Let me show you common Brazilian slang words for three everyday things: work, food, and money. You will be speaking like a Brazilian with your new Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary.
1. Brazilian slang word: Ralar = to work
Literally: Ralar = to grate
Colloquially: Ralar = trabalhar = to work.
Ralar can also express the idea of working hard depending on the context and tone of communication.
Ralar is a regular verb ending in –ar.
Example:
Caio: Vou pegar uma praia amanhã. E você?
Lara: Vou ralar o dia todo amanhã.
Translation:
Caio: I’m going to the beach tomorrow. How about you?
Lara: I’m going to work all day tomorrow.
2. Brazilian slang word: Rango = food
Rango is a slang word for comida (food).
While comida is a feminine noun, rango is a masculine noun.
There is also the verb rangar = comer = to eat.
Rangar is a regular verb ending in –ar.
Both the noun rango and the verb rangar are very informal. I don’t recommend using these words at work unless you know that the environment is informal enough for you to do so.
Examples:
1) Obrigada pelo convite para almoçar na sua casa. O rango estava uma delícia. = Thank you for the invitation to have lunch at your place. The food was delicious.
2) Estou faminta. Vou rangar. = I’m starving. I’m going to eat.
Cooking is a great way to experience foreign cultures. In case you enjoy cooking, below are two Brazilian cookbooks that are popular on Amazon.com:
Full disclosure: The links to the books are Amazon Affiliate links, which means that if you go to Amazon.com using the link and you make a purchase, I make a tiny commission. This does not affect the price you pay. And I do really believe that you should turn activities that you enjoy doing into active learning to advance your Portuguese.
3. Brazilian slang word: Grana = money
Grana is a slang word for dinheiro (money).
Grana is a feminine noun. Dinheiro, on the other hand, is a masculine noun.
Examples:
1) Não vou viajar este ano porque a grana está curta. = I won’t travel this year because I’m short on cash.
2) R$ 500,00 por uma calça jeans? É muita grana! = R$ 500 for a pair of jeans? It’s a lot of money!
Keep in mind that these are slang words. While they are not vulgar or bad words, they may not be appropriate in the workplace or other formal settings.
Practice is the key to memorizing new vocabulary and using it correctly. There is only so much that videos, software, and books can do for you.
To speak Portuguese with confidence, book a Trial Lesson with us. We have over a decade of experience teaching Portuguese via video meetings.
