🇧🇷 Japanese Brazilian Culture Vocabulary Cultura brasileira
10 essential Brazilian Portuguese words for the Brazilian Culture scene, each with IPA, English meaning, CEFR level and native speaker audio, plus example sentences. Tap 🔊 to listen.
- carnaval /kaʁnaˈvaw/ A2Carnival, Brazil's giant street festival before Lent · final -l = [w]No carnaval, a gente sai no bloco de rua logo cedo.During Carnival, we join the street bloco early in the morning.
- samba /ˈsɐ̃bɐ/ A2samba, Brazil's iconic music and dance · masculine: o samba, despite the -aEle aprendeu a dançar samba com a avó.He learned to dance samba with his grandmother.
- capoeira /kapuˈejɾɐ/ B1capoeira, Afro-Brazilian art mixing martial art, dance and music · oei = [uej]Ela treina capoeira três vezes por semana no projeto social.She trains capoeira three times a week at the community project.
- feijoada /fejʒuˈadɐ/ A2feijoada, black-bean and pork stew served with rice and orange · j = [ʒ]Sábado tem feijoada na casa da minha sogra.On Saturday there's feijoada at my mother-in-law's house.
- churrasco /ʃuˈʁasku/ A2Brazilian barbecue, the classic weekend gathering · ch = [ʃ], rr = [ʁ]Domingo vamos fazer um churrasco lá em casa.On Sunday we're having a barbecue at our place.
- novela /noˈvɛlɐ/ A2TV soap opera, a Brazilian institution · false friend: not "novel" (that's romance); open [ɛ]Minha avó não perde a novela das nove por nada.My grandma never misses the nine o'clock soap opera for anything.
- forró /fɔˈʁɔ/ B1forró, dance music from Brazil's Northeast, star of the June festivals · both o's open [ɔ]Na festa junina, a gente dança forró a noite inteira.At the June festival, we dance forró all night long.
- sertão /seʁˈtɐ̃w̃/ B1the sertão, dry backlands of Brazil's Northeast interior · nasal diphthong [ɐ̃w̃]; same root as música sertanejaMeu avô nasceu no sertão da Bahia.My grandfather was born in the sertão of Bahia.
- pagode /paˈgɔdʒi/ B1pagode, laid-back samba style sung at backyard get-togethers · de = [dʒi], open [ɔ]Sábado tem pagode no quintal do vizinho.On Saturday there's pagode in the neighbor's backyard.
- torcida /toʁˈsidɐ/ B1crowd of fans, supporters (collective noun) · from torcer "to root for"A torcida cantou o jogo inteiro no Maracanã.The fans sang through the whole match at the Maracanã.
FAQ
How many Brazilian Portuguese brazilian culture words are in this list?
10 words, including A2: 5, B1: 5. Every word has playable native audio and example sentences.
Are these words CEFR-graded?
Yes — every word carries its CEFR level (A1–C2), so you can start with the level you need.
What is the best way to memorise them?
Scene groups plus spaced repetition: listen, repeat, learn the word inside its example sentence, then review the next day. Bossa has SRS and four quiz types built in.