Portuguese Language Blog

There are seemingly countless football tournaments in Brazil, but one of the biggest and most important ones is the Libertadores Cup, known as Copa Santander Libertadores da América, or Copa Libertadores for short.

Named after the South American liberators who fought for independence, the tournament is made up of 38 city teams in Latin America that compete over six to eight months each year for the title of best in the region. The first Libertadores was held in 1960 and was won by a Uruguayan team. Brazilian clubs have won 15 Libertadores since then, including last year, when São Paulo’s Santos team claimed victory.

In order to get into Libertadores, each team must qualify within its country of origin. In Brazil, the four top teams in the Campeonato Brasileiro and the winning team of the Copa do Brasil qualify for Libertadores.

The 2012 quarter-finals are happening now, and Brazilian teams Fluminense (from Rio), Santos (from São Paulo), Vasco (from Rio), and Corinthians (from São Paulo) made it to this round. Fluminense was eliminated tonight before making it to the next round, and Vasco and Corinthians also play tonight.

Will a Brazilian team win Libertadores this year? Find out over the next few weeks!

Oftentimes my English-speaking students tell me, “Adir, Portuguese and English are so different. How can I learn more easily?”.

Well, first of all, you need to pay attention. Around 30% of words in Portuguese are cognates (cog = with, nate = born), they look like words in Portuguese and some of them are even written the same way. Here are some examples:

famoso – famous
ideia – idea
preferir – to prefer
real – real
realmente – really
expressão – expression
longo – long

Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to say and write expressions that are ready and are almost the same in Portuguese and in English. Let’s check out some of them!

life = vida
ahead of (you) = pela frente
to have (your) whole life head of (you) = ter a vida inteira pela frente
Você tem a vida inteira pela frente. = You have your life ahead of you.

track / way / path = caminho
right = certo
on the right track = no caminho certo
to be on the right track = estar no caminho certo

to lose = perder
way = caminho
to lose one’s way = perder o caminho
After flunking out of high school he lost his way. = Depois de reprovar no ensino médio ele perdeu seu caminho.

depression = depressão
to go into = entrar
to go into a depression = entrar numa depressão
After losing his mother, he went into a deep depression. = Depois de perder sua mãe, ele entrou numa profunda depressão.

to go through = passar por
crisis = crise
to go through a crisis = passar por uma crise
We’re going through a crisis in our wedding. = Estamos passando por uma crise no nosso casamento.

in the middle of = no meio de
divorce = divórcio
I’m in the middle of a divorce. = Estou no meio de um divórcio.

to go/come out = sair de
relationship = relacionamento, namoro
sério = serious
She was coming out of a serious relationship. = Ela estava saindo de um namoro sério.

there’s = há
always = sempre
light = luz
end = fim
tunnel = túnel
There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. = Há sempre luz no fim do túnel.

The examples above were taken from my dear friend Ron Martinez’s book “O inglês que você nem imagina que sabe” and were adapted for this post.

Hey, there! TGIF! Graças a Deus que é sexta-feira!

Summer’s around the corner and I’m sure many of you would like to be in shape, right? Well, this post is all about getting and being in shape, so let’s learn some useful vocabulary on this topic.

Correr – to run, to go running, to go jogging.
Adoro correr de manhã. [I love running in the morning.]
Ele vai correr todos os dias de tardezinha. [He goes jogging every day in the late afternoon.]

Malhar – to work out
Eu adoro nadar, mas tenho muita preguiça de malhar. [I love swimming, but I'm so lazy to work out.]
Que horas você vai malhar todos os dias? [What time do you work out every day?]

Malhação – workout
Uma boa malhação regular faria bem a você. Já pensou nisso? [A good regular workout would do you good. Have you thought about it?]
Some people love morning workouts. [Algumas pessoas adoram atividade física de manhã.]

Treino – practice
Treinar – to practice
O Rafael tem treino de futebol todas as sextas. [Rafael has soccer practice every Friday.]
How long do you practice basketball every day? [Quanto tempo você treina basquete todos os dias?]

Treinador, técnico – coach
Meu treinador disse que ser um bom jogador requer muito treino e dedicação. [My coach said that being a good player takes a lot of practice and dedication.]
Que horas chega o treinador? [What time does the coach arrive?]

Tênis – sneakers
Você deve usar tênis confortáveis para correr. [You should wear comfortable shoes to go running.]
Comprei tênis novo. Quer ver? [I've bought a new pair of sneakers. Wanna see them?]

Em (boa) forma – in (good) shape
Você parece estar em boa forma. O que você faz para mantê-la? [You look like you are in good shape. What do you do to keep it?]
She’s in pretty good shape, isn’t she? [Ela está em ótima forma, não é?]

Boa forma, preparo físico – fitness
Você tem feito exercícios para melhorar o preparo físico? [Have you been doing any exercises to improve your fitness?]
Você conhece algum programa de exercícios para melhorar o preparo físico? [Do you know any good exercise program designed to improve fitness?]

Flexão – push-up
Abdominal – sit-up
Um bom programa de exercícios deve incluir uma série de flexões e abdominais. [A good exercise program should include a series of push-ups and sit-ups.]

Por hoje é só! Tenha um ótimo fim de semana e aproveite muito!

Um abraço grande!