Posts tagged w/ Portuguese

Website Vocabulary: Part II

Posted by Rachel

Today we’re going to look at another set of website vocabulary, focusing a bit more on e-mail. Hope it’s useful!

digitar = type

clicar = click

assunto = subject

rascunho = draft

lixeira = trash

enviar = send

descartar = discard

anexar um arquivo = attach a file

denunciar spam = report spam

assinatura = signature

 

Website Vocabulary

Posted by Rachel

Today, we’re going to look at vocabulary related to the Internet and websites.

Internet = a Internet [een-ter-neh-chee]

browser = navegador

window = janela

tab = aba

server = servidor

broadband = banda larga

add = adicionar

delete = excluir

sign up/create an account = cadastrar-se

login = fazer login/entrar

log out = sair

password = senha

settings = configurações

 

Listening Practice: Commercials

Posted by Rachel

Watching TV is a great way to learn Portuguese, and though they may not seem important, commercials are also helpful ways to learn new vocabulary words. Let’s take a look at a few commercials as an example:

Keywords to listen for in Portuguese: menu, dip/sauce, vegetables, ice cream, discount, percent, broadband, calls

 

Documentary: Curitiba Living

Posted by Rachel

Here’s a great video for intermediate speakers, since there are subtitles and the narrator speaks in English. It’s a fantastic short documentary about Curitiba and its high quality of life, due largely to excellent city planning and making people–not cars–a priority.

Check it out!

Questions: Checking Understanding

1. How do you say “a person from Curitiba?”

2. What is “qualidade de vida?”

3. How do you say “efficiency” in Portuguese?

4. How do you say “that’s fine” or “that’s ok” in Portuguese?

5. What is “obra” in English?

 

Podcast: Cleaning Up

Posted by Rachel

Today, we’re going to learn how to talk about cleaning in Portuguese.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

Vamos limpar o nosso apartamento.
Pode pegar a vassoura?
Irei buscar o aspirador.
Temos que esfregar o chão da cozinha.
Lave os vidros, por favor.
Vou lavar a louça.
Até que em fim, tudo está limpinho!

This means “Let’s clean our apartment.” When you want to indicate a demand without using the subjunctive, and when referring to yourself and others, you can simply use “vamos” plus the infinitive verb. Here, we say “vamos limpar” which means “let’s clean.” Note that the grammatically correct way to use the possessive is by putting “the” before “our” to become “o nosso.”

Next, the speaker says: “Can you grab the broom?” “Pegar” is a very useful verb that means to grab, get or take (as in to take the bus). Here, we use it to mean grab or go get. “Vassoura” is broom. Though it’s not grammatically 100% correct, you can also add a “para mim” at the end of this phrase to mean “Can you get the broom for me?” Keep in mind that spoken Portuguese doesn’t always match written Portuguese in terms of grammatical correctness.

This means “I’ll look for the vacuum cleaner.” Here, we use the future tense, by adding “ei” to “ir” (to go), which becomes “I will.” When used before the infinitive “buscar” (to look for), it becomes “I’ll look for.” Without an infinitive, it would simply be “I will go,” but the meaning changes with the addition of the second verb. Note that “aspirador” is vacuum.

Here, the speaker says: “We have to mop the kitchen floor.” “Ter” is “to have” so when we put “que” after the conjugation in the simple present tense, it becomes “We have to.” “Esfregar” means to mop, but can also mean to scrub. “Chão” is floor, or ground, and “cozinha” is kitchen.

This means “Please wash the windows.” Note that here, we use the subjunctive tense of “lavar” (to wash), by changing the “a” to an “e” from the simple present tense. “Vidros” in this context means windows, though it can also mean “glass.”

Here, the speaker says: “I’m going to wash the dishes.”  Though not as proper as “irei,” you can use the present tense of “ir” (to go) to describe the future, so “Vou lavar” means “I’m going to wash.” Note that “lavar a  louça” is the expression that means “wash the dishes,” though “louça” is the word for sink. Literally translated, this would mean “wash the sink.”

This means, “Finally, everything is nice and clean!” “Até que em fim” is a great expression that means “finally.” Literally, it could be translated as “Until at last!” “Tudo” is everything. “Limpo” is clean, but when you add the diminutive (inho), it adds a positive or endearing little twist to the adjective. In this case, the best way to translate it would be “nice and clean.”

Stay tuned tomorrow for the BYKI list!