• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Learn Portuguese: How Brazilian Kids Say It

Learn Portuguese: How Brazilian Kids Say It

posted on October 28, 2013

I was recently reminded of some concepts that are familiar to Brazilian children and reminiscent of things American kids also know. Being that they both speak different languages, the concepts below are expressed a bit differently.

 The ABCs

In Portuguese, the ABCs are known as the “bê-à-bá” (said: bay-ah-bah). In fact, the term has a few related meanings such as “a child’s primer”, “a spelling exercise”, “first notions of reading” and the “initial understanding (of something)”.

An example I found online of how to use the term in a figurative sense is like this: “Para quem deseja aprender o bê-à-bá da cozinha, o Senac oferece o curso de Culinária…” (For those who want to learn the ABCs of the kitchen, Senac offers a culinary course…)

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Most Americans grew up with this rhyme. I’m talking enough generations to go back to the beginning of the US as a nation. And although there are several variations, here’s the one I grew up saying…

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe,
Catch a tiger by his toe,
If he hollers, make him pay,
Fifty dollars every day.

The other day, I used this around my girlfriend who then repeated it as she learned it. She said,

“Uni duni te, Salame min-guê,
Um sorvete colo-rĂŞ, O escolhido foi vo-cĂŞ.”

It was much to my surprise as I had never heard of this and never knew it was used in other countries for the same reasons (choosing someone or something from a group). Every little cultural or linguistic tidbit brings me closer to understanding Brazil and Brazilians better so I thank her for teaching me some of the bĂŞ-Ă -bá of the Brazilian experience, and now I’m passing it along to you! 

—————

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • Use the Infinitive in Portuguese instead of -ING in English
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

A fantastic way to learn rapidly while having fun.  I took two sets of classes with Street Smart Brazil and was really impressed with the quality of teaching; from the informative handouts to the sch… Read more
Danielle
I love my Portuguese lessons. My instructor is fantastic. She listens to my requests and allows me to practice what I want to practice. I also like the written exercises and the fact that I can practi… Read more
Kate
The web class is a unique setup. When I first heard about it I thought it would be too weird to try to do something so personal and interactive as a foreign language online. Now I am sort of devotee. … Read more
John
When I started this journey of learning Brasilian Portuguese, I couldn’t even say “Obrigado” or “Como Ă© seu nome?”. But now my communication skills have improved tremendously. Street Smart Brazil make… Read more
Blake

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/xoNtWBolAzE

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.