Vocabulary · Brazilian Portuguese
Fruits in Brazilian Portuguese
Fruits in Portuguese with audio and an example each, and a section on the Brazilian fruits you won't find in a textbook, from jabuticaba to cupuaçu.
34 words, each with audio · Quiz and flashcards
Fruits in Portuguese, with audio
Common fruits
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a fruta | fruitFruto is the botanical word, and also “result”. | Eu como fruta todo dia de manhã.I eat fruit every morning. | |
| a banana | bananaBrazil grows dozens of kinds: prata, nanica, maçã, da terra. | Banana com aveia é o meu café da manhã.Banana with oats is my breakfast. | |
| a maçã | apple | Levei uma maçã para o lanche.I took an apple for a snack. | |
| a laranja | orange | Quer suco de laranja?Do you want orange juice? | |
| o limão | limeThe everyday limão is green; a yellow lemon is a limão-siciliano. | Coloca limão na caipirinha.Put lime in the caipirinha. | |
| a uva | grape | Comprei um cacho de uva.I bought a bunch of grapes. | |
| o morango | strawberry | Adoro morango com leite condensado.I love strawberries with condensed milk. | |
| o abacaxiPortugal: o ananás | pineappleDescascar um abacaxi is to deal with a thorny problem. | Esse abacaxi está bem doce.This pineapple is really sweet. | |
| a melancia | watermelon | Nada melhor que melancia no calor.Nothing beats watermelon in the heat. | |
| o melão | melon | O melão do Nordeste é muito doce.Melons from the Northeast are really sweet. | |
| o mamãoPortugal: a papaia | papaya | Mamão no café da manhã é muito comum aqui.Papaya at breakfast is very common here. | |
| a manga | mangoAlso a sleeve. | Essa manga está docinha.This mango is lovely and sweet. | |
| o abacate | avocadoTraditionally sweet in Brazil, blended with milk and sugar. | Minha avó fazia vitamina de abacate.My grandmother used to make avocado smoothies. | |
| a pera | pear | A pera ainda está dura.The pear is still hard. | |
| o pêssego | peach | Pêssego em calda é uma sobremesa clássica.Peaches in syrup are a classic dessert. | |
| a ameixa | plumAmeixa seca is a prune. | Essa ameixa está azedinha.This plum is a bit sour. | |
| a cereja | cherryA cereja do bolo is the icing on the cake. | Essa vitória foi a cereja do bolo.That win was the icing on the cake. | |
| o coco | coconut | Vamos tomar uma água de coco?Shall we have a coconut water? | |
| a tangerina | tangerineAlso mexerica, bergamota or poncã, depending on the region. | No inverno a feira fica cheia de tangerina.In winter the market is full of tangerines. |
Brazilian fruits
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| o açaí | açaíA dark purple palm berry from the Amazon: a frozen bowl in the south, eaten unsweetened with fish in Pará. | Vamos tomar um açaí depois da praia?Shall we have an açaí after the beach? | |
| o caju | cashew fruitThe juicy fruit the cashew nut, the castanha-de-caju, hangs from. | O suco de caju é muito comum no Nordeste.Cashew juice is very common in the Northeast. | |
| o maracujá | passion fruitSour, for juice and mousse; Brazilians say it calms the nerves. | Um suco de maracujá, por favor.A passion fruit juice, please. | |
| a goiaba | guavaPink inside, eaten fresh or as goiabada, a firm guava paste. | Goiabada com queijo se chama Romeu e Julieta.Guava paste with cheese is called Romeo and Juliet. | |
| a jabuticaba | jabuticabaBlack, grape-like berries that grow straight on the trunk. Anything only Brazil has is jokingly called a jabuticaba. | A jabuticaba nasce grudada no tronco da árvore.Jabuticabas grow stuck to the tree trunk. | |
| a acerola | acerola, Barbados cherryA small, sour red fruit, packed with vitamin C. | Suco de acerola tem muita vitamina C.Acerola juice has lots of vitamin C. | |
| a pitanga | Surinam cherryA ribbed red berry, tart and perfumed: a backyard fruit. | O pé de pitanga do quintal está carregado.The pitanga tree in the yard is full of fruit. | |
| a graviola | soursopGreen and spiky outside, white, creamy and sweet-sour inside. | Sorvete de graviola é o meu favorito.Soursop ice cream is my favorite. | |
| o cupuaçu | cupuaçuAn Amazon cousin of cacao, with a tangy white pulp, for juice, ice cream and creams. | O creme de cupuaçu é uma delícia.Cupuaçu mousse is delicious. | |
| a carambola | star fruitJuicy and mildly sour; cut across, every slice is a star. | A carambola cortada parece uma estrela.Sliced star fruit looks like a star. | |
| o guaraná | guaranáA red Amazon berry full of caffeine, and Brazil's favorite soda. | Guaraná é uma fruta, não só um refrigerante.Guaraná is a fruit, not just a soda. |
Juice and the market
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| o sucoPortugal: o sumo | juice | Um suco de laranja sem açúcar, por favor.An orange juice without sugar, please. | |
| a vitamina | smoothie (with milk); vitamin | Fiz uma vitamina de banana com aveia.I made a banana and oat smoothie. | |
| maduro, madura | ripe | A manga ainda não está madura.The mango isn't ripe yet. | |
| a feira | street market | Compro fruta na feira de domingo.I buy fruit at the Sunday market. |
How Brazilians use them
Suco de… : Brazil's juice culture
Juice bars and lanchonetes squeeze suco to order, from fruits you won't find abroad: um suco de maracujá, de caju, de acerola. Say sem açúcar if you want it unsweetened, and com leite turns it into a vitamina.
Limão is a lime
Brazil's everyday limão is the small green one that goes in a caipirinha. The yellow lemon is a limão-siciliano.
One fruit, many names
The tangerine is a tangerina, a mexerica in São Paulo and Minas, a bergamota in the South and a poncã in places in between. Ask for the one you see, by pointing if need be.
Fruit in everyday sayings
Descascar um abacaxi (peel a pineapple) is to deal with a thorny problem, a cereja do bolo is the icing on the cake, and anything that exists only in Brazil gets called a jabuticaba.
Practise
Quick quiz · question 1 of 8
What does mamão mean?
Questions
How do you say “fruit” in Portuguese?
Fruta, for fruit you eat: Eu como muita fruta. Fruto is the botanical word, and also means “result”.
What fruits are native to Brazil?
Among them açaí, caju (cashew fruit), maracujá (passion fruit), goiaba (guava), jabuticaba, acerola, pitanga, graviola (soursop), cupuaçu and guaraná.
What is açaí?
A dark purple palm berry from the Amazon. In most of Brazil it's eaten as a frozen bowl with granola and banana; in Pará, where it comes from, it's eaten unsweetened with fish and farinha.
How do you order juice in Brazil?
Um suco de laranja, por favor. Add sem açúcar for no sugar, or ask for it com leite to get a vitamina, a fruit smoothie made with milk.
Is pineapple abacaxi or ananás?
Abacaxi in Brazil; ananás in Portugal.
More Portuguese words
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