False friends: Portuguese–English

47 words that look like English and mean something else. This list is built the other way round from the usual ones: on the left is what you want to say, next to it the Portuguese word for it — and only then the trap. If all you know is what a word does not mean, you are still stuck in the conversation.

Everyday

The pairs that turn up in your first conversations.

You mean	That is	Not this one	Because that means
push	empurrar	puxar	to pull
Puxa a porta com força, que está presa.Pull the door hard — it’s stuck.The two words on a door are puxe (pull) and empurre (push) — and the one that looks like «push» is the other one.
parents	os pais	os parentes	relatives
No Natal vêm todos os parentes da minha mulher.All my wife’s relatives come over at Christmas.Os pais covers mother and father together, just as os irmãos can mean brothers and sisters.
exquisite	requintado, delicioso	esquisito	strange, odd
Este leite tem um sabor esquisito.This milk tastes funny.Tell your host the food was esquisita and you have called it weird. The compliment is estava ótimo or delicioso.
constipated	com prisão de ventre	constipado	having a cold
Estou constipado e passo o dia a espirrar.I’ve got a cold and I’m sneezing all day.In Portugal uma constipação is an ordinary head cold. In Brazil the word is usually taken in the English sense, so this is one of the pairs where the two countries part ways.
library	a biblioteca	a livraria	bookshop
Comprei este livro numa livraria da Baixa.I bought this book in a bookshop in the Baixa.
rope	a corda	a roupa	clothes
Tenho de passar a roupa a ferro para amanhã.I’ve got to iron my clothes for tomorrow.
exit	a saída	o êxito	success
O concerto foi um êxito.The concert was a great success.The sign over the door says saída; the emergency exit is a saída de emergência.
lunch	o almoço	o lanche	afternoon snack, tea
Ao lanche comemos pão com manteiga e bebemos um copo de leite.At teatime we had bread and butter and a glass of milk.The word did come from English, but it moved to the middle of the afternoon on the way. Lunch is a proper meal and is o almoço.
large	grande	largo	wide; (as a noun) a small square
A avenida é larga e tem árvores dos dois lados.The avenue is wide and lined with trees on both sides.As a noun o largo is a small town square — o Largo do Carmo in Lisbon is one. Long is comprido.
mayor	o presidente da câmara	maior	bigger, greater
Lisboa é maior do que o Porto.Lisbon is bigger than Porto.A Portuguese town is run by a câmara municipal, so its mayor is o presidente da câmara.
stranger	o desconhecido	o estrangeiro	foreigner
Metade dos alunos da turma são estrangeiros.Half the pupils in the class are foreigners.No estrangeiro means «abroad»: vive no estrangeiro há dez anos.
novel	o romance	a novela	soap opera; (in literature) novella
A minha avó não perde a novela das nove.My gran never misses the nine o’clock soap.On television it is short for telenovela. A novel you read is um romance.
costume	o traje; o disfarce	o costume	custom, habit
É costume jantar tarde em Portugal.In Portugal people usually have dinner late.A theatre costume is o traje, fancy dress o disfarce. Como de costume is «as usual».
fact	o facto	o fato	suit
Foi ao casamento de fato e gravata.He went to the wedding in a suit and tie.European Portuguese keeps the c in facto because it is pronounced. Brazil dropped it, so there fato means «fact» and a suit is um terno. Um fato de banho is a swimming costume.
college	a faculdade, a universidade	o colégio	school (usually a private one)
Os miúdos andam num colégio perto de casa.The kids go to a school near home.
to record	gravar	recordar	to remember, to look back on
Gosto de recordar as férias em família.I like looking back on our family holidays.A recording is uma gravação; to record a programme is gravar.
notice	o aviso	a notícia	piece of news
Vi a notícia no telejornal.I saw the story on the evening news.A notice on a wall is um aviso; «until further notice» is até novo aviso.

At work

What goes wrong in a meeting, an e-mail or an application.

You mean	That is	Not this one	Because that means
pasta	a massa	a pasta	folder; briefcase
Guarda as faturas na pasta azul.Keep the invoices in the blue folder.Spaghetti and all its relatives are massa. A pasta de dentes is toothpaste.
office	o escritório	o ofício	official letter; trade
Recebemos um ofício da câmara sobre as obras.We had an official letter from the council about the building work.
agenda (of a meeting)	a ordem de trabalhos	a agenda	diary
Vou apontar a reunião na agenda.I’ll put the meeting in my diary.
billion	mil milhões	o bilião	a million million
Em Portugal, um bilião é um milhão de milhões.In Portugal a «bilião» is a million million.European Portuguese kept the long scale. Brazil did not, and there um bilhão is a thousand million — a different spelling and a different number.
to attend	assistir a; frequentar	atender	to answer (the phone); to serve
Liguei três vezes e ninguém atendeu.I rang three times and nobody answered.A meeting or a match you assistir a; a school or a course you attend regularly, frequentar.
to assist	ajudar	assistir	to watch; to attend
Assistimos ao jogo num café.We watched the match in a café.With a and an event it means being there or watching it. Help is ajudar.
to realise	aperceber-se de, dar-se conta de	realizar	to carry out, to hold
A empresa realizou um inquérito aos clientes.The company carried out a survey of its customers.Só mais tarde me apercebi do erro — only later did I realise my mistake.
lecture	a palestra; a aula	a leitura	reading
A leitura é o meu passatempo preferido.Reading is my favourite pastime.A public lecture is uma palestra; at university it is simply uma aula.
application (for a job)	a candidatura	a aplicação	app; the applying of something
Descarreguei a aplicação do banco.I downloaded the bank’s app.You candidatar-se to a job and send in uma candidatura.
to introduce (a person)	apresentar	introduzir	to insert; to bring in
Introduza o cartão e marque o código.Insert your card and key in your PIN.Apresento-lhe a minha colega — may I introduce my colleague.
compromise	o meio-termo, a cedência	o compromisso	commitment; appointment
Hoje não posso, tenho um compromisso.I can’t today, I’ve got something on.
to resume	retomar	resumir	to summarise
Pode resumir o relatório numa página?Could you summarise the report on one page?O resumo is a summary, not a CV — that is o currículo.
to retire	reformar-se	retirar	to withdraw, to take away
Retirou a candidatura no último dia.She withdrew her application on the last day.In Portugal a pension is a reforma, and someone who has retired is reformado.
to anticipate	prever, contar com	antecipar	to bring forward
Antecipámos a reunião para segunda-feira.We brought the meeting forward to Monday.
prejudice	o preconceito	o prejuízo	loss; damage
A tempestade causou prejuízos em toda a costa.The storm caused damage all along the coast.In a company’s accounts o prejuízo is the loss, the opposite of o lucro.

Nearly right

Words that exist — just not for what you mean.

You mean	That is	Not this one	Because that means
sensible	sensato	sensível	sensitive
Tenho a pele muito sensível ao sol.My skin is very sensitive to the sun.A sensible decision is uma decisão sensata.
actually	na verdade, afinal	atualmente	currently, at present
Atualmente vivo em Coimbra.I live in Coimbra at the moment.Atual follows suit: o governo atual is the present government, not the real one.
eventually	por fim; acabar por	eventualmente	possibly, if need be
Eventualmente, podemos adiar a entrega.If need be, we can put the delivery back.«He eventually agreed» is acabou por concordar.
sympathetic	compreensivo, solidário	simpático	nice, friendly
A senhora da farmácia é muito simpática.The woman at the chemist’s is really nice.
preservative	o conservante	o preservativo	condom
Os preservativos vendem-se na farmácia.You can buy condoms at the chemist’s.On a food label: sem conservantes.
fabric	o tecido	a fábrica	factory
O meu pai trabalhou trinta anos na mesma fábrica.My father worked in the same factory for thirty years.
excited	entusiasmado	excitado	aroused; worked up
O cão fica excitado quando ouve a campainha.The dog gets worked up when it hears the doorbell.Said of a person, it is usually heard as sexual. Looking forward to something is estou entusiasmado com a viagem.
to pretend	fingir	pretender	to intend, to aim to
Pretendo mudar de casa no próximo ano.I intend to move house next year.
to support	apoiar	suportar	to bear, to stand
Não suporto o calor de agosto.I can’t stand the August heat.Supporting a football team is ser do: sou do Benfica.
educated	culto, instruído	educado	polite, well-mannered
É um rapaz muito educado: cumprimenta sempre toda a gente.He’s a very polite lad — he always says hello to everyone.
deception	o engano, a fraude	a deceção	disappointment
O filme foi uma deceção.The film was a let-down.
disgust	o nojo	o desgosto	grief, heartbreak
Teve um grande desgosto quando o cão morreu.She was heartbroken when the dog died.Something disgusting mete nojo.
intoxicated	embriagado	intoxicado	poisoned
Ficou intoxicado com marisco estragado.He got food poisoning from some bad shellfish.Uma intoxicação alimentar is food poisoning.
ingenuity	o engenho	a ingenuidade	naivety
A ingenuidade dela surpreende-me: acredita em tudo.I’m amazed at how naive she is — she believes anything.
fastidious	meticuloso, exigente	fastidioso	tedious, tiresome
Preencher estes formulários é um trabalho fastidioso.Filling in these forms is tedious work.

Everyday

At work

Nearly right

Try it yourself