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Study in the app →Portuguese · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 20
A comida The food
The most common foods and drinks: pão, arroz, feijão, carne, peixe, fruta, água, café, suco. For "to be hungry" and "to be thirsty" Portuguese uses "ter" + noun (NOT "ser/estar"): Tenho fome (I have hunger), Tenho sede (I have thirst) — just like "tenho … anos". For eating/drinking you also use "tomar" (tomar um café, tomar um suco). And "gostoso" = delicious: A comida é gostosa. New vocabulary: pão, arroz, feijão, carne, peixe, fruta, água, café, suco, gostoso. Culture section: rice, beans and the cafezinho.
Dialogue
Sou fome ou tenho fome? — sou fome or tenho fome?
- Lucas Mike, você quer comer? Mike, do you want to eat?
- Mike Sim, sou fome. Yes, I'm hungry. (slip: hunger uses ter, not ser — say "tenho fome")
- Lucas Com fome usamos "ter": tenho fome. Como com a idade. With hunger we use "ter": tenho fome. Like with age.
- Mike Ah, tenho fome e tenho sede. Quero pão e água. Ah, I'm hungry and thirsty. I want bread and water.
Dialogue
Que gostoso! — So Tasty!
- Bia Lucas, o que você come? Lucas, what are you eating?
- Lucas Como peixe com arroz. É muito gostoso. I'm eating fish with rice. It's very tasty.
- Bia E o que você bebe? And what are you drinking?
- Lucas Tomo um suco. Você quer fruta? I'm having a juice. Do you want fruit?
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pão | n.m. | bread (m) | |
| arroz | n.m. | rice (m) | |
| feijão | n.m. | beans (m) | |
| carne | n.f. | meat (f) | |
| peixe | n.m. | fish (m) | |
| fruta | n.f. | fruit (f) | |
| água | n.f. | water (f) | |
| café | n.m. | coffee (m) | |
| suco | n.m. | juice (m) | |
| gostoso | adj. | tasty, delicious |
Grammar
"Tenho fome": ter + substantivo "Tenho fome": ter + noun
Para "I'm hungry / thirsty" o português NÃO usa "ser" nem "estar", mas "ter" + um substantivo: Tenho fome (I have hunger), Tenho sede (I have thirst). É o mesmo padrão da idade: Tenho vinte anos. O erro clássico do inglês é "sou fome" ou "estou fome" — não existe; diz-se "tenho fome". Para comer e beber, além de "comer/beber", usa-se muito "tomar": tomo um café, tomo um suco. E "gostoso" (delicioso) concorda: o peixe é gostoso, a fruta é gostosa. Frases: Tenho fome, quero comer. Tomo água porque tenho sede.
For "I'm hungry / thirsty" Portuguese does NOT use "ser" or "estar", but "ter" + a noun: Tenho fome (I have hunger), Tenho sede (I have thirst). It's the same pattern as age: Tenho vinte anos. The classic English mistake is "sou fome" or "estou fome" — it doesn't exist; you say "tenho fome". For eating and drinking, besides "comer/beber", "tomar" is used a lot: tomo um café, tomo um suco. And "gostoso" (delicious) agrees: o peixe é gostoso, a fruta é gostosa. Phrases: Tenho fome, quero comer. Tomo água porque tenho sede.
- Tenho fome. Quero comer arroz e feijão. I'm hungry. I want to eat rice and beans.
- Tenho sede. Bebo água. I'm thirsty. I drink water.
- O peixe é gostoso e a fruta é gostosa. The fish is tasty and the fruit is tasty.
- No café da manhã, tomo um café e como pão. At breakfast, I have a coffee and eat bread.
Culture
Arroz, feijão e o cafezinho Rice, beans & the cafezinho
In Brazil, everyday food revolves around two simple things — rice and beans on the plate and the little coffee, the cafezinho, in the cup. Together they say a lot about Brazilian hospitality.
The everyday plate
The classic Brazilian lunch is white rice with beans, almost always with a meat and a salad. It's cheap, filling, and on every table from north to south. Calling someone "arroz de festa" (rice at every party — someone who shows up everywhere) shows how rice even entered the language.
The cafezinho
The cafezinho is a small, strong, sweet coffee served in tiny cups. Offering it is a gesture of hospitality: at home, at work, in a shop, "Aceita um cafezinho?" (Will you have a little coffee?) is almost a greeting. Refusing isn't rude, but accepting opens the conversation.
One country, many flavors
Beyond rice and beans, each region has its own: feijoada (black beans with meat) on Saturdays, tapioca and açaí in the north, churrasco (barbecue) in the south. Eating in Brazil is almost always in a group, plentiful and unhurried — food is for sharing.
In short: rice and beans on the plate, a cafezinho in the cup, and people around the table. In Brazil, everyday food is simple but never solitary — it's an invitation. If someone offers you a cafezinho, accept: that's how friendship begins.
pronunciation
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