A Comida: Basic Portuguese Food Vocabulary
In this post we’ll build your Portuguese vocabulary by learning about everyone’s favorite language topic: Portuguese food terms! Portuguese food vocabulary will come in handy no matter why you’re learning Portuguese. First we’ll cover some basic expressions related to food. Then we’ll look at vocabulary for meals. Next we’ll see a lot of basic Portuguese vocabulary for food and drink. Finally, we’ll wrap up with related vocabulary for utensils and ways to describe your food. Let’s dig in.
Estou com fome! I’m hungry!
Let’s start to build your Portuguese vocabulary by learning some expressions that you’ll probably need to know that are related to Portuguese food vocabulary.
- (Eu) Estou com fome.
I’m hungry. - Estou com sede.
I’m thirsty.
- Quero algo para comer.
I want something to eat. - Quero algo para beber.
I want something to drink. - Estou com vontade de comer uma comidinha / um lanche.
I feel like a snack.
O jantar está pronto! Dinner is ready!
You probably want to know how to talk about meals when you’re using Portuguese food terms. The meals in Portuguese are: o café da manhã breakfast, o almoço lunch, and o jantar dinner. A snack is uma comidinha or um lanche. Dessert is a sobremesa.
- O que tem para o café da manhã?
What’s for breakfast? - O que tem para o almoço?
What’s for lunch? - O que tem para o jantar?
What’s for dinner? - O que tem para a sobremesa?
What’s for dessert? - (Eu) Tomo café da manhã cedo.
I eat breakfast early. - (Eu) Almoço com os meus colegas.
I eat lunch with colleagues. - (Eu) Janto com a minha família.
I eat dinner with my family.
O que você está comendo? What are you eating?
Now let’s see some basic Portuguese vocabulary related to foods and beverages. We’ll divide these Portuguese food terms into sections.
Portuguese Food Vocabulary: Carbs and Protein
- o pão bread
- o arroz rice
- o macarrão pasta
- o macarrão com ovos noodles
- a carne meat
- o frango chicken
- a carne bovina beef
- a carne de porco pork
- o presunto ham
- o cordeiro lamb
- o tofu tofu
- o peixe fish
- os frutos do mar seafood
- o camarão shrimp
- a lagosta lobster
- o caranguejo crab
- a lula squid
- o molusco clam
More Portuguese Food Vocabulary: Vegetables, Fruit, Dairy
- os vegetais vegetables
- o tomate tomato
- a cebola onion
- o alho garlic
- a alface lettuce
- o espinafre spinach
- o aspargo asparagus
- o repolho cabbage
- o cogumelo mushroom
- o pepino cucumber
- o pimentão pepper (as in bell)
- a pimenta chili pepper
- a fruta fruit
- a maçã apple
- a pera pear
- o pêssego peach
- a laranja orange
- o limão siciliano lemon
- o limão lime
- a uva grape
- o morango strawberry
- a banana banana
- a noz nut
- o amendoim peanut
- a semente seed
- o trigo wheat
- o cereal cereal
- o sal salt
- a pimenta do reino pepper
- o sésamo sesame
- o mel honey
- o açúcar sugar
- o molho de soja soy sauce
- o ovo egg
- o leite milk
- o queijo cheese
- a manteiga butter
Portuguese Food Terms for Drinks, Sweets, and More
- a água water
- o chá tea
- o café coffee
- o vinho wine
- a cerveja beer
- o leite de soja soy milk
- o sorvete ice cream
- o bolo cake
- a torta pie
- a bolacha cookie
- o doce candy
- comer to eat
- beber to drink
- cozinhar to cook
- experimentar to taste
- Como muito arroz.
I eat a lot of rice. - Você toma café ou chá de manhã?
Do you drink tea or coffee in the morning? - Você cozinha muito bem.
You cook very well!
Me passa um guardanapo, por favor? Could I have a napkin, please?
Now that you know some basic Portuguese food vocabulary, let’s see some phrases that will come in handy when you’re ordering food. Some vocabulary related to Portuguese food terms is: o prato plate, a tigela bowl, a faca knife, a colher spoon, o garfo fork, os pauzinhos chopsticks, a xícara cup, o copo glass, o guardanapo napkin.
- Poderia me dar um guardanapo / um garfo / uma faca/ uma colher / uns pauzinhos?
Could I have a napkin/fork/knife/spoon/chopsticks? - Poderia me dar um copo de água?
Could I have a glass of water? - Onde estão os garfos, as facas e as colheres?
Where are the forks, knives, and spoons? - Os garfos, as facas, e as colheres estão na gaveta.
The forks, knives, and spoons are in the drawer. - Os copos limpos estão no armário.
The clean glasses are in the cabinet. - As xícaras de café estão na prateleira.
The coffee cups on are the shelf. - Me passa um guardanapo, por favor?
Could I have a napkin, please? - Por favor, ponha os pratos limpos no armário.
Please put the clean plates in the cabinet.
Como está a sua comida? How’s your food?
Let’s close with some Portuguese vocabulary that you can use to talk about your food: delicioso/a delicious, salgado/a salty, doce sweet, amargo/a bitter, azedo/a sour.
- Está delicioso/a.
It’s delicious. - Está ótimo/a.
It’s great. - Está comida é/ está excelente.
This food is excellent. - Está quente demais.
It’s too hot. - Está frio/a demais.
It’s too cold. - Está doce demais.
It’s too sweet. - Está salgado/a demais.
It’s too salty. - Está sem gosto / sem graça.
It’s tasteless/bland. - Está cozido/a demais.
It’s overcooked. - Não está suficientemente cozido/a.
It’s undercooked. - Está oleoso/a / gorduroso/a.
It’s oily/greasy.
Do you want to learn Portuguese?
We hope you’ve enjoyed growing your Portuguese vocabulary with some basic Portuguese food terms. If you want to learn more, check out our other posts on Portuguese language, Brazilian culture, and more. And if you’re looking for convenient and affordable live Portuguese lessons with a real teacher, check out The Language Garage Portuguese. Our lessons are given online in a virtual classroom, so it doesn’t matter where you live or work. We can come to you. And we have flexible options, with a free trial so that you can decide if there’s a fit. Check us out!
