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Study in the app →Portuguese · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 23
A roupa Clothes
Clothes and sizes. Vocabulary: a roupa, a camiseta, a calça, os sapatos, o vestido, o tamanho, a cor, vermelho, azul, preto. Key point: the colour adjective AGREES in gender and number with the item: a camiseta VERMELHA, o vestido VERMELHO, os sapatos PRETOS, as camisetas VERMELHAS. English speakers don't change the adjective ("a camiseta vermelho" ✗ → "a camiseta vermelha" ✓). "Azul" does not change for gender (azul/azuis). Ask the size: "Qual é o tamanho?". Culture corner: Street markets, markets & paying.
Dialogue
vermelho / vermelha
- Vendedora Boa tarde. Procura alguma roupa? Good afternoon. Are you looking for any clothes?
- Mike Sim, quero a camiseta vermelho. Yes, I want the red T-shirt. (slip: camiseta is feminine — say "vermelha")
- Vendedora A camiseta vermelha. A cor concorda: camiseta é feminina. The red T-shirt (vermelha). The colour agrees: camiseta is feminine.
- Mike Ah, quero a camiseta vermelha. Qual é o tamanho? Ah, I want the red T-shirt. What size is it?
Dialogue
Um vestido azul — A Blue Dress
- Bia Quero um vestido azul. Tem? I want a blue dress. Do you have one?
- Vendedora Temos. Qual é o tamanho? We do. What size?
- Bia Médio. Quanto custa? Medium. How much is it?
- Vendedora Custa cinquenta reais. É barato. It costs fifty reais. It is cheap.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| roupa | n.f. | clothes (f) | |
| camiseta | n.f. | T-shirt (f) | |
| calça | n.f. | trousers, pants (f) | |
| sapatos | n.m.pl | shoes (m pl) | |
| vestido | n.m. | dress (m) | |
| tamanho | n.m. | size (m) | |
| cor | n.f. | colour (f) | |
| vermelho | adj. | red (vermelha/vermelhos/vermelhas) | |
| azul | adj. | blue (azul/azuis) | |
| preto | adj. | black (preta/pretos/pretas) |
Grammar
A cor concorda: vermelho / vermelha Colour agrees: vermelho / vermelha
Em português, o adjetivo de cor vem DEPOIS do substantivo e CONCORDA com ele em género e número. "Vermelho" tem quatro formas: vermelho (m sg), vermelha (f sg), vermelhos (m pl), vermelhas (f pl). Diz-se "o vestido vermelho", "a camiseta vermelha", "os sapatos vermelhos", "as camisetas vermelhas". O mesmo para preto: preto/preta/pretos/pretas. Os anglófonos deixam o adjetivo invariável ("a camiseta vermelho" ✗ → "a camiseta vermelha" ✓). Exceção útil: "azul" não muda por género — só por número: azul (sg), azuis (pl). Cores como "azul", "verde" e "cor-de-rosa" seguem esta regra mais simples.
In Portuguese, the colour adjective comes AFTER the noun and AGREES with it in gender and number. "Vermelho" has four forms: vermelho (m sg), vermelha (f sg), vermelhos (m pl), vermelhas (f pl). You say "o vestido vermelho", "a camiseta vermelha", "os sapatos vermelhos", "as camisetas vermelhas". Same for preto: preto/preta/pretos/pretas. English speakers leave the adjective unchanged ("a camiseta vermelho" ✗ → "a camiseta vermelha" ✓). Useful exception: "azul" does not change for gender — only for number: azul (sg), azuis (pl). Colours like "azul", "verde" and "cor-de-rosa" follow this simpler rule.
- A camiseta vermelha é bonita. The red T-shirt is pretty.
- O vestido vermelho é caro. The red dress is expensive.
- Os sapatos pretos são bons. The black shoes are good.
- Quero uma calça azul. I want blue trousers.
Culture
Feiras, mercados e pagar Street markets, markets & paying
In Brazil, buying food is almost always a street scene: the weekly neighbourhood feira, full of fruit, colour and voices. Knowing how the feira works — and how people pay these days — helps a lot in daily life.
The neighbourhood feira
The "feira livre" happens one day a week in each neighbourhood: the stalls take over the street and sell fruit, vegetables, fish and pastel. The vendor shouts the prices and calls customers — "Olha a promoção!" (Check out the deal!). You buy by the kilo: "Um quilo de tomate, por favor" (A kilo of tomatoes, please). It's fresher and often cheaper than the supermarket, and part of the rhythm of the week.
Haggle? Just a little
In Brazil you don't haggle like in a bazaar. In supermarkets and shops the price is fixed. But at the feira, toward the end of the day, you can ask for a friendly discount: "Faz um desconto?" (Can you give a discount?) or "Se eu levar dois, quanto fica?" (If I take two, how much?). The vendor often rounds the amount down or throws in an extra piece of fruit "de brinde" (for free). The rule is friendliness, not argument: ask with a smile, take "no" lightly.
How you pay today
Brazil is one of the countries that uses the least cash. Cards (credit or debit) are accepted almost everywhere, and "Pix" — the free instant transfer — has become king: you pay for everything from the cafezinho to the feira with your phone. The classic question is "Dinheiro, cartão ou Pix?" (Cash, card or Pix?). Good news for the traveller: the price on the tag already includes taxes, and there's no American-style mandatory tip — in restaurants a 10% service charge is customarily added to the bill.
In short: the feira is fresh and cheap, a discount is asked for with charm, and payment today is almost always card or Pix. Knowing this, shopping in Brazil stops being a test and becomes an everyday pleasure.
pronunciation
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