#basic portuguese

black - preto

white - branco

blue - azul

red - vermelho

yellow - amarelo

green - verde

brown - marrom

ivory - marfim

silver - prata

golden - dourado

purple - roxo

lilac - lilás

orange - laranja

navy blue - azul marinho

pea green - verde claro

gray - cinza

pink - rosa

bronze - bronze

In almost all of these colors, we use “claro” when it is in a lighter shade and “escuro” when it is in a darker shade, such as: azul - blue / azul claro - light blue or vermelho escuro - crimson. We also use “azul escuro” in azul marinho - navy blue. Only a few colors have a different name from their basic shade, like roxo e lilás / purple and lilac. 

These are the colors we use the most in Portuguese. If you are going to buy inks in a special shop, you’ll definitely find more variations of these names. 

Nouns

☆ As many languages originated from Latin, in Portuguese all nouns have genders, which means we almost don’t have a neutral noun. Is important to know their gender designation, since this can change the entire meaning of a sentence (also because all elements must agree within themselves). The gender designations are masc: -o / fem: -a. 

Sometimes we can find masc. nouns ending with -a, for example: o clima (the weather) as you can see, it ends with a. And fem. ending with -o, for example: a mão (the hand) ending with -o. 

Usually, words ending with –ção, –são, –ssão, –agem, –dade, –triz, –ase, –ese, –ise and –ose are fem. words. You can get used to it with time.

Words ending with –or are usually masc. words. 

In the Dictionary, nouns that designate people and animals are always in their masc. form, for example: gato (male cat), cantor (man* singer). All these words have fem. forms: gata, cantora.

We have a few neutral words, some of them end with –ante, –ente and –ista, for example: adolescente (teenager), artista (artista). 

☆ Portuguese nouns are also countable, they are always marked with the letter S in the end, such as: game - games/jogo - jogos, but this is something you can easily learn with time. There’s a few rules with some of these nouns, but this is a general rule that will get you in a really good start . Once you get familiar with the language, you will be able to easily identify them. 

A few examples of uncountable nouns: família - family, arroz - rice, água - water.

And that’s it for now!!

Wanderlust Wednesday: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Later this summer, Rio de Janeiro will be hosting the Summer Olympics. And despite the Zika virus flying around down in Brazil (’cause it’s flying around here in the U.S. as well), Rio de Janeiro is a city full of beauty. I want to walk on the Copacabana Beach, walk up and down the colorful Escadaria Selaron (a stairway decorated by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selaron), and stand at the feet of the…

A delicious lesson in Portuguese Vocabulary. We found these morsels of deliciousness via Pinterest from Leite's Culinaria. The Brigadeiro is a quintessential Brazilian treat. We LOVE them. Surprisingly, they are easy to make, too. They vegetarian and gluten-free: so do they count as healthy?!