In this interconnected world, it’s no surprise that many English words have made their way into the Portuguese vocabulary. As we consume entertainment from other cultures and travel the globe, the constant exchanges result in new words and an ever-expanding language.
The term Porglish (or Portuglish) refers to the phenomenon of using both English and Portuguese words in a given sentence. Many of the common English words used in Portuguese entered the language via English speakers living in Portuguese-speaking countries (and vice-versa). Now, with the internet and the limitless opportunities to watch movies or listen to songs from anywhere in the world, the Porglish phenomenon has become more widespread.
For Portuguese-speaking millennials, born in the social media era, Porglish words are part of the daily vocabulary. This is, in part, because English words that were introduced in the past are now better consolidated into the Portuguese language. On the other hand, English words are entering the language faster than ever due to the always-developing digital landscape. For many of the same reasons, you’ll also find a few English words of Portuguese origin.
In this article, we will cover all sides of the Porglish phenomenon: common English words in Portuguese, changes in pronunciation, and the most common loanwords between the two languages.
Ready to discover the curious world of Porglish?
You won’t need to translate a lot of words related to technology!
To start, let’s look at some English words used in Portuguese with a different meaning than the original.
They can be a bit tricky, leading you to think they mean one thing when they’re something else entirely. But as you can see, there are not too many of them—and seeing these different translations might even make you laugh!
Chip
In English, a “chip” can refer to many things: a computer chip, a snack food, or a fragmentation of something.
In Brazil, it’s the word used for SIM cards.
Preciso comprar um novo chip pro meu celular. (“I need to buy a new SIM card for my cell phone.”)
Outdoor
In English, it means “done, situated, or used out of doors.”
In Brazil, it’s used to refer to billboards.
Você viu aquele outdoor? (“Did you see that billboard?”)
Step
In English, this word has several meanings: a “doorstep,” the act of putting one foot in front of the other, or a stage of a project or process.
In Brazil, it refers to the spare tire kept in cars.
Não se preocupe, temos um step no porta-malas. (“Don’t worry, we have a spare tire in the trunk.”)
Smoking
In English, “smoking” is often associated with cigarettes or cigars.
In Brazil, it refers to a tuxedo.
Quero usar um smoking para o evento. (“I want to use a tuxedo for the event.”)
The origin of the word smoking in Brazilian Portuguese can probably be traced back to when smoking jackets were popular—although they are very different from a tuxedo. A smoking jacket is an informal lounge jacket normally made from velvet or silk, while a tuxedo (smoking, in Brazil) is considered semi-formal attire for evening events.
Notebook
In English, the word “notebook” is used to refer to a small, slim type of laptop computer. It can also refer to a paper notebook.
In Brazil, the word refers to all kinds of laptops.
Você vai comprar um novo notebook? (“Are you going to buy a new laptop?”)
Você fica muito elegante de smoking. (“You look very elegant in a tuxedo.”)
2. Friendly Loanwords
Now, let’s look at English loanwords used in Brazil with their original English meaning. Learning these loanwords will give you quite an advantage, since they will automatically boost your vocabulary!
Acho que o meu mouse quebrou. (“I think my mouse is broken.”)
In Portugal, the literal translation of “mouse” is more commonly used: rato.
Email
Qual é o seu email? (“What is your email?”)
Site / Website
Preciso criar um site para o nosso restaurante. (“I need to create a website for our restaurant.”)
Chat
Vou perguntar no chat no site da empresa. (“I’ll ask in the chat on the company’s website.”)
Internet
A velocidade da nossa internet é muita boa. (“The speed of our internet is very good.”)
Download
Não consigo fazer download do documento. (“I can’t download the document.”)
Tablet
Quero comprar um tablet novo. (“I want to buy a new tablet.”)
There are also several new and easily recognizable verbs used in Portuguese that derive from English technology-related words.
Deletar
Vou deletar esses documentos. (“I’ll delete these documents.”)
Logar
Conseguiu logar no site? (“Were you able to log in to the site?”)
Hackear
Hackear não é muito difícil. (“Hacking is not very hard.”)
Pausar
Vou fazer pipoca, pausa o filme. (“I’ll make popcorn; pause the movie.”)
Postar
Posso postar essa foto? (“May I post this photo?”)
Sports and Entertainment
Fitness
É muito difícil ser fitness. (“It’s very hard to be fit.”)
“Fitness” is used colloquially as an adjective to indicate being fit or liking to exercise.
Personal trainer
Vamos contratar uma personal trainer esse ano. (“We’ll hire a personal trainer this year.”)
Surfe
Essa praia é boa para surfar. (“This beach is good for surfing.”)
Boxe
Ele gosta muito de boxe. (“He really likes boxing.”)
Hobby
Meu hobby é correr. (“My hobby is running.”)
Spoiler
Não vai me dar spoiler! (“Don’t give me spoilers!”)
Video game
Quero jogar esse video game novo. (“I want to play this new video game.”)
Trailer
Já assistiu ao trailer? É incrível! (“Have you seen the trailer? It’s incredible!”)
→ Are you a sports enthusiast or passionate about fitness? Then you’ll want to see our vocabulary lists for Talking About Olympic Sports and At the Gym!
Other Loanwords
Jeans
Você gosta dessa calça jeans? (“Do you like these jeans?”)
Short
Está calor, vou colocar um short. (“It’s hot, I’m putting on shorts.”)
Cardigã
Não esquece de trazer o meu cardigã. (“Don’t forget to bring my cardigan.”)
Laser
O laser é muito utilizado na medicina. (“Lasers are often used in medicine.”)
Spray
Também temos esse produto em spray. (“We also have this product in spray.”)
Freezer
O nosso freezer está cheio. (“Our freezer is full.”)
Bullying
Essa campanha contra o bullying é importante. (“This campaign against bullying is important.”)
Táxi
Elas vão vir de táxi. (“They will come by taxi.”)
Air bag
Hoje em dia, todos os carros têm air bag. (“Nowadays, all cars have airbags.”)
You can think of loanwords as linguistic twins!
3. Pronouncing Brand Names and Titles in Portuguese
English brand names are generally not translated, while movie and book titles are.
That said, there are a few changes in the Brazilian pronunciation. The term for this is abrasileirar (“to make it Brazilian”).
1 – Rule of Thumb
Brand names are “made Brazilian” with a few slight pronunciation changes. In general, most of the English words that end in consonants other than R and L gain a slight Y sound. For example:
Facebook – pronounced as Facebook-y.
McDonald’s – pronounced as McDonaldy’s, or simply Méc-y.
Walmart – pronounced as Walmart-y.
2 – Acronyms
English names made up of acronyms are pronounced according to Portuguese phonetics. For example:
Name
Letter sound
Letter sound (IPA)
KFC
Cá – Efe – Cê
/ka/ – /ˈɛfi/ – /se/
C&A
Cê – E – A
/se/ – /i/ – /a/
H&M
Agá – E – Eme
/aˈɡa/ – /i/ – /ˈemi/
M&M
Eme – E – Eme
/ˈemi/ – /i/ – /ˈemi/
IBM
I – Bê – Eme
/i/ – /be/ – /ˈemi/
LG
Ele – Gê
/ˈɛli/ – /ʒe/
HP
Agá – Pê
/aˈɡa/ – /pe/
→ Feeling lost? Reading this guide on Portuguese Pronunciation is a great way to refresh your memory!
3 – Entertainment
Book and movie titles are generally translated to Portuguese. Sometimes those translations are almost literal, and other times they make no sense. Some of the most famous franchises, like Star Wars and The Hunger Games, might be recognized by their English names, but it’s a good idea to check the particular title in Portuguese.
Here are some famous titles and their Brazilian Portuguese version:
Original title
Brazilian Portuguese title
Star Wars
Guerra nas Estrelas (“War in the stars”)
The Hangover
Se Beber, Não Case (“If you drink, don’t get married”)
Die Hard
Duro de Matar (“Hard to kill”)
The Hunger Games
Jogos Vorazes (“Voracious games”)
Home Alone
Esqueceram de Mim (“They forgot me”)
The Godfather
O Poderoso Chefão (“The powerful big boss”)
Mean Girls
Meninas Malvadas (“Mean girls”)
Twilight
Crepúsculo (“Twilight”)
The Sound of Music
A Noviça Rebelde (“The rebel novice”)
To Kill a Mockingbird
O Sol É para Todos (“The sun is for all”)
Animal Farm
A Revolução dos Bichos (“The animal revolution”)
→ Curious about other entertainment options that can help you learn Portuguese? Then check out our list of must-watch Brazilian TV shows!
Going to watch a movie? Check the Portuguese title and see how different it is!
4. Portuguese Words in English
The relationship between Portuguese and English is not unilateral, and you can find several English words from Portuguese as well.
Many of the Portuguese words you’ll encounter in English refer to food, animals, and culture. With time, as the internet and social media continue to connect us across borders, more people around the world recognize these Brazilian specialties, such as açaí and samba.
Capoeira
An Afro-Brazilian martial art that has spread across the world
A Brazilian music genre, as well as a kind of dance
Bossa Nova
A style of Brazilian music from the 1950s and 1960s
Caravel
From the Portuguese word caravela, which is a small ship that was common between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries
Baroque
From the Portuguese word barroco, which is a style of art, architecture, and music
Albino
From the Portuguese and Spanish word albo, which comes from albus in Latin, meaning “white”
Breeze
Probably from the Portuguese or Spanish word briza (nowadays, brisa), originating in the sixteenth century
Açai
The fruit of a palm tree very common in northern Brazil (called Açaizeiro) that produces dark purple berries
Caramel
From the Portuguese word caramelo
Cashew
From the Portuguese word cajú, the name of the fruit that carries the cashew nut (castanha de caju)
Manioc
Also known as cassava; comes from the indigenous Tupi word mandioca
Marmalade
From the Portuguese marmelada, meaning “quince jam”
Molasses
From the Portuguese word melaço, the dark syrup obtained from sugar canes when refining sugar
Mosquito
Originated from the Portuguese word for the diminutive of mosca (“fly”), mosquito
The Brazilian samba is famous around the world!
Continue Learning Portuguese with PortuguesePod101
As you can see, English is very much present in the Portuguese language. Hopefully, this article helped you expand your Portuguese vocabulary and made you feel more confident about Porglish! And now you’ll also be able to impress your friends with your knowledge about the origin of words like “cashew” and “albino”!
Did you enjoy learning about the English words used in Portuguese? Any Porglish details you wish we’d covered? Let us know in the comments.
And now, it’s time to continue your Portuguese learning journey. You can read more in-depth articles about the language or go ahead and explore the numerous vocabulary lists or other free resources available on PortuguesePod101.com.
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