Archive for 'Learning'
Pronunciation video: the sound NH Posted by Adir on Jul 20, 2011
Olá, tudo bem com você? Let’s kick off this Wednesday with a pronunciation video about the sound NH in Portuguese. It’s kind of difficult for English speakers to pronounce it but with practice you’ll be able to do it! The key to mastering difficult sounds is to listen to them many times then trying to…
Dar Azar Posted by Rachel on Jul 18, 2011
Like in other languages, superstition often works its way into Portuguese, and here’s a useful expression to know about jinxing and bad luck. Dar azar means to jinx, or to bring bad luck. Let’s see how it’s used. Não quero dar azar, mas acho que vai chover. I don’t want to jinx it, but I…
The Librakery Posted by Rachel on Jul 12, 2011
What do you get when you combine a library and a bakery? In Curitiba, Paraná, you get a librakery! By combining a padaria (bakery) with a biblioteca (library), one man discovered that his neighborhood hangout, Pote de Mel, could be just more than a place to have coffee. Watch the video and see if you…
Se Beber, Não Dirija Posted by Rachel on Jul 8, 2011
Two bars in São Paulo, Bar Aurora and Boteco Ferraz, aren’t just local watering holes. They have an incredibly innovative marketing strategy, and they’ve created several commercials (really, public service announcements) that have won awards at Cannes. The concept is to campaign against drunk driving, by promoting the idea “se beber, não dirija” (don’t drink…
Vídeo: Brazilian idioms Posted by Adir on Jul 1, 2011
Oi, tudo bem? This week’s video is for intermediate and advanced students of Portuguese and it brings six very common idioms used here in Brazil. They are: – cair aos pedaços (to be run down, to fall apart) – colocar em dia (to catch up on something) – encontrar alguém por acaso (to run into…
Call a Plumber! Posted by Rachel on Jun 29, 2011
We’ve learned some bathroom vocabulary before, so today we’re going to learn some useful adjectives and verbs to go along with them, inspired by Adir‘s post from Inglês blog. 1. entupido = clogged A pia do banheiro está entupida! Precisamos de um encanador. The bathroom sink is clogged! We need a plumber. 2. consertar =…
Say what you’re doing! In Portuguese! Posted by Adir on Jun 24, 2011
Oi, tudo bem com vocês? Our video today will show you how to say that you are doing something now. In Portuguese we do this by using the verb estar (to be) in the present + the present participle of the main verb. Check out the video below and you can download the audio to…