Posts tagged w/ BYKI

BYKI List: Buying Airfare

Posted by Rachel

Today, we’re going to take a look at the BYKI list for the Buying Airfare podcast. Click here to access the BYKI list!

Here’s the list of the phrases from the podcast:

Olá. Queria comprar uma passagem para Fortaleza.
Gostaria de sair de Guarulhos, em São Paulo.
A ida será no dia 3 de Dezembro, e a volta será no dia 10.
A que horas é o voo? É melhor que seja de manhã.
Prefiro um assento na janela, se tiver.
Quanto custa? Vai ser trezentos reais sem taxas?
Tem que pagar mais para despachar as malas? Tá bom, obrigado.

BYKI lists help you memorize vocabulary and learn grammar in a fun and easy way. The basic version is completely free, and you can download it here. BYKI Deluxe has even more features to help you learn Portuguese, and allows you to upload your own lists. You can also search the BYKI Portuguese library online for free!

 

BYKI List: Cleaning Up

Posted by Rachel

Today we’re going to take a look at the BYKI list from yesterday’s podcast.

Click here to see the BYKI list!

Here’s the complete list of phrases and translations that you’ll review:

Vamos limpar o nosso apartamento. Let’s clean our apartment.
Pode pegar a vassoura? Can you grab the broom?
Irei buscar o aspirador. I’ll look for the vacuum cleaner.
Temos que esfregar o chão da cozinha. We have to mop the kitchen floor.
Lave os vidros, por favor. Wash the windows, please.
Vou lavar a louça. I’m going to do the dishes.
Até que em fim, tudo está limpinho! Finally, everything is nice and clean!*

*You could also translate this as “spic-and-span.”

Don’t forget to download a free version of BYKI Portuguese! Users have added some great lists recently to help you expand your vocabulary.

 

Using BYKI as a Language Tool

Posted by Rachel

As you may have noticed, every month the Portuguese podcast comes with a BYKI list, which includes vocabulary lists in Portuguese, English translations of the phrases, photos, and voice recordings. You can test your knowledge by reviewing and then taking a test to see if you remembered the meanings. There are also a variety of activities available, including tests like multiple choice and fill in the blanks, as well as games like word whirl and concentration. You can keep track of what you’ve learned and your reviewed lists.

BYKI is a unique way to help memorize vocabulary and learn new words. On Transparent.com, there are two types available. The first type is free, which allows you access to vocabulary lists in 74 languages to learn, practice, and memorize words. The deluxe version allows you access to more lists, to create your own lists, to record your voice, and to upload lists to your iPod.

On Portuguese Blog, you’ll find a list of the latest uploaded lists in Portuguese on the far right column, as well as a featured BYKI list each month with the podcast. Anyone can listen to them!

Check out a preview of tomorrow’s podcast with the airplane travel BYKI list here.

 

Podcast: Extreme Sports

Posted by Rachel

This week, we’re going to talk about extreme sports.

Check out the podcast here [extremesportsfull], and the BYKI list here.

Eu adoro fazer esportes radicais.
Já voei de asa-delta no Rio de Janeiro.
Também fiz parapente, e gostei muito.
Sei surfar, mas não sou muito bom.
Gosto de fazer trekking.
Eu costumo escalar e já subi o Pão de Acucar.
Um dia, gostaria de fazer paraquedismo!

Here, the speaker says: “I love doing extreme sports.” Esporte radical is an extreme sport. But when we have a noun that ends in “al,” it changes to “ais” in the plural, so more than one extreme sport is esportes radiciais.  And don’t forget that adorar means to enjoy or love something.

This means, “I’ve gone hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro.”  Voar de asa-delta means to go hang gliding, since asa-delta is the actual contraption you use, while voar means to fly. When we use (already) with the past simple tense, we can translate it in English to the present perfect tense: have done something, since it’s something that happened in the past.

“I’ve also gone paragliding, and I liked it a lot.” Parapente is a hang glider, and here we use it with a simple fazer (to do). Put together, this means to go hang gliding. Gostar, as we know, means to like, and in the past simple tense we conjugate it with an ei at the end (gostei). Here, we translate muito as “a lot.”

This means, “I know how to surf, but I’m not very good at it.” Surfar is to surf, and the verb we use to refer to knowing how to do something is saberNão muito bom means not very good.

Here, the speaker says, “I like trekking,” or “I like to go trekking.” Trekking is like hiking, but a lot more intense, often for several days in rough terrain. Don’t forget that when we use gostar (to like) with a verb, we must use de as the preposition before the verb (gostar de fazer).

“I frequently go rock climbing, and I’ve climbed the Sugarloaf.” Costumar means to do something frequently or to be used to doing something. Here, we translate it as “frequently,” though it can be different depending on the context. Again, we translate and the simple past (subi) into the present perfect: I have climbed. Sugarloaf is a famous mountain in Rio de Janeiro and one of the city’s best rock climbing areas.

This means, “One day, I’d like to go skydiving!” Fazer paraquedismo means to go skydiving, while paraquedismo is the actual sport. When referring to a desire (I’d like), we use the conditional tense of gostar, which is gostaria. Again, since we are using gostar with a verb, we must add de as the preposition.

 

Podcast: Talking about the movies

Posted by Rachel

Click here to listen to today’s podcast! Movie Podcast

UPDATE: Here’s the temporary link to the podcast. Sorry about the problem–we’re working on fixing it.

Check out the BYKI list!

Today, we’re going to talk about movies.

Eu gosto muito de filme.
Estou acostumado a ver filmes de ação ou de drama.
Mas de vez em quando, experimento assistir algo diferente.
Fui ao cinema ontem, e assisti um filme muito interessante.
Vi um documentário sobre o aquecimento global.
Antes do filme, vi vários trailers bons do mesmo tipo.
Agora queria ver mais filmes assim.

In Portuguese, movie is filme. Here, the speaker says, “I really like movies.” Note that although the noun is used in the singular, it is used to describe the plural. Gostar de means to like.

This means “I usually see action movies or drama.” Estar acostumado a means to be used to doing something, but it can also be translated as usually doing something (i.e. estou acostumado a acordar cedo – I’m used to getting up early). Note that ação is action. Some other genres include comedia (comedy), romance (romance), and infantil (for kids).

“But once in awhile, I try watching something different.” De vez em quando means once in awhile, or sometimes, and assistir means to watch, like a movie, TV show, or soccer game. Experimentar means to try, when we’re discussing doing something for the first time, or trying on clothes (for example: Experimentei a camisa, mas ficou grande –I tried on the shirt, but it was too big). We would use provar for other cases, like tasting new food (i.e. Provei a feijoada ontem e gostei - I tried feijoada yesterday and liked it).

Here, the speaker says, “I went to the movies yesterday, and I watched a really interesting film.” Cinema, which is a masculine noun, means the movies. Note that we say ao cinema (to the movies), since we are using ir (to go) and must include the article (o), which is combined with a (to). Ontem is yesterday.

This means, “I saw a documentary about global warming.” Documentário is documentary, and aquecimento global is global warming. Note that ver in the first person, simple past tense is vi.

“Before the movie, I saw several good previews for similar movies.” Like in English, we say trailer for preview. Mesmo tipo means the same type, or similar. Note that when we say before (antes), we must add de, which in this case becomes do, since we have a masculine noun after it (filme). If it were a feminine noun, it would become da (like antes da apresentação).

Finally, this means “Now I want to see more movies like this.” When you use querer in the past imperfect tense (queria), it expresses a desire to do something in the future, so it could be translated as “I want” or “I’d like.” It’s similar to the conditional of gostar (gostaria – I’d like) Assim means “like this” or “similar.”