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War Vocabulary in Portuguese

War Vocabulary in Portuguese

posted on April 15, 2022

Portuguese lesson to learn war vocabulary, useful words and sentences, with pronunciation coaching to speak great Brazilian Portuguese

War is not a pleasant topic to talk about, but unfortunately it is a part of our conversations today. I thought it would be useful for you to learn some war vocabulary in Portuguese so you can talk with your Brazilian friends if the subject comes up. I give you lots of pronunciation coaching in the video that will be helpful to your Portuguese in general.

This blog post is organized a little bit differently than the video. Here I list the words first and then I show you examples of full sentences putting some of those words together. In the video I mix it up.

The full sentences are an opportunity to learn beyond the scope of the lesson. Pay attention to words that may be new to you, prepositions that go with certain verbs, and useful expressions to add to your personal Portuguese vocabulary.

A Brazilian saying about hope

Before we dive into the war vocabulary, I want to show you a Brazilian saying about hope:

A esperança é a última que morre.

Literal translation: Hope is the last to die.

In English we say: While there’s life, there’s hope.

Let’s hope for peace.

War vocabulary in Portuguese

This list is organized with Portuguese first followed by the English translation.

After each noun I place and (f) for feminine words or an (m) for masculine words. Words that have the two forma are indicated by using an /a after its masculine version.

PT – EN

  1. OTAN = NATO. In Portuguese, the letters stand for Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte, which is the exact translation of the English name: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  2. guerra (f) = war
  3. paz (f) = peace
  4. Ucrânia (f) = Ukraine
  5. ucraniano/a = Ukrainian
  6. Rússia (f) = Russia
  7. russo/a = Russian
  8. soldado/a = soldier
  9. exército (m) = army, military
  10. o/a militar = military person
  11. invadir = to invade
  12. invasão (f) = invasion
  13. atacar = to attack
  14. ataque (m) = an attack
  15. estratégia (f) = strategy
  16. estratégia de ataque = attack strategy
  17. estratégia de defesa = defense strategy
  18. bomba (f) = bomb
  19. bombardear = to bomb
  20. bombardeio (m) = a bombing
  21. tanque (m) = tank
  22. míssil (m) / plural: mísseis = missile
  23. lançar = to launch
  24. explosão (f) = explosion
  25. explodir = to explode
  26. armas nucleares (f) = nuclear weapons
  27. reação (f) = reaction
  28. reagir = to react
  29. sanção (f) / plural: sanções = sanction
  30. impor sanções = to impose sanctions
  31. aliado/a = ally
  32. inimigo/a = enemy
  33. fugir = to flee, to run away
  34. refugiado/a = refugee, displaced person
  35. destruir = to destruct
  36. destruição (f) = destruction
  37. campo de batalha (m) = battle field
  38. alvo civil (m) = civilian target
  39. baixa (f) = casualty
  40. artilharia (f) = artillery
  41. morrer = to die
  42. morto/a = dead

Full sentences using your war vocabulary in Portuguese

1. O exército da Rússia invadiu a Ucrânia. = Russia’s army invaded Ukraine.

2. A Rússia atacou a Ucrânia com tanques, bombas e mísseis. = Russia attacked Ukraine with tanks, bombs, and missiles.

3. A Rússia lançou mísseis hipersônicos nos ataques. = Russia launched hypersonic missiles in the attacks.

4. A comunidade internacional reagiu e condenou o ataque da Rússia. = The international community reacted and condemned Russia’s attack.

5. Vários países impuseram sanções econômicas à Rússia. = Several countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia.

6. Há mais de quatro milhões de refugiados ucranianos. = There are over four million Ukrainian refugees.

7. Milhões de ucranianos fugiram do seu país natal em busca de segurança. = Millions of Ukrainians have fled their home country in search of safety.

8. Muitos alvos civis, como hospitais, escolas e prédios residenciais, estão sob ataque. = Many civilian targets, such as hospitals, schools, and residential buildings, are under attack.

9. Os bombardeios têm causado inúmeras baixas civis. = The bombings have been causing numerous civilian casualties.

10. Milhares de pessoas já morreram e o número de mortos aumenta a cada dia. = Thousands of people have already died and the death toll is rising each day.

11. As negociações de paz ainda não conseguiram pôr um fim à guerra. Ainda não há um acordo de paz.

12. A Ucrânia vai receber apoio internacional para a reconstrução do país depois da guerra. = Ukraine will receive international support for the reconstruction of the country after the war.

I would like to finish with this beautiful quote that touches my heart deeply:

Paz em todo lar, toda rua, toda aldeia, todo país — esse é o meu sonho.

= Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country – this is my dream.

– Malala Yousafzai


We offer Brazilian Portuguese lessons via video meetings. We have teaching Portuguese online since 2008, helping learners around the globe speak Portuguese with confidence. Whether you are just getting started speaking Portuguese or you are fluent and want to keep improving, we are prepared to help you.

Book a trial lesson with us to see how we can help you achieve your goals.

Related Posts:

  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese
  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • 5 New Books to Learn Portuguese

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David E Tonner

    April 22, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    It’s a shame that we have these words, but thank you for covering them Luciana, in this sinful world of ours. Hoping for peace.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 22, 2022 at 4:03 pm

      I felt enormous resistance to record this lesson. It was difficult to make it and difficult to record it because it’s not just theory. Really sad. But I know that my clients and my readers talk about with family, friends, and coworkers in Brazil, so I had the motivation to create the lesson.

      Reply
      • David Tonner

        April 22, 2022 at 5:10 pm

        😘

        Reply
        • Gloria M Ghedini

          April 22, 2022 at 6:17 pm

          This is necessary vocabulary, albeit very upsetting. Luciana has certainly sent “fun” vocabulary, but life is not always a bowl of cherries.

          Reply
          • Luciana Lage

            April 25, 2022 at 10:56 am

            Muito obrigada pelo apoio, Gloria! É isso mesmo. Conversas difíceis e desagradáveis também são necessárias às vezes.

  2. Gloria M Ghedini

    April 19, 2022 at 5:34 pm

    Estou aprendendo bastante. Obrigada.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 20, 2022 at 7:22 am

      Adoro ouvir isso 🙂

      Reply
  3. Gloria M Ghedini

    April 19, 2022 at 5:34 pm

    Gosto muito das suas liçoes!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 20, 2022 at 7:23 am

      Que bom! Obrigada, Gloria 🙂

      Reply
  4. Carl

    April 16, 2022 at 9:28 am

    Nice

    I think ” Os bombardeios têm causado inúmeras baixas civis. = The bombings have been causing numerous civilian casualties. ”

    Shouldn’t that be “causing >countless< civilian casualties" since inúmeras really carries an opposite "i" to "númeras" giving it a sense that the numerous cannot be counted?

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 16, 2022 at 1:17 pm

      You can certainly use countless. It is a great translation. In Portuguese, we do not use the word “números” with the meaning of numerous. Números = numbers. And we do not have the feminine “númeras”. We do have inúmeros and inúmeras which means something you cannot count (countless) or something found in great numbers (numerous).

      Reply

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