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Archive for March, 2011

Exaltasamba Posted by on Mar 31, 2011

You may have never heard of Exaltasamba, a pagode and samba group from Brazil, but they’re a popular group that has been around since the 1980s. The group began in 1986, when the members began playing at local bars in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo state. They released their first album in 1992…

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When in Buenos Aires… Posted by on Mar 30, 2011

Exquisita vs Esquisita

I know some of you are thinking, “I knew Buenos Aires was the capital of Brazil!” (kidding!), but I speak of Buenos Aires, a spanish or castellano speaking city, because last week, I saw in the Folha de São Paulo, that there’s been a study where Buenos Aires has ousted Orlando as Brazilians’ favorite international destination…

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Empurra-Empurra Posted by on Mar 29, 2011

While this expression literally means “push-push,” it has two uses that are useful to know. Let’s take a look. 1. Pushing and shoving This means the type of confusion you’d find in big, rowdy crowds. Houve muito empurra-empurra durante o show de rock; foi um tumulto de verdade. There was a lot of pushing and…

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When to use the Letter “X” Posted by on Mar 28, 2011

One thing that confuses a lot of people who are learning Portuguese, is when and how to use the letter “x,” as opposed to a ch, s, z, etc. So I found this really fun “lesson,” online on the pronunciation of the “x” in Portuguese. First, there is a paragraph with a bunch of x’s…

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Fables in Portuguese Posted by on Mar 27, 2011

Fábulas, or fables, are a helpful way to learn vocabulary in Portuguese. Let’s take a look at three fables and pick out some helpful vocabulary words. O Cachorro e Sua Sombra Um cachorro, que carregava na boca um pedaço de carne, ao cruzar uma ponte sobre um riacho, vê sua imagem refletida na água. Diante…

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I Wish! Posted by on Mar 25, 2011

Today we’re going to learn a helpful expression to say “I wish”: Quem dera. Literally, it doesn’t make much sense to a non-native speaker, since literally it translates as “who gives.” But it really means “I wish”or “If only!” Let’s look at some examples. -Você vai no casamento real? Are you going to the royal…

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The Carioca Accent Posted by on Mar 24, 2011

We’ve talked about regional slang in the past, including vocabulary about how to speak like a Carioca. But after I saw this video, I thought it would be helpful to talk a little bit about regional accents as well, and in this case, the Rio de Janeiro accent. Cariocas da gema (which literally means, people…

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