must be announced beforehand.)`

Fuso horrio (m) - time zone

s vezes uma nica regio tem mais de um fuso horrio.

(Sometimes a single region has more than one time zone.)

Prazo (m) - deadline, term

Se passar do prazo estabelecido, vai ter que fazer tudo de novo.

(If the established deadline passes, you'll have to do everything again.)

5.

Bate-papo (m) - chat

Eu estava tendo um bate-papo no MSN.

(I was having a chat on MSN.)

6
Conversa (f) - chat, conversation, talk

O autor participou de uma conversa sobre livros digitais.

(The author took part in a conversation on digital books.)

* Conversa is a conversation between two people. Conversao (f) is the same but almost
never used. Converso (f), which looks similar, means conversion.

6.

Msica (f) - music, song

A Luana adora a msica nova da Ivete.

(Luana loves Ivetes new song.)

* Msica is widely used to refer to music, in general, and to an individual song. Cano (f) is
rarely used to refer to a song although you may see it in older texts.

7.

Pomar (m) - orchard

Eu brincava no pomar de mas perto da minha casa.

(I used to play in the apple orchard near my house.)

Horta (f) - vegetable garden

Vrias famlias ajudaram plantar uma horta comunitria.

(Several families helped to plant a community garden.)

7
Jardim (m) - garden

Passaram horas lendo no jardim.

(They spent hours reading in the garden.)

8.

Dvida (f) - doubt, question

Eu tenho uma dvida que precisa ser esclarecida.

(I have a doubt that needs clearing up.)

Questo (f) - question, matter, issue

Essa uma questo de coragem.

(Thats a question of courage.)

Pergunta (f) - question

Ela tem uma pergunta para voc.

(She has a question for you.)

* Brazilians often use Dvida where an English-speaker would use Question. In these
instances, its common to hear Brazilians wanting to tirar uma dvida (to remove a doubt).
** However, Pergunta is the all-purpose word for question.

9.

Sentido (m) - sense, meaning

Essa frase no faz sentido.

(This phrase doesn't make sense.)
8
Significado (m) - meaning, significance

Qual o significado dessa frase?

(Whats the meaning of this phrase?)

* Both Sentido and Significado have similar definitions, but the real difference between them
is that Significado refers to a literal definition while Sentido is more about how the word in
question is used within the context of what is being said.
** Sentido seems connected, via its spelling, to the word Sentimento (m), (feeling,
sentiment), but the latter doesnt fit in this particular Word Set.

10.

Carinho (m) - affection, caress

A me deu carinho a todas as filhas.

(The mother gave affection to all her daughters.)

Afeto (m) /Afeio (f) - affection, fondness

As crianas menores recebem mais demonstrao de afeto do que as maiores.

(Smaller children get more displays of affection than older ones.)

Cafun (m) - a type of affection, by rubbing someone's head

Ele teve saudade do cafun da av.

(He missed the affection of his grandmother.)

Carente (adj) - needy, wanting, lacking, in need of affection

Alguns vendedores de rua so carentes de recursos bsicos.

(Some street vendors are lacking in basic resources.)
9
Colo (m) - lap, to be held

Cansado de andar, o menino preferia o colo da me.

(Tired of walking, the boy preferred to be held by his mother.)

* The word Cafun has no exact translation into English, as can be seen by the definition.
** To want Colo as an expression (querer colo) is to want to be held, literally to want to be in
someones lap.

11.

Academia (f) - gym, academy

Eu fui para a academia hoje.

(I went to the gym today.)

Ginsio (m) - gymnasium

Patrcia estava brincando no ginsio.

(Patrcia was playing in the gymnasium.)

* Academia is gym, as in health club, but it also means academy.

** Ginsio is gymnasium, as in where you do gymnastics or play indoor basketball. In
Portugal, Ginsio means gym.

12.

Prova (f) - test, proof

O que chamaram de prova foram s trs exerccios para fazermos.

10
(What they called a test was just three exercises for us to do.)

Estou procurando provas contra a pessoa que me fez mal.

(I am looking for proof against the person that did me wrong.)

Teste (m) - test, experiment, quiz

O advogado deve ter acesso aos resultados do teste do DNA.

(The lawyer should have access to the results of the DNA test.)

Exame (m) - examination

Comeou o exame de sade para crianas da escola primria.

(The health examinations for elementary school kids started.)

Avaliao (f) - evaluation, assessment

Antes de abrir a loja, voc vai ter que fazer uma avaliao da concorrncia.
(Before opening the store, you will have to do an assessment of the competition.)

* The words above, when used in the educational sense, are quite interchangeable but there
are technical differences. A Teste is a quiz, a Prova is a regular test, an Exame is a larger,
more complex test, and an Availiao is all-encompassing test that judges everything.

13.

Mato (m) - shrubbery, backwoods, bush, brush, overgrowth

As zonas de mato viraram terras de pastagem.

(The overgrowth areas became land for grazing.)

Mata (f) - forest, jungle

Toda a mata virgem da regio ser preservada.

11
(All of the virgin forest in the region will be preserved.)

Selva (f) - jungle

As tribos tentaram proteger a selva de explorao.

(The tribes tried to protect the jungle from exploitation.)

Floresta (f) - forest

Foi uma floresta mida, pouco habitada por humanos.

(It was a humid forest, sparsely inhabited by humans.)

* Mato can also be used to differentiate from the city, saying you are from the Mato is like
saying youre from the outback or the interior.
** In its technical sense, Mata is a wooded area of one or few species and thus can be
differentiated from Selva or Floresta which are areas containing many species.

14.

Campo (m) - field, countryside, arid land

Ser que eles preferem morar no campo ou na cidade?

(Do they prefer to live in the countryside or in the city?)

Interior (m) - inland, interior

As principais rodovias do interior do Brasil precisam de melhorias.

(The main roads of inland Brazil need improvements.)

Roa (f) - countryside, rural area or town

O idoso, que morou numa roa a vida inteira, nunca pegou avio.
(The old man, who lived in a rural area his whole life, never took an airplane.)
12
Serto (m) - backcountry, hinterlands

No serto do Cear, houve uma grande seca nos anos 80.

(In the hinterlands of Cear, there was a large drought in the 80s.)

* As can be seen, the words in this Word Set are rather interchangeable.
** Interior (m) also opposes the Litoral (m), or coastline.

15.

Barriga (f) - stomach (outside), tummy

Ela comeou a danar quando ainda estava na barriga da me.

(She started to dance when she was still in her mothers stomach.)

Estmago (m) stomach (inside)

A Maria tem problemas de estmago desde ontem.

(Maria has stomach problems since yesterday.)

Pana (f) - potbelly, paunch

Eu gosto muito de cerveja, mas me d uma pana!

(I really like beer but it gives me a potbelly!)

16.

Ouvido (m) - ear (hearing organ)

Ela sussurrou um segredo no meu ouvido.

13
(She whispered a secret in my ear.)

Orelha (f) ear (facial feature)

No sei bem se fazer um piercing na orelha di.

(I dont really know if getting an ear piercing hurts.)

17.

Amostra (f) - sample

Para vender mais bolos, os alunos vo oferecer amostras grtis primeiro.

(To sell more cakes, the student are going to offer free samples first.)

Exemplo (m) - example

Ele no entendeu bem o que eu estava dizendo, ento dei um exemplo.

(He wasnt really understanding what I was saying, so I gave an example.)

* The word Exemplar (m) looks kind of like Exemplo so I thought Id mention it. Exemplar
means the same in English as it does in Portuguese, but in Brazil it also refers to a copy (of a
book, etc).

18.

Estresse (m) - stress

Ele tem que reduzir o estresse para melhorar a qualidade de vida.

(He has to reduce stress to improve quality of life.)

Tenso (f) - tension, strain, stress

14
As tenses entre os paises esto aumentando cada vez mais.
(Tensions between the countries are increasing more and more.)

* Teso (m), (which looks like Tenso) is used in Brazil to mean sexual desire and it can also
be used as a noun to refer to someone sexually attractive (Ele/Ela um teso), so be careful.

19.

Ajuda (f) - help

O Roberto est procurando ajuda com a tese.

(Roberto is looking for help with his thesis.)

Socorro (m) - call for help

Socorro! Fui roubado!

(Help! I was robbed!)

Apelo (m) - plea, appeal

Ela fez apelo para encontrar o filho desaparecido.

(She made a plea to find her missing son.)

20.

Capa (f) - cover (of a magazine/book)

Achei interessante a capa deste ms da revista Adbusters.

(I found this month's cover of Adbusters interesting.)

15
Tampa (f) - cover, lid, top

Por favor, coloque uma tampa na panela de arroz.

(Put a lid on the pot of rice, please.)

Cobertura (f) - coverage, cover, coating, (penthouse)

Meu site dedicado cobertura de notcias.

(My website is dedicated to news coverage.)

A nica coisa que falta a cobertura do bolo.

(The only thing missing is the coating on the cake.)

21.

poca (f) - epoch, era, period, time, season

Na minha poca, eu tinha que andar 3 horas para chegar at a escola.

(In my day, I had to walk for 3 hours to get to school.)

A poca do vero quando todo mundo vai praia.

(The summer period is when everyone goes to the beach.)

Estao (f) - station, season (of the year)

A estao do metr mais perto do que o ponto de nibus.

(The metro station is closer than the bus stop.)

Temporada (f) - television season, period of stay

O penltimo episdio da ltima temporada do Game of Thrones foi macabro.

The second to last episode of last season's Game of Thrones was gruesome.)

* poca is used a lot to speak of the past (ie, back in the day).
16
 22.

Coitado/a / Coitadinho/a / Tadinho/a (m/f) - wretched, poor little thing

Tadinha, nossa amiga teve que nos esperar.

(Poor thing, our friend had to wait for us.)

* Tadinho comes from Coitadinho, which comes from Coitado.

** Dont confuse Tadinho with Todinho (m), a childrens chocolate milk drink in Brazil.
*** Pobrezinho (m) is another way to say Coitado, etc. Often used in affectionate ways by
mothers (and girlfriends that want to be mothers).

Nouns + Adjectives

23.

Lotado (m) - packed, crowded

O grupo de amigos foram ao seu bar favorito mas estava lotado.

(The group of friends went to their favorite bar but it was packed.)

Cheio (m) - full, filled up

No tinha muito mais espao, pois a caixa estava quase cheia.

(There wasn't much more room, because the box was almost full.)

Ele no quer sobremesa, j est cheio do almoo.

(He doesn't want dessert, he's already full from lunch.)

Recheio (m) stuffing, filling

O doce vem com recheio de chocolate.

17
(The candy comes with chocolate filling.)

* Lotado refers to people in a place.

** Cheio refers to the recipient of something, though its often used interchangeably with
Lotado.

24.

Meio (m) - middle

O jogador estava no meio do campo.

(The player was in the middle of the field.)

No meio da conversa, ela se meteu o nariz. Voc acredita?

(In the middle of the conversation, she stuck her nose. Do you believe it?)

Metade (f) - half

Eu s tinha recitado metade do poema quando ela me beijou.

(I had only recited half the poem when she kissed me.)

* Meio also means sort of or kind of (ex. Estou meio cansado).

** Dont confuse Meio with Meia (f), or sock/stocking.
*** To say someone is your metade da laranja (half of the orange) means ones better half,
or true love, although its generally a bit cheesy to say.

25.

Esperto (m) - smart, sly, clever

s vezes, para vencer, voc precisa ser esperto e usar truques.

(Sometimes, to win, you have to be clever and use tricks.)
18
Perito (m) - expert

O meu professor um perito na sua disciplina.

(My professor is an expert in his field.)

Inteligente (adj) - intelligent

Como viu na aula, aquela criana inteligente.

(As you saw in class, that kid is intelligent.)

* In Brazil, Esperto is used mainly to mean having or showing a deceitful nature. Being a
person who is Esperto generally means getting quicker results for less effort, through some
sort of manipulation. Its contrasted by Experto (m), even though Perito is the preferred term
for expert.

26.

Estranho/a (m/f) - strange, odd

Joana foi acordada por um som estranho durante a noite.

(Joana was awakened by a strange sound during the night.)

Esquisito/a (m/f) - weird, odd, freak

Aquele fregus um pouco esquisito, no ?

(That customer is a little odd, isnt he?)

Desconhecido/a (m/f) - stranger

Chegou um desconhecido em casa querendo usar o telefone.

(A stranger arrived at our house wanting to use the telephone.)

19
Estrangeiro/a (m/f) - foreigner, foreign

Aquela pessoa fala com sotaque e deve ser uma estrangeira.

(That person speaks with an accent and must be a foreigner.)

* Estrangeiro can also be used to mean overseas, though Exterior (m) is the preferred term.

27.

Contedo (m) - content, substance

Eu gostei da capa mas o contedo deixou algo a desejar.

(I liked the cover but the content left something to be desired.)

Contente (adj) - contented, glad, delighted, happy

O pai ficou muito contente em ver o filho se formar.

(The father was delighted to see his son graduate.)

Contexto (m) - context

O Brasil o quinto maior pas do mundo e tem um papel importante no contexto

internacional.
(Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and has an important role in an international
context.)

Adjectives

28.

Calmo/a (m/f) - calm

20
Hoje em dia, ela faz ioga e uma pessoa calma.
(These days she does yoga and is a calm person.)

Sossegado/a (m/f)- quiet, calm, tranquil, sleepy

Era um lugar sossegado, com todo o conforto necessrio.

(It was a quiet place, with all the necessary comforts.)

Quieto/a (m/f)- quiet, calm, silent

Sara fala demais, ela no sabe ficar quieta.

(Sara talks too much, she doesn't know how to keep quiet.)

Tranquilo/a (m/f) - tranquil, calm, peaceful

Temos um ambiente de trabalho tranquilo e alegre.

(We have a calm and enjoyable workplace.)

29.

Graa (f) - grace, funny, (sweet)

Aquele filme foi uma graa.

(That film was funny.)

Pela graa divina embarquei no ltimo avio.

(By divine grace, I got on the last plane.)

Engraado (adj) - funny

Eles riram da piada, mas eu no achei engraado.

(They laughed at the joke but I didn't find it funny.)

21
* Phrases denoting the absence of Graa (such as "sem graa" or "no tem graa") can have
several interpretations in English. A few of them are: lack of taste (ie, in good music),
humorless, or unappetizing. The phrase "Ficar sem graa", however, can mean "to become
embarrassed."
** Also, "de graa" means "for free" or "of grace" (ie, "momento de graa", "perido de
graa").
*** Engraado is an all-purpose definition for "funny".

30.

Particular (adj) - private, personal, (particular)

Com licena, essa uma conversa particular.

(Excuse me, this is a private conversation.)

Privado (adj) - private, personal

bom ter equilbrio entre a vida profissional e a vida privada.

(It's good to have a balance between one's professional and private life.)

* Based on my own experience, I have rarely run into the word Privado in Brazil.

31.

Pronto (adj) - ready, (done, finished)

A fruta est pronta para ser comida.

(The fruit is ready to be eaten.)

Prestes a (adj) - ready to, about to

Eu j escovei os dentes e agora estou prestes a dormir.

22
(I already brushed my teeth and now I'm ready to sleep.)

* Prestes (a) is almost always preceded with the verb Estar, while Pronto can be used alone.

32.

Ansioso/a (m/f)- anxious, impatient

Estou ansioso para a prova amanh.

(Im anxious about the exam tomorrow.)

Nervoso/a (m/f) - nervous, irritable, bothered, anxious

Estou me sentindo nervoso.

(Im feeling nervous.)

Fiquei nervoso com alguma coisa hoje.

(I got bothered by something today.)

* Theres a bit of interchangeability between them. Very plainly, though, think of Ansioso as
anxious and Nervoso as angry or bothered. Nervoso is about something more real that is
actually happening. Ansioso is generally a projection upon what is going to happen.

33.

Velho/a (m/f) - old, old person

O carro do meu pai muito velho.

(My dads car is really old.)

Idoso/a (m/f) old person, elderly

23
Ouvi que Portugal tem muitos idosos. verdade?
(I heard that Portugal has a lot of elderly. Is that true?)

* Velho is thought of as less polite when referring to someone elderly. Also, be weary of where
you place Velho in a sentence because um velho amigo is different from um amigo velho.
The first example is talking about a long-time friend, while the second one is talking about a
friend who is old (of course, its possible the person is both).

Adverbs

34.

Aqui - here

Estou aqui faz sculos te esperando.

(Ive been here for ages waiting for you.)

C - here

Vem c, eu quero te falar um segredo.

(Come here, I want to tell you a secret.)

* In Brazil, C is often used in fixed phrases (ex. vem c or mais para c). In Portugal,
where C is used more often, one can start a sentence with C but in Brazil one would
start it with Aqui.

Adjective/Adverb Combos

35.

Devagar - slowly, slow

importante comer devagar e mastigar bem a comida.

24
(Its important to eat slowly and to chew your food well.)

Ele muito devagar.

(He is very slow.)

Lento/a - slow

O Face est muito lento ultimamente.

(Facebook is very slow lately.)

Lerdo (m/f, adj) - slow, (dull, stupid, dimwit)

O Joo demora para responder. Ele meio lerdo.

(Joo takes a while to respond. Hes a bit slow.)

Mole - sluggish, soft, (easy)

Aps a cirurgia, voc deve comer alimentos moles.

(After the surgery, you should eat soft foods.)

* They all mean slow and the first two are interchangeable, even though in everyday speech
Devagar is more widely used. Devagar is an adverb meaning slowly (synonymous with
Lentamente) but is used colloquially as an adjective meaning slow (see second example).
** Face (for Facebook) is how many Brazilians informally refer to the site.

36.

S - alone, only

Eu s vi pessoas idosas na festa.

(I only saw old people at the party.)

Embora eu tenho namorada, tem vezes que me sinto s.

(While I have a girlfriend, there are times that I feel alone.)
25
Sozinho/a (m/f, adv, adj) - alone, by oneself

O homem foi sozinho para o cais e sentou num banco.

(The man went alone to the dock and sat on a bench.)

* For the most part, these two words are considered synonymous when communicating
aloneness. That being said, there is a phrase that uses both words in a way that showcases a
tiny semantic difference. "Estou sozinho mas no me sinto s." (I'm by myself but I don't feel
alone.)

Adjective-Adverb-Noun Combos

37.

Direto - direct, straight

Essas leis probem o suborno, direto ou indireto.

(These laws prohibit bribery, directly or indirectly.

V direto at o final da rua.

(Go straight until the end of the street.)

Direito (m) - right (side, legal), properly, law

Temos o direito de viver com dignidade.

(We have the right to live with dignity.)

Di no lado direito das minhas costas.

(It hurts on the right side of my back.)

Eu curso direito na universidade.

(I study law at the university.)

* Direito can be used to speak of the study of law and (having) public or legal rights. It is also
26
used to mean correct, doing something the right way (ex. Faa direito! or Fale direito!).
** Lei (f) is used to speak of a legal statute.
*** Cursar means to carry out university studies in something, but its used like Estudar and,
if you want to be a tad more formal, Estudar is preferred.
**** Like Direto, Reto means directionally straight but be careful since it also means rectum.

Prepositions

38.

Como - like, as, (how)

Como prometido, aqui so os livros de Shakespeare.

(As promised, here are the books on Shakespeare.)

O filho fala como o pai dele.

(The son speaks like his father.)

Que nem - like, just like, exactly like

Eu sou que nem voc.

(I am exactly like you.)

* "Que nem" is colloquial. Another way to say "like" is to use "igual a" (ex, "O filho fala igual
ao pai dele.") but this usage is less used in normal speech.

39.

Alm disso - beyond that, additionally, on top of that

Eu gosto de publicidade, marketing e, alm disso, o jornalismo.

(I like publicity, marketing and, beyond that, journalism.)

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Fora isso - apart from that, other than that

Eu gosto de cozinhar. Fora isso, eu gosto de jogar futebol.

(I like to cook. Apart from that, I like to play soccer.)

* The two commonly-used phrases are similar but are not interchangeable.
** By the way, Fora by itself means out and Alm by itself means beyond. The disso/isso
on the end of each phrase is just the most common formation.

Predeterminer-Determiner-Conjunction Combo

40.

Ambos - both

Ambos os produtos se complementam perfeitamente.

(Both products complement themselves perfectly.)

Os Dois/As Duas - both

No sei o que fazer, pois gosto dos dois.

(I dont know what to do since I like them both.)

Ou/Ou - either/or

Ou ele vai ou ele fica.

(Either he goes or he stays.)

* Its rather rare to hear ambos being used in Brazilian speech where os dois/as duas is
preferred.

Exclamations

41.

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Sim - yes

Isso! - this

* They can both be used to give confirmation. Isso is used to confirm a choice when what you
want is currently being pointed to or mentioned.

Pronouns

42.

A gente - We

A gente gosta de ir praia.

(We like to go to the beach.)

Ns - We

Ns corremos atrs do que queremos.

(We go after what we want.)

* A gente (lit. the people) means "we", just like Ns means "we". The difference is that A gente
uses the third-person singular conjugation of the verb while Ns uses the first-person plural
conjugation (see examples). In general, Ns is more formal and therefore less used, in fact the
word itself is often removed from informal sentences (ex. "Corremos atrs do que queremos").
Also, when speaking about "you and I", the Ns conjugation is more used, otherwise A gente
is preferred for "he/she/they and I" sentences.
** Dont confuse A gente with Agente (agent).

Extras

43.

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 This section exists for a few reasons. Here, youll either find words that have similar spelling
but dont generally relate, words that are too similar to have their own numbered Word Set,
and a few words with extra vocabulary.

Conto (m) - tale, story

Conta (f) - account, counting

Banco (m) - bank, bench

Banca (f) - newsstand

* Banca de jornais is a newstand.

Exerccio (m) - exercise

Exrcito (m) - army

Leve (adj)- lightweight, light

Leviano (adj) - frivolous, flighty, flippant

Edredom (m) - blanket, down quilt, bedcover

Cobertor (m) - blanket
Colcho (m) - mattress

* Colcha (f) means quilt but it isnt used a lot.

Porto (m) - port

Porta (f) - door
Porto (m) - gate
Poro (m) - basement

* The opposite of a Poro, architecturally, is the Soto (m), or attic.

Mamado/a (m/f) - breast-fed, suckled

Mimado/a (m/f) - pampered, spoiled.

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Faca (f) - knife
Punhal (m) - dagger
Canivete (m)- jack knife
Canivete suio (m) - Swiss Army Knife

* The phrase faca de dois gumes is equivalent to a double-edged sword in English.

Preciso - necessary, (precise)

Necessrio - necessary

* When describing something necessary, either can be used, but keep in mind Precisos other
meaning and the fact that it also is the first-person singular of the verb Precisar (to need).

Gato/a (m/f) - cat, (handsome guy, beautiful woman)

Bichano (m) - kitten

* Some people use Bichano to affectionately refer to any cat, though it technically means
kitten.
** In the same way that Gato is slang for a handsome guy, Gata is slang for a beautiful
woman.

Sapo (m) - toad

Perereca (f) - tree frog
R (m) - frog

* Generally, a Sapo has drier skin and lives in drier places. The R, otherwise known as a true
frog, is smooth, moist and has webbed feet.
** Be careful with Perereca, as its also slang for the female reproductive organ.

Word Endings

44.

-ada (f)
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Words that end in -ada are most likely referring to actions or a grouping. Some examples
would be "Caminhada" (a walk), "Mulherada" (group of women), "Pancada" (hit with a
hand), "Crianada" (group of children).

-ice

Words that end in -ice are generally words we would end in -ness, although the most used
ones are generally negative. Some examples are "Burrice" (stupidness), "Mesmice"
(sameness), "Chatice" (botherance).

-udo/a (m/f)

Words that end in -udo are, in many instances, augmentatives referring to people via bodily
descriptions. Some examples are "Barbudo" (having a beard), "Cabeludo" ( having a thick
head of hair), "Peitudo" (having a large chest) and "Barrigudo" (having a big stomach). For
example, "Ela cabeluda" is the same as saying "Ela tem muito cabelo" (She has a lot of
hair.).

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