So  last week I wrote about confusing words in Portuguese, and I clearly didn’t write about enough because a bunch of you reminded me of some I couldn’t think of!! So I figured why not keep clearing things up with your suggestions?!  Let’s get straight to it, shall we?

barato/a vs. barata

barato/a = cheap, in the masculine form is pronounce, bah-rah-toh (feminine is exactly like the word below)

barata = cockroach, and is pronounced, bah-rah-tah.

This is easy to decifer if you pay attention to the context.  Since they’re essentially the same word, you just have to pay attention to not call a masculine object that is inexpensive, a cockroach.  For example, “Esta camiseta está barata,” but not “Este chinelo está barata” – Then someone might think you’re talking about how you stepped on a cockroach…

pelado vs. peludo

pelado/a = naked, and is pronounced pel-ah-doh/pel-ah-dah (in its feminine form, it’s also used to talk about pick-up soccer games – “jogar uma pelada”)

peludo/a = hairy, and is pronounced pel-oo-doh/pel-oo-dah

These words are complete opposites, so you have to be really careful here!  Especially if you’re on the phone or not in front of the person you’re talking to.  “Eu tenho que fazer a barba, estou pelado,” might cause an awkward silence on the other end.

cedo vs. sede

cedo = early, is masculine and is pronounced sei-doh

sede = thirst/y, is feminine and is pronounced, sei-gee

sede = headquarters, is feminine and is pronounced, seh-gee

Here you can use the gender to help you out to remember.  Sede is always feminine, so you’ll always say, “Estou com muita sede,” and even the headquarters, “sede,” is feminine.  Cedo is always masculine.  “Está muito cedo para acordar.” Other than that, there’s no way to sound obscene with any of these, so not too much harm can be done 😉

conto vs. conta

Conto = tale/story, is masculine and is pronounced cohn-too

Conta = check/bill, is feminine and is pronounced, cohn-tah

Here a good trick is to think of “conta” as coming from “contar,” the verb.  So the “a” in contar will always mean that if you get a bill or check, which have monetary ends, and you’ll have to contar your money to see if you can pay for it… then it  must be conta and not conto.

morar vs. matar

morar = to live, and is pronounced moh-rah (or moh-rah-r)

matar = to kill, and is pronounced mah-tah (or mah-tah-r)

The trick here is to think of other words that are related and sound the same like, moradia, which means housing, or matador, which means killer.

morrer vs. morder

morrer = to die, and is pronounced mow-heh

morder = to bite, and is pronounced more-dehr

Just be very careful here and don’t let one lead to the other…

moça vs. mosca

moça = young girl, and is pronounced mow-ssah

mosca = fly, is feminine, and is pronounced mow-ska

If the girl’s really thin, be careful with this, she might be offended if you call her a mosca.

grávida vs.   gravada

grávida = pregnant, and is pronounced grah-vee-dah

gravada/o = filmed/recorded/engraved, and is pronounced grah-vah-doh/dah

Here you can think about how at the end of grávida you have the word vida, meaning life!  And uma grávida, gera vida!

I hope this helped some more.  Keep the doubts coming and if there are enough, we’ll do a Part 3.