Portuguese Language Blog

Have you been reading Portuguese Blog on a regular basis? Here’s a multiple choice quiz to check your understanding and to test your skills!

1. What is the difference between the verbs “morrer” and “morder”?

a. The first means to eat and the second means to chew

b. The first means to die and the second means to bite

c. The first means to faint and the second means to eat

2. Which pair of words are false cognates?

a. office, oficina

b. port, porto

c. politics, política

3. What does “em breve” mean in the cinematic sense?

a. Starring

b. In theaters

c. Coming soon

4. “Uma menina sueca” is…

a. A silly boy

b. A Swedish girl

c. A pretty lady

5. When is Brazilian Independence Day?

a. October 2nd

b. July 8th

c. September 7th

6. What’s the word for “crossbow” in Portuguese?

a. besta

b. arma

c. sapo

7. What liquor is used to make Brazil’s famous caipirinha?

a. canção

b. maracujá

c. cachaça

Read More…

Besta is one of those words in Portuguese that has so many meanings that it’s worth taking a closer look at.

1. Animal, particularly a four-legged animal used for cargo, like a donkey

Examples: besta de carga (beast of burden)

Ele comprou a besta para transportar seus produtos. He bought the animal to transport his products

2.  Beast, as in a scary animal

Example: No pesadelo, apareceu uma besta horrorosa. In the nightmare, a horrible beast appeared.

3. A crossbow

Example: Ele tem muitas armas, inclusive uma besta. He has a lot of weapons, even a crossbow.

4.  A dumb, unintelligent person (slang)

Examples: Essa mulher tem nada na cabeça, é totalmente besta. That woman is brainless; she’s totally dumb.

besta quadrada – a very dumb person

4. Pretentious

Example: Que menino besta! Quem ele pensa que é? What an arrogant kid! Who does he think he is?

5. Something stupid or obnoxious (slang)

Examples: Quem inventou essa expressão besta? Who invented that dumb expression?

besteira – something silly or stupid

6. Insignificant

Example: Uma noite besta acabou sendo a mais importante da minha vida. An unimportant night wound up being the most important of my life.

While here at Portuguese Blog we like to share the best of classic Brazilian music with our readers, we also like to bring you fresh, new music from emerging artists. So today is one of those days!

Meet Garotas Suecas (Swedish Girls), a Brazilian band that is actually mostly men. Formed in 2005, they won a VMB Award (the Brazilian version of the MTV Video Awards) in 2008, and performed as SXSW this year. They were recently featured on NPR’s First Listen, where you can sample the band’s first full length album, Escaldante Banda, in its entirety. You can also learn more about them on MySpace and in this interview at SXSW.