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Vocabulary: Fruits and Vegetables in Portuguese

Thursday July 21st, 2022
Posted by: Amanda Ennes
Category: Learn the Portuguese Language and Portuguese Grammar

Exploring the food vocabulary in Portuguese will give you a great opportunity to discover new fruits and vegetables to try. After all, Brazil has a great variety of healthy aliments you can easily find in any supermarket or local fruit fair. Moreover, different from other countries, you can find fresh fruits and vegetables any day of the year in Brazil, making the habit of eating healthy ever more enjoyable.

Therefore, you can use this blog post both to increase your Portuguese vocabulary and learn about new fruits and vegetables to try.

Table of Contents

Vocabulary: Fruits

First of all, you must check our blog post on Brazilian fruits and where to buy them in Rio, in which we teach you all about the native fruits of Brazil.

Nonetheless, let’s check the most common fruits around the world, including those popular in Brazil, and what they are called in Portuguese.

Portuguese	English	Portuguese	English
Abacate	avocado	Maçã	apple
Abacaxi	pineapple	Mamão	papaya
Ameixa	plum	Manga	mango
Amora	mulberry	Maracujá	passion fruit
Banana	banana	Melancia	watermelon
Caqui	persimmon	Melão	melon
Carambola	star fruit	Mirtilo	blueberry
Cereja	cherry	Morango	strawberry
Coco	coconut	Pera	pear
Goiaba	guava	Pêssego	peach
Kiwi	kiwi fruit	Tangerina	tangerine
Laranja	orange	Toranja	grapefruit
Limão	lemon/lime	Uva	grape

Are you finding it weird to see avocados on this list? Well, avocado is technically a fruit, not a vegetable. And in Brazil, it is treated as so. Brazilians also use avocados to make smoothies, ice creams, desserts, creams, and more. Read our blog post 7 Brazilian Habits Foreigners Find to Be Weird.

Vocabulary: Vegetables

Portuguese	English	Portuguese	English
Abóbora	pumpkin/squash	Chuchu	chayote
Abobrinha	zucchini	Cogumelo	mushroom
Aipim/Mandioca	manioc/cassava	Couve de Bruxelas	brussels sprouts
Alcachofra	artichoke	Couve-flor	cauliflower
Alho poró	leek	Ervilha	pea
Arroz	rice	Feijão	bean
Batata	potato	Jiló	scarlet eggplant
Batata doce	sweet potato	Milho	corn
Berinjela	eggplant	Palmito	heart of palm
Beterraba	beetroot	Pepino	cucumber
Brócolis	broccoli	Pimentão	bell pepper
Cebola	onion	Tomate	tomato
Cenoura	carrot	Vagem	green bean

Vocabulary: Leafy Green Vegetables

We have a special name for leafy green vegetables in Portuguese: verduras, sometimes called hortaliças. These include lettuce, collard greens, arugula, and others. Let’s check.

Vocabulary: Herbs and Spices

Portuguese	English	Portuguese	English
Açafrão	saffron	Gengibre	ginger
Alho	garlic	Gergelim	sesame seed
Canela	cinamon	Louro	bay leaf
Cebolinha	chives	Manjericão	basil
Coentro	coriander	Noz-moscada	nutmeg
Cominho	cumin	Orégano	oregano
Cravo	clove	Páprica	paprika
Cúrcuma	turmeric	Pimenta-do-reino	black pepper
Erva-cidreira	lemon balm	Salsinha	parsley

Fruits and Vegetables in Portuguese: Pronunciation

Check the video below and learn the correct pronunciation for fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and herbs and spices in Portuguese.

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