Food vocabulary in Portuguese: Breakfast in Brazil

How fun to learn food vocabulary in Portuguese, right? I bet that you got hungry just by looking at the pictures above. In this Portuguese lesson you will learn the vocabulary you need to enjoy Breakfast in Brazil.

Doctors say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We, Brazilians, agree. We do take our time to eat a good café da manhã.

Whether you are visiting or living in Brazil you will notice that breakfast time is an important part of the day. Hotels and Pousadas (inns) usually offer an incredible breakfast buffet. You will find a variety of fruit juices, breads, cakes, cheeses, fresh fruits, etc. Although bacon is not a traditional Brazilian food, some hotels will serve them to please foreign visitors.

Breakfast favorites in Brazil

One of the most traditional breakfast foods in Brazil, and especially in Northeastern Brazil, is cuscuz. It is a cake-like food made of steamed corn bran, water, and salt. It is very nutritious; therefore, it is the #1 choice for those who need a lot of energy to endure a day of hard work or sightseeing around Brazilian towns. Some people like cuscuz with milk, some eat it with butter, others like it dry with scrambled eggs, and some eat it with chicken or beef. Some Brazilians like it so much they even eat it for lunch or dinner as well.

Another breakfast favorite food in Brazil is tapioca. It is one of my favorite things. Brazilian tapioca is made with manioc or yucca flour. It is cooked in a skillet and folded in a half moon shape. My favorite breakfast when I am in Brazil is tapioca filled with eggs. I tell you more about tapioca on my post about mouth-watering Brazilian treats.

Breakfast Vocabulary in Portuguese

Below are 30 useful items for your breakfast in Brazil. I indicate masculine words with (m) and feminine words with (f).

The word for breakfast in Portuguese is café da manhã. It translates literally to “coffee of the morning”, but it does not mean coffee only. It is our term for a breakfast in general.

We often shorten café da manhã and say only café. It still means breakfast, and not only coffee. The context of the conversation will make it clear whether it is just coffee or breakfast.

The list below is (almost) in alphabetical order with the English term coming first.

This audio file has all the words in Portuguese:

1. breakfast = café da manhã (m)
2. bacon = bacon (m)
3. bread = pão (m)
4. sliced bread = pão de forma (m)
5. butter = manteiga (f)
6. cake = bolo (m)
7. cereal = cereal (m)
8. cheese = queijo (m)
9. cream cheese = requeijão (m) Obs.: It is pretty different from American cream cheese.
10. coffee = café (m)
11. coffee with milk = café com leite (m)
12. crackers = bolachas (f)
13. egg = ovo (m)
14. scrambled eggs = ovos mexidos (m)
15. boiled egg = ovo cozido (m)
16. fruit = fruta (f)
17. fruit juice = suco de frutas (m)
18. ham = presunto (m)
19. jam = geleia (f)
20. milk = leite (m)
21. oatmeal = mingau de aveia (m)
22. pancake = panqueca (f)
23. sausage = salsicha (f)
24. sugar = açúcar (m)
25. tea = chá (m)
26. black tea = chá preto (m)
27. herbal tea = chá de ervas (m)
28. toast = torrada (f)
29. waffle = waffle (m)
30. yogurt = iogurte (m)

I have also created some flashcards for you with breakfast vocabulary in Portuguese.