Vocabulary · Brazilian Portuguese
Food and drink in Brazilian Portuguese
Food and drink in Portuguese with audio and an example each: the meals of the day, the rice and beans on every Brazilian plate, the dishes and snacks you'll be offered, drinks, and the words you need to order in a restaurant.
39 words, each with audio · Quiz and flashcards
Food and drink in Portuguese, with audio
Meals
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a comida | foodAlso a meal, and cooking: a comida da minha mãe. | A comida baiana é bem temperada.Bahian food is very well seasoned. | |
| o café da manhãPortugal: o pequeno-almoço | breakfast | O café da manhã está incluído no hotel.Breakfast is included at the hotel. | |
| o almoço | lunchThe main meal of the day for most Brazilians. | O almoço é ao meio-dia.Lunch is at noon. | |
| o jantar | dinnerAlso the verb: vamos jantar fora? (shall we eat out?) | O jantar fica pronto às oito.Dinner will be ready at eight. | |
| o lanche | snackAlso a sandwich or burger: uma lanchonete sells them. | Levei um lanche para a escola.I took a snack to school. |
On the plate
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| o arroz | rice | Arroz e feijão todo dia, sem falta.Rice and beans every day, without fail. | |
| o feijão | beansSingular for the dish: o feijão está pronto. | O feijão da minha avó é o melhor.My grandmother's beans are the best. | |
| a carne | meat; beefOn its own, carne usually means beef. | Você prefere carne ou frango?Do you prefer beef or chicken? | |
| o frango | chicken | Hoje tem frango assado no almoço.There's roast chicken for lunch today. | |
| o peixe | fish | No litoral o peixe é sempre fresco.On the coast the fish is always fresh. | |
| o ovo | egg | Quer um ovo frito com o arroz?Do you want a fried egg with the rice? | |
| o pão | breadThe everyday loaf is the pão francês, a small crusty roll. | Passo na padaria para comprar pão.I'll stop at the bakery to buy bread. | |
| o queijo | cheese | Esse queijo é de Minas.This cheese is from Minas. | |
| a salada | salad | Vou querer uma salada de entrada.I'll have a salad to start. | |
| a batata | potatoFries are batata frita. | Uma porção de batata frita, por favor.A portion of fries, please. | |
| o macarrão | pasta | No domingo tem macarrão na casa da minha avó.On Sundays there's pasta at my grandmother's. | |
| o sal | salt | Está faltando sal no feijão.The beans need more salt. | |
| o açúcar | sugar | Você põe açúcar no café?Do you put sugar in your coffee? |
Brazilian food
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| o pão de queijo | cheese breadSmall cheese rolls from Minas Gerais, made with cassava flour. | Um café e dois pães de queijo, por favor.A coffee and two cheese breads, please. | |
| a feijoada | feijoada (black bean stew)Black beans with pork, served on Wednesdays and Saturdays. | Sábado é dia de feijoada.Saturday is feijoada day. | |
| a farofa | toasted cassava flourSprinkled over rice, beans and barbecue. | Passa a farofa, por favor.Pass the farofa, please. | |
| a coxinha | coxinha (chicken croquette)A teardrop-shaped fried snack filled with chicken. | A coxinha dessa lanchonete é famosa.This snack bar's coxinha is famous. | |
| o brigadeiro | brigadeiro (chocolate truffle)At every Brazilian birthday party. | Fiz brigadeiro para o aniversário dela.I made brigadeiros for her birthday. | |
| o açaí | açaíFrozen and thick, eaten from a bowl with granola and banana. | Depois da praia a gente tomou um açaí.After the beach we had an açaí. | |
| a tapioca | tapioca crepeA crepe of cassava starch, filled sweet or savory. | Quero uma tapioca de queijo com coco.I'd like a cheese and coconut tapioca. | |
| o churrasco | barbecue | Domingo tem churrasco na casa do meu tio.There's a barbecue at my uncle's on Sunday. |
Drinks
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a água | waterCom gás or sem gás: sparkling or still. | Uma água sem gás, por favor.A still water, please. | |
| o café | coffeeA cafezinho is a small, strong, sweet coffee, offered everywhere. | Aceita um cafezinho?Would you like a little coffee? | |
| o sucoPortugal: o sumo | juice | Um suco de laranja sem açúcar, por favor.An orange juice with no sugar, please. | |
| o leite | milk | Acabou o leite, compra mais.The milk's run out, buy some more. | |
| o refrigerante | soft drink, sodaOften just refri. | Ele não toma refrigerante.He doesn't drink soda. | |
| a cerveja | beerServed bem gelada, very cold. | Uma cerveja bem gelada, por favor.A really cold beer, please. | |
| o chá | tea | Ela toma chá de camomila antes de dormir.She drinks chamomile tea before bed. |
Eating and ordering
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| comer | to eat | Vamos comer alguma coisa?Shall we eat something? | |
| beber | to drinkFor drinks Brazilians often say tomar: tomar um café. | Você quer beber alguma coisa?Do you want something to drink? | |
| o cardápioPortugal: a ementa | menu | Pode trazer o cardápio, por favor?Could you bring the menu, please? | |
| a conta | bill, check | A conta, por favor.The bill, please. | |
| gostoso, gostosa | tasty, deliciousSaid of food; of a person it's a crude compliment. | Esse bolo está muito gostoso.This cake is really tasty. | |
| a fome | hungerEstou com fome: I'm hungry. | Estou morrendo de fome.I'm starving. |
How Brazilians use them
Arroz e feijão
Rice and beans are on almost every Brazilian lunch plate, with a meat, a salad and farofa. That's the prato feito (PF), the set plate at any cheap restaurant, and arroz com feijão also means anything basic and reliable.
Tomar, not just beber
For drinks Brazilians usually say tomar: tomar um café, tomar uma cerveja, tomar água. Açaí and sorvete (ice cream) are tomados too, though they're eaten with a spoon.
Ordering
Eu vou querer… (I'll have…) or me vê um… (get me a…) are how most people order, ending with por favor. To ask for the bill: a conta, por favor. In a por quilo restaurant you serve yourself and pay by the weight of your plate.
Practise
Quick quiz · question 1 of 8
What does churrasco mean?
Questions
How do you say “food” in Portuguese?
Comida: a comida brasileira (Brazilian food). Comida also means a meal and someone's cooking: a comida da minha mãe (my mother's cooking).
What do Brazilians eat for breakfast?
Café da manhã is usually light: coffee with milk (café com leite), bread rolls with butter (pão na chapa), cheese, fruit, and in Minas pão de queijo. In the Northeast, tapioca and cuscuz are common.
How do you say “I'm hungry” in Portuguese?
Estou com fome, or tô com fome. Very hungry is morrendo de fome (dying of hunger); thirsty is estou com sede.
How do you order in a restaurant in Portuguese?
Ask for o cardápio (the menu), then say eu vou querer… (I'll have…) or me vê… (get me…), and finish with a conta, por favor (the bill, please).
More Portuguese words
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