# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I read somewhere that cognates make up around 30% of a text in an English-Portuguese text and I guess the opposite is also true. That would be all good and beautiful if the false cognates weren't around. Yes, those misleading words that get us thinking one thing when in fact they mean something else.

As I care a lot about you, my dear reader, here's a list of common English-Portuguese false cognates so that you get your words right!

assess = avaliar || acesso = access

advise = aconselhar || avisar = warn

anthem = hino || antena = aerial, antenna

army = exército || arma = gun, weapon

assist = ajudar || assistir = to watch (TV)

chute = corredeira || chute = kick

cigar = charuto || cigarro = cigarette

collar = colarinho, gola || colar = necklace; to glue

college = universidade, faculdade || colégio = school

compass = bússola || compasso = compasses

conceit = convencimento || conceito = concept

data = dados, fatos, identificação || data = date

deception = fraude, trapaça || decepção = disappointment

educated = instruído, culto || educado = polite

eventually = finalmente, por fim || eventualmente = occasionally

exit = saída || êxito = success

expert = perito, especialista || esperto = smart

gratuity = gorjeta || gratuito = gratuitous, free

guitar = violão || guitarra = electric guitar

hazard = risco, dano, mal, perigo || azar = mischance, jinx

hospice = abrigo para viajantes || hospício = bedlam, madhouse

intimate = íntimo(s), sugerir, insinuar (v) || intimar = to summon, to cite

large = grande || largo = broad, wide

lecture = conferência || leitura = reading

library = biblioteca || livraria = bookstore

notice = observar, notar || notícia = news

parents = pais || pais = relatives

particular = determinado, específico || particular, privado = private

physician = médico clínico || físico = physicist

policy = diplomacia, política || polícia = police

pretend = fingir || pretender = intend

proper = adequado || próprio = own

push = empurrar || puxar = pull

quote = citar || cota = share, quota

realize = perceber, dar-se conta || realizar = accomplish, achieve

respite = trégua/ repouso || respeito = respect

resume = recomeçar, retomar || resumir = sum up, summarize

retire = aposentar-se || retirar = remove

rim = borda, beira (de copo, xícara) || rim = kidney

sensible = sensato, ajuizado || sensível = sensitive

terrific = excelente || terrível = terrible

traduce = caluniar, difamar, criticar || traduzir = translate
Want more free resources to learn Portuguese? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.

About the Author:Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I read somewhere that cognates make up around 30% of a text in an English-Portuguese text and I guess the opposite is also true. That would be all good and beautiful if the false cognates weren't around. Yes, those misleading words that get us thinking one thing when in fact they mean something else.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here's a fact: Some foreign words just really don't have equivalents in other languages. It's too bad -- people who don't speak the native tongue may never fully know the true meaning of these often touchingly beautiful and expressive words.

But we're here to help. To start you off, here are five gorgeous Portuguese words that don't really have a sufficient English translation. They're sure to enrich your non-English vocabulary, or maybe just leave you wishing there was a better, more-accepted way to convey these thoughts or feelings in English.

It's a mixture of longing for a person, place or pretty much anything in the world and nostalgia for someone or something that is no longer near or with you, whether its absence is temporary or permanent. This prominent word is used by Portuguese speakers A LOT.

Rough translation: I haven't been to Brazil in almost a year and I'm dying of that longing feeling.

2. "Apaixonar"

To fall in love with someone or something. Technically, the word in English would be "impassion," however it's not used in the same way and doesn't share the same word tense. Apaixonar is essentially the act of falling in love, it's the word used for that period in between "I like you" and "I love you."

Rough translation: With everyday that passes, I fall in love with you more.

The act of running your fingers through someone's hair -- yes, there's a word for that. However, this one may only resonate with Brazilian Portuguese speakers.

Rough translation: I wanted you to run your fingers through my hair.

Prettiness, used as a noun to describe someone or something, and even at times as a term of endearment. When speaking English, we would never call someone "prettiness" -- a "beauty" perhaps, but never the former. The two words just simply don't carry the same weight in both languages.

Rough translation: What prettiness!

Another term of endearment, used particularly in northern parts of Brazil to describe the person you're in a relationship with, however loosely or officially. It's how you refer to your significant other, without having to use the word "boyfriend," "girlfriend" or "spouse," but that carries the same meaning.

Rough translation: I miss my boo (closest thing we've got).

Bonus: Words ending in -inho... like beijinho.

Pro-tip: If you add -inho to the end of almost any word in Portuguese, it's essentially the English equivalent of adding "little" before it.

Rough translation: Give me a little kiss!

Now reverse that... If you add -ão to the end of almost any word in Portuguese, it's the English equivalent of attaching "big" before it.

Rough translation: My big love!

We know, these are some pretty great words, right? Still wondering why we don't have them in English...

Note: While there may be literal translations of some of these words in English, the way that they're used in Portuguese gives them their own unique meanings -- which is why we've included them here.

BEFORE YOU GO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Beautiful Portuguese Words That You Just Can't Say In English

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's a fact: Some foreign words just really don't have equivalents in other languages. It's too bad -- people who don't speak the native tongue may never fully know the true meaning of these often touchingly beautiful and expressive words. But we're here to help.

# data[].attributes.body
English words used in Portuguese

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hey There! Você pode nem notar, mas já usa muitas palavras (e expressões) em inglês no seu dia a dia. Nem notamos geralmente porque já adotamos elas no nosso vocabulário e, muitas vezes, até "abrasileiramos" a pronúncia delas. Sim, essa imensa lista são de palavras (e denominações, ex: Top Model) que não são originais do português, muito menos do nosso país! Além da lista destas 100 palavras, eu ainda vou te ensinar nesse post uma forma muito legal de aumentar seu vocabulário com elas. Siga lendo e descubra.

Saber todas estas 100 palavras não quer dizer que você seja capaz de se comunicar. Porque? Simples, não se aprende nada com palavras soltas. Então qual a utilidade de saber isso tudo? Tem uma dica muito legal para você utilizar estas palavras que você já "sabe" em Inglês para construir seu vocabulário. Olha só que legal ...

Você vai pegar as palavras que você conhece, como por exemplo, On sale (na promoção / com desconto), e fazer associações com ela ligando palavras relacionadas em uma folha de papel ou mesmo um documento no Word ou Google Docs (melhor esse que é gratuito e esta sempre disponível online onde quer que você esteja.). Por exemplo:
PALAVRAS RELACIONADAS COM "ON SALE" 1 - Coisas - Shoes - Sapatos / T-shirts - Camisetas / Clothes - Roupas / Accessories - Acessórios 2 - Lugares - Store - loja, mercado / Mall - shopping center / Clothing store - Loja de roupas / Shoe store - Loja de sapatos 3 -Verbos - Buy - Comprar / Return - Devolver / Try on - Experimentar / Wear - Usar (roupas) / Go - ir / Sell - Vender / Pay - pagar
4 - Frases - "I have to go to the store to buy clothes" - "Eu preciso ir a loja comprar roupas" - "She needs to go to the mall to return her shoes" - " Ela precisa ir ao Shopping Center para devolver o sapatos dela."

Desta forma você pode aprender muitas coisas com as palavras que você já sabe. Tente você mesmo fazer esse exercício com algumas das palavras da lista abaixo. Divirta-se e deixe seus comentários com algumas frases que você conseguiu construir em inglês.

E há muito mais! Deixe nos comentários algumas que você usa bastante e também palavras que não estão na lista!

Hello Friends! Meu nome é Paulo Barros, sou criador do Maior Canal de Inglês no YouTube do Brasil.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
100 Palavras Em Inglês Que Usamos No Dia a Dia - Inglês Winner

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hey There! Você pode nem notar, mas já usa muitas palavras (e expressões) em inglês no seu dia a dia. Nem notamos geralmente porque já adotamos elas no nosso vocabulário e, muitas vezes, até "abrasileiramos" a pronúncia delas.

# data[].attributes.body
Roge canta a cancao de Arlindo Cruz Amor a Favela. Nesta cancao se pode ouvir a sotoque carioca.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
http://facebook.com/RogeBrasil Faixa 04 do álbum "Fala Geral" do Rogê.

# data[].attributes.body
Lista de giria e tambem como usa-la.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dicionário com as gírias mais usadas. Saiba o significado e a origem de várias gírias, como usá-las e exemplos!

# data[].attributes.body
Demonstrates how some words are constructed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Morfologia. Leia este artigo e saiba mais sobre a Morfologia da Língua Portuguesa, a qual trata do estudo sobre a estrutura, a formação e a classificação das palavras.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Barack Obama speaking in Portuguese Brazilian

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Barack Obama speaking in Portuguese Brazilian

# data[].attributes.body
How latin words became Portuguese (Phonetics).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introdução As chamadas leis fonéticas, proclamadas pelos linguistas da escola Neo-Gramática do séculoXIX, são mudanças regulares que se observam na evolução de todas as línguas, motivadas pela configuração fonética das palavras. Não sendo, como se julgava inicialmente, maciças e inobserváveis, acabam, aos poucos, por afectar a quase totalidade do léxico de cada língua em determinada secção de tempo.

# data[].attributes.body
This dictionary gives common phrases in Latin and translates them into Portuguese.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Latim

O latim é uma antiga língua indo-europeia do ramo itálico originalmente falada no Lácio, a região do entorno de Roma. Foi amplamente difundida, especialmente na Europa, como a língua oficial da República Romana, do Império Romano e, após a conversão deste último ao cristianismo, da Igreja Católica. Através da Igreja, tornou-se a língua dos acadêmicos e filósofos europeus medievais.

Por ser uma língua altamente flexiva e sintética, a sua sintaxe (ordem das palavras) é, em alguma medida, variável, se comparada com a de idiomas analíticos como o português, embora em prosa os romanos tendessem a preferir a ordem SOV. A sintaxe é indicada por uma estrutura de afixos ligados a temas. O alfabeto latino, derivado dos alfabetos etrusco e grego (por sua vez, derivados do alfabeto fenício), continua a ser o mais amplamente usado no mundo.

Dicionário online de palavras e expressões em Latim com significados e definições em Português.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
O latim é uma antiga língua indo-europeia do ramo itálico originalmente falada no Lácio, a região do entorno de Roma. Foi amplamente difundida, especialmente na Europa, como a língua oficial da República Romana, do Império Romano e, após a conversão deste último ao cristianismo, da Igreja Católica.

# data[].attributes.body
This website gives a break down of adjectives in Portuguese. It also explains the different types and how they are used and created.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
O adjetivo constitui a classe de palavra definida por criar possibilidades de extensão dos sentidos denotados pelo substantivo. Em outras palavras, os adjetivos definem-se por delimitar um campo de significações para o substantivo, como, por exemplo, a atribuição de uma qualidade. Ou ainda, caracterizam-se por atribuir um predicado ao nome.

Com relação ao significado extralinguístico apresentado pelos adjetivos, a gramática define-os como vocábulos com significado lexical; aqueles que possuem um sentido existente antes (ou fora) da palavra. O significado dos adjetivos corresponde a um referente no mundo, um objeto ou algo que possui existência fora da linguagem. São as palavras da categoria lexemáticas, pois possuem significado extralinguístico.

Quanto à formação, o adjetivo pode ser:

Primitivo: que não deriva de outra palavra (exemplo: forte). De acordo com Celso Cunha e Lindley Cintra, os adjetivos primitivos designam por si só uma qualidade sem referência a uma substância ou ação; grande, curto, escuro. É o caso da maioria dos adjetivos referentes às cores: branco, azul, amarelo, etc.

Derivado: que deriva de outras formas lexicais, como substantivos ou verbos (exemplo: famoso, querido), e possuem relações semânticas com as palavras das quais se originam.

Composto: formado por mais de um elemento, como por exemplo, um termo lexical com uma desinência, ou por dois termos lexicais (exemplo: adjetivos pátrios: africano, europeu, brasileiro)

Quanto à quantidade de palavras:

Conforme Evanildo Bechara, " o adjetivo pertence a um inventário aberto ", (BECHARA, 2009, p. 142), o que significa afirmar que não possui uma limitação de vocábulos nesta classe.

No que se refere à estrutura, o adjetivo se constitui de um signo lexical realizado pelo radical, combinado ao signo morfológico realizado pelas desinências e alternâncias, ambas destituídas de significação própria fora dessas combinações.

Por exemplo: caro - caríssimo

Os substantivos e os adjetivos, descrito por Evanildo Bechada por: "signo delimitado" e "signo delimitador", respectivamente; estabelecem relação gramatical de concordância na frase. Por exemplo: O aluno estudioso tirou uma boa nota na avaliação.

Esta concordância, no português, ocorre pelas desinências com marcas de grau (absoluto ou relativo), com os afixos de gênero (masculino e feminino), e de número (singular e plural).

Em resumo, o adjetivo classifica-se por modificar o substantivo, além dos pronomes substantivos, conferindo-lhes, de modo geral, características, estados, modos, origem, dentre outros tipos de predicados.

Instrumentos gramaticais de determinação dos nomes

Pela perspectiva da "Moderna Gramática Portuguesa" e de outras gramáticas modernas, o adjetivo possui a função delimitadora. Nesse sentido, ela apresenta as seguintes distinções:

É o termo composto formado por preposição e uma forma nominal, a exemplo do substantivo, com função de adjetivo.

Exemplo: chuva de ouro, vento de outono, céu sem estrelas.

Substantivação do adjetivo

Ocorre quando os adjetivos são usados dentro de um contexto sem fazer referência a outro nome e exercendo o valor de substantivo na construção textual.

Exemplo: O fato é que o sistema não permite pensar muitas vezes. Os inocentes são os primeiros, em seguido levam os menos fortes, e por fim, os fracos.

Neste processo, como se nota no texto acima, o adjetivo poderia delimitar um substantivo, porém o delimitador prescinde do termo delimitado sem perda do sentido do texto.

Inocentes poderia acompanhar o substantivo homens, por exemplo.

Bibliografia:

BECHARA, Evanildo. Moderna gramática portuguesa. - 37. ed. rev., ampl. e atual. - Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 2009.

CAMARA JR., Joaquim Mattoso. Estrutura da língua portuguesa. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes. 1977.

CASTILHO, Ataliba T. de. Nova gramática do português brasileiro. - 1. Ed., 4ª reimpressão - São Paulo: Contexto, 2016

CUNHA, Celso e CINTRA, Luís F. Lindley. Nova gramática do português contemporâneo. - 2. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
O adjetivo constitui a classe de palavra definida por criar possibilidades de extensão dos sentidos denotados pelo substantivo. Em outras palavras, os adjetivos definem-se por delimitar um campo de significações para o substantivo, como, por exemplo, a atribuição de uma qualidade. Ou ainda, caracterizam-se por atribuir um predicado ao nome.

# data[].attributes.headline
O Mapa dos Paises onde se fala Portugues 

# data[].attributes.subject
O Mapa dos Paises onde se fala Portugues 

# data[].attributes.body
Africanos falando português sobre sua opinão da relação que seus países têm com portugal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
Português Suave Reportagem Racismo em Portugal Parte

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
AFRICANOS FALAM DE PORTUGAL  |  Angola e Cabo Verde

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
O que os africanos acham de Portugal? Perguntei a alguns estudantes de intercâmbio na China sobre a relação como sendo antiga colônia do país europeu.

# data[].attributes.body
A morfologia do português. Tem a relação do português moderno com o latim.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers.

# data[].attributes.body
This organization is one that looks to help combat some of the pressing issues in Cabo Verde. HIV, gender equality and hunger are all problems that its citizens face. This website brings awareness to these issues.<br>

# data[].attributes.body
This PDF breaks down the language. It has useful charts beginning on page 10 that help users understand the language. For example, non-mammals don't need a gender marker. It also shows how the adjectives and pronouns are used.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a recipe for the national dish of Cabo Verde. It is a mix of grains, meat and beans and holds the same status as feijoada in Brazil.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
| | updated | published
by

LC reader Mary Cannon wrote in, asking if we had a recipe for manchup. A quick search of the Web told me that manchup is a dish from the Cape Verde Islands, but nothing more. Additional searches found very few recipes from Cape Verde, and none of them for manchup. Suspecting that the dish's name might have variant spellings, I tried looking for anything that sounded reasonably close to manchup, on the Internet and in books on West African cuisine (since I couldn't find any Cape Verdean cookbooks).

No luck.

Human nature being what it is, food writers can usually count on the nostalgia that people feel for the cooking of their homeland. A query was posted to a bulletin board for Cape Verdean émigrés. Four people read it, but none answered. There was still one avenue of hope: t's embassy in Washington, DC. An appropriately desperate e-mail was sent, explaining the problem.

An hour later, Jose Brito, the Republic of Cape Verde's ambassador to the United States, wrote back. According to Brito, " Cachoupa [is] translated here in the US [as] manchup." This was a significant clue. Going back to the Cape Verdean recipe sites, finding an answer became a relatively simple matter - although cachoupa's name does indeed have a variant spelling: cachupa. But where did the name manchup come from? It's apparently a corruption of munchupa, a name for cachupa that is used on Brava Island, at the southwestern end of the Cape Verde archipelago.

Cachupa is the national dish of Cape Verde. Like other great rustic dishes, such as the cassoulet of France and feijoada of Brazil, it uses highly seasoned meats in relatively small amounts together with grains and beans, and is slowly cooked to build a great depth of flavor. And like those dishes, it is even better when reheated the next day.

Cape Verdeans created one of the first fusion cuisines, incorporating the tastes and ingredients of Europe (livestock), Africa and Asia (sugar and tropical fruits), and the Americas (beans, chiles, corn, pumpkins, and manioc). They were able to do so because of their location: Just off the west coast of Africa, they were ideally suited as a stopping point, first for Portuguese explorers, and later for slave traders.

Cachupa can be very simple - barely more than samp (hominy), beans, and some salt pork, much like old-fashioned succotash. This simple peasant fare is known as cachupa povera. Wealthier Cape Verdeans - or even the poor, on special occasions, such as weddings - add more ingredients, such as a little meat or fish, in which case the dish is known as cachupa sabe, a more savory dish, like Brunswick stew. At the other end of the spectrum you'll find cachupa rica - the richest variation. Like feijoada completa, it's a long way from the simple peasant dish of legumes and grain. Here is a recipe for cachupa rica.

Note: This recipe doesn't indicate the number of portions or portion size; it has been edited, but not tested.
References
Cape Verdean Foods and Cooking
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Gary Allen

Gary Allen teaches food writing and various food and culture courses at Empire State College and has been vice president, newsletter editor, and webmaster for the Association for the Study of Food and Society. His books include The Resource Guide for Food Writers, The Herbalist in the Kitchen, The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries, the anthology Human Cuisine, and his most recent title, Herbs: A Global History, a volume in The Edible Series of Reaktion Press. He's currently at work on another book for the same series-on sausage. Visit him at his website, On the Table, and blog, Just Served.

Filed Under: entree, food history | science, mediterranean, writings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
updated | published by LC reader Mary Cannon wrote in, asking if we had a recipe for manchup. A quick search of the Web told me that manchup is a dish from the Cape Verde Islands, but nothing more. Additional searches found very few recipes from Cape Verde, and none of them for manchup.

# data[].attributes.headline
Turismo no Cabo Verde pelos Brasileiros 

# data[].attributes.subject
Turismo no Cabo Verde pelos Brasileiros 

# data[].attributes.body
This video shows tourism in Cabo Verde by Brazilians. This video shows the adaptability of Brazilians in C.V. with similar language and cultural practices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cabo Verde na rota turística de brasileiros

# data[].attributes.body
This article touches on topics that discussed in class. It has a phonetic list of the alphabet for the language, some cultural aspects (how the islands differ), and communication beyond the spoken language. What I most liked was that it has a section dedicated to difficulties that creole speakers might have when learning English.

# data[].attributes.body
This website is interesting. It is written in English for Spanish speakers who are learning Portuguese. It confronts many of the difficulties that Spanish speakers face when they try to learn Portuguese.

# data[].attributes.body
This website is helpful for pronunciation. It gives insight into the the phonetic alphabet of Portuguese

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Portuguese language, alphabet and pronunciation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Portuguese is a Romance language spoken in Portugal, Brazil and a number of other countries by about 220 million people.

# data[].attributes.body
These are just a few slides that give brief information about countries where Portuguese is spoken. It is interesting because it includes places where it is a minority language as well (i.e. Uruguay).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Andorra - Slide show of all the countries in Africa featuring maps, geographic and economic data, current affaris, as well as fun facts and figures.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an interesting perspective about the misconceptions and confusions that people come across with they compare Spanish speaking countries in L.A. with Brazil.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brazil is the only country in Latin America where the culture and language are inherited from Portugal rather than Spain - visitors forget this at their peril.

A few weeks after I moved to Brazil, I was on the phone to my father when he asked me how I was enjoying the tacos. I couldn't help getting annoyed and shot back: "Tacos are Mexican, dad, and I live in Brazil."

Pao de queijo - delicious bread balls stuffed with gooey cheese that you have for breakfast with a strong coffee - is the quintessential Brazilian food, but there seemed little point in going over the detail with my father.

It made me realise, though, that this sort of conversation was not alien to Brazilians, people here get it all the time.

The song that was written to open the World Cup last year was a case in point. We Are One was a catchy tune meant to unite the world ahead of the beautiful game - only it didn't, because the principal singers were Pitbull, a Cuban-American rapper, and Jennifer Lopez, whose family is Puerto Rican.

Find out more

Listen to From Our Own Correspondent for insight and analysis from BBC journalists, correspondents and writers from around the world

Broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturdays at 11:30 and Thursdays at 11:02 GMT and BBC World Service
Listen to the programme Download the programme
They start off in English and then sing a verse in Spanish. Only near the end is there a verse in Portuguese, sung by Claudia Leitte, one of Brazil's biggest pop stars.

I have to admit that I too had some mistaken assumptions about Brazil. I studied Latin American politics at university, I lived in Chile and Mexico and spoke fluent Spanish. I thought I knew the region pretty well. And then I moved here.

Yes, Brazil shares a colonial past, but the Portuguese influence sets Brazil apart from its Spanish-speaking neighbours.

They want you to commit to their country and understand them

It often struck me that Spain had a superiority complex when it came to Latin America. A paternalistic attitude perhaps, and many I spoke to - especially in Mexico - felt angry about the past.

But here in Brazil, it is different. As one Brazilian told me, people here like to go on holiday to Portugal but they see the former master as a quaint little village. Portugal stumbled into a debt crisis and recession at the same time as Brazil started being seen as an economic powerhouse of the future.

It is not that different to Britain's relationship with the US really - the power dynamics between coloniser and colony have changed.

But it was the language that perhaps threw me the most when I arrived. Spanish and Portuguese are of course very similar - without fail, everybody told me my Spanish would make things easier, and it is true most of the time.

But early on, one Latin American academic gave me some valuable advice. "Forget your Spanish," he said, "otherwise you will never speak good Portuguese."

Armed with this advice, I threw myself into learning. For months, I would find myself talking to people in what I thought was quite adequate Portuguese, and then mysteriously the conversation would gravitate towards the topic of Spain - people would tell me anecdotes about their experiences there.

Some would say "gracias" instead of "obrigado" when thanking me. Confusing at first, but then it dawned on me when a workman came round to fix something in my flat. He started explaining to his colleague that I was Spanish so he had to speak slowly.

And then I realised that no, it was not Portuguese I had been speaking, it was in fact Portunhol... think Franglais or Spanglish and you get the picture.

Some people don't mind you speaking Portunhol. Close to the borders with countries like Uruguay it is almost a dialect. And I have met some kind souls who have spoken it to help me.

My Brazilian cameraman used to deliberately mix up Spanish and Portuguese until I suggested that although he thought it would make life easier for me, it really didn't - it just meant that I would always speak Portuguese badly - so he soon put a stop to that.
How to listen to From Our Own Correspondent:
But Brazilians are proud people, so not everybody approves of Portunhol. Some find it a lazy tactic to avoid learning proper Portuguese. They want you to commit to their country and understand them.
Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.
Which brings me to another bugbear. The city that I live in is called Sao Paulo and it is spelled P-A-U-L-O - that's a U in the middle, not an O - get it wrong and Brazilians will chastise you. It is not Italian, it is not Spanish, this is Portuguese - so get it right.

Despite the initial language barriers, Brazil has enabled me to understand a much bigger part of a region that I love. But now I am moving on - back to Mexico in fact. A country I am familiar with and where I can speak the language.

Ironic, really, my dad will be pleased to know that I can now enjoy those tacos, but I won't be forgetting the pao de queijo any time soon.

BBC Radio 4: Saturdays at 11:30 and Thursdays at 11:02 GMT

Listen online or download the podcast.

BBC World Service: At weekends - see World Service programme schedule.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brazil is the only country in Latin America where the culture and language are inherited from Portugal rather than Spain - visitors forget this at their peril. A few weeks after I moved to Brazil, I was on the phone to my father when he asked me how I was enjoying the tacos.

# data[].attributes.body
This website gives information about the varieties and grammar of the Portuguese Language.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
portugueselanguage.net is your first and best source for all of the information you're looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, portugueselanguage.net has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!