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Part II: Transitioning from Spanish to Portuguese Posted by on Mar 10, 2008 in Vocabulary

Today we’ll take a look at some more false cognates in Spanish and Portuguese, continuing with tips about how to transition from Spanish to Portuguese.

SPANISH                    ENGLISH                PORTUGUESE

barata                          sale                     promoção
cucaracha                   cockroach               barata

Examples:
Hay una barata en esa tienda. There’s a sale at that store. Tem uma promoção nessa loja.

borrar                      to erase                     apagar
manchar                  to stain/smear             borrar

Examples:
Borré el documento entero. I erased the whole document. Apaguei o documento todo.
Manchaste tu camisa. You stained your shirt. Borrou sua camisa.

cuello                       neck                      pescoço
conejo                      rabbit                    coelho

Examples:
Me puse el collar en el cuello. I put the necklace around my neck. Coloquei o colar no meu pescoço.

propina                    tip                        gorjeta
soborno                   bribe                     propina

Example:
Dejaste una propina para el mesero? Did you leave the waiter a tip? Deixou uma gorjeta para o garçom?

And now for the false cognates to end all false cognates.
oficina                      office                                       escritório
taller                        workshop/repairs shop               oficina
escritorio                  desk                                         secretário           
                   

Example:
Estoy en la oficina. I’m at the office. Estou no escritório.
Llevaron el coche al taller. They brought the car into the repairs shop. Levaram o carro à oficina.
Dejé la propuesta en mi escritorio. I left the proposal on my desk. Deixei a proposta no secretário.

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Comments:

  1. Christopher:

    This is really helpful. It’s actually helping my brain sort out the dusty old Spanish that’s in there somewhere!

    I totally had to push it into a deep dark corner of my brain in order to stop making mistakes as a beginner Portuguese learner, but now that my Portuguese is more solidified, it would be a good idea to make an effort to re-activate that language knowledge.

    thanks Rachel for another great post!!

  2. Bud Savoie:

    LOL! I can imagine unknowingly telling someone that “There is a cockroach in that store” and being sued for slander (only kidding; I’m a lawyer).

    Bud
    ***************************************************************
    barata sale promoção
    cucaracha cockroach barata

    Examples:
    Hay una barata en esa tienda. There’s a sale at that store. Tem uma promoção nessa loja.

  3. gika:

    “Barata / barato” means “cheap/low price” too in Portuguese.

    Ex.:
    “Esta xícara está barata.”
    This cup is cheap.

    And, there is also “suborno” in Portuguese that means “propina” (bribe).

  4. Henrique:

    Don’t take everything too seriously…
    In Portuguese we use the word “barata, manchar, suborno” almost the same way as Spanish. I never heard of “secretário” for desk (which means “mesa/escrivaninha”).