We teach smart Portuguese
For many, being gluten free is an option. But for others, like me, it is a requirement of life. I would like to share a little about how it is to be gluten free in Brazil. I hope this will be useful for those with Celiac or any kind of gluten intolerance. Read More
If you have been learning Portuguese, you already know that nouns have a gender in Portuguese: they are either masculine or feminine. And you probably do not like it too much, do you? ;) In this lesson you will learn: The main rules of masculine and feminine for the gender of nouns in Read More
While living in Rio, in what can only be properly described as a frat house, its members introduced me to a late-night joint they’d frequent after hours. It’s a place that exists in the nebulous moments of the early morning, after partying but before going to sleep. They called it a “podrão”. When Read More
The other day I was talking to a good friend who is from São Paulo. We hadn’t had a good chat in a while. It was great to catch up. Being from São Paulo, my friend uses the word Cara quite a lot. She uses it as I explain in section 5 in this post. But the funny thing is that the word cara came Read More
English is my native language and I surely make mistakes in it here and there. One of my problems is where to put a comma. I don't always know (and I’m speaking in general, not just about the Oxford comma, for example). It should be a pretty basic thing to fix, yet here I am in my 30s Read More
I have been using taxis a lot here in Recife. Yesterday I realized how often I am using the prepositions “before” and “after” to give directions and to make plans with friends. Please turn right after the light. It is one street before the park. I will call you after I finish this or that. In Read More
Despite using Portuguese every day, the fact is, it's just that, everyday Portuguese. There's nothing inherently special about the words I usually use since I use it with my girlfriend at home and on the street when I buy something. It's not like I discuss the essence of Taoism or theoretical Read More
Que tal is a nice little expression that you can use in so many different situations. What confuses learners of Portuguese is that the Spanish language has the same expression as a greeting. In Portuguese it is not a greeting. Learn how to use Que tal in this lesson. You will sound really good when Read More
Anyone who has read an even brief history of Brazil has heard of Brazilwood, known as pau-brasil in Portuguese, which is how Brazil got its name. The wood is reddish-orange in color and was highly sought after in Europe after its discovery, particularly for the dye extracted from it for use in Read More
