Vocabulary lesson: Instrumentos Musicais em Português

Bom dia! I was preparing a post about chorinho and thought that it would be a good idea to introduce you to the vocabulary of musical instruments in Portuguese first.  I also have a couple of very nice students who are musicians who may find this useful.

If you are a beginner, don't worry too much if you don't understand a lot of the words in the readings and video, just get as much as you can. If you are an intermediate student, this may be perfect for you. If you are an advanced speaker of Portuguese, you may still learn a new word or two... and I follow the links to some readings that are more advanced.

Parte I: Os Instrumentos Musicais

Aqui estão alguns instrumentos músicais:

 

 violão, violino, piano e flauta

Esses intrumentos são parecidos (similares), mas são diferentes:

Note que a guitarra é elétrica e o violão geralmente é acústico. O cavaquinho é bem pequenininho.

Aqui estão outros instrumentos:

trombone                       saxofone                       clarineta

                                     gaita

bateria

 
                 pandeiro                                                                                 sanfona


O pandeiro é muito importante no samba e a sanfona é muito importante no forró.
O Slash (dos Guns and Roses) toca guitarra e o João Gilberto toca violão.
Você sabia que o Woody Allen toca clarineta?


Atividades:
Responda as perguntas (answer whichever ones you can):
a. Você toca algum instrumento musical?
b. Você tem algum instrumento musical?
c. Qual é o seu instrumento favorito?
d. Qual dos instrumentos acima é maior (mais pesado)?
e. Qual dos instrumentos acima é menor (mais leve)?
f. Qual instrumento o Kenny G. toca?
g. Dê o nome de um instrumento que é importante no samba.
h. Dê o nome de um instrumento que é importante no jazz.
i. Dê o nome de um instrumento que é importante no rock.
j. Dê o nome de um instrumento que é importante na bossa nova.

Jogue esse jogo sobre instrumentos. Fale o nome dos instrumentos em voz alta.

Opcional: leia esse artigo sobre instrumentos importantes na música brasileira (if you can, don't worry if don't understand everything. Beginners may just read the name of the instruments matched with the drawings) .

Desafio (challenge): play a game of forca (hangman), where all words are instrumentos músicais. (Don't worry if you don't know all of the words in the game: I and a lot of Brazilians wouldn't know all those words ourselves!)


PARTE II: Os instrumentos do Choro

Essa parte é sobre os instrumentos importantes no choro. Para saber um pouco sobre o choro, veja as links no meu artigo sobre o choro.

Atividades:

Leia o artigo Os instrumentos do choro (if you can, don't worry if don't understand everything. Beginners may just read the name of the instruments matched with the drawings).

Advanced students: leia este artigo.

Conecte o nome do instrument com a foto:

Exemplo:
Violão de seis cordas: _1__

cavaquinho: ___
bandolim:___
violão:___
flauta: ___
pandeiro ___

O seguinte vídeo sobre um instrumento importante no choro, no samba e no pagode. Adivinha qual é o instrumento!

Aqui está o vídeo, com perguntas para responder (the host of the quiz doesn't support Portuguese characters, so there are no acentos in the quiz :-( ). Click here to see the complete test.


(If you are a my student in a class or private lessons, ask me for a code to share your results or grab it from our private wiki).

Gente! O Eduardo Sant'Anna não é incrível?

Opcional: leia as partes do violão e escute o vídeo de novo. Você consegue reconhecer alguma parte?

 Now that you know the names of the instruments used in chorinho,  enjoy some of the music!

Portuguese for the world Cup -Part 1: Basic Conversation Soccer Terms

Even if you are in the US, chances are that you have heard about the hype about the Copa do Mundo (The FIFA Soccer World Cup). Whenever the Copa comes up, it is also likely that you hear at least some talk about Brazil (since Brazil is the only country to have participated in all world cups, the only one to have won 5 times and the top country in historical ranking... ok, I'll stop now...). .. Even if you are not crazy about futebol, it is nice to add a little soccer vocabulary to your Portuguese, since it is so present in Brazilian culture.

The game (Brazil x Chile) is starting really soon, so I will make this a quick starting post, with more coming later. Here are a couple of terms you may hear if you go watch it in a bar or a Brazilian friend's house to get you started:

1. Basic terms:

Copa (do mundo) - world cup
Futebol - soccer

Partida/ jogo - match/game
Assistir - watch
bola (de futebol) - (soccer) ball
jogador - player

Exercises:

1. Make sentences with each of the words above, until you have used all the words (not necessarily in the same sentence). If you are a beginner, you may still be able to make very simple sentences slightly modifying the examples. Example: 

Kaká é um jogador de futebol.

Eu não assisto todos os jogos da copa do mundo.

O meu amigo tem uma bola de futebol.

2. Answer if you can:

a. Que é o seu jogador favorito?

b. Você está assistindo os jogos da copa do mundo?

c. Qual foi a sua partida favorita?

d. Você tem uma bola de futebol?


2. Torcer (para)

The verb for cheer is torcer (use it with para to say who you are cheering for). E.g.:

Torcer (para):

Para quem você está torcendo?
Who are you cheering?

Eu estou torcendo para o Brasil.

I am cheering for Brazil.

Eu estava tocendo para o México.

I was cheering for Mexico yesterday.

You can also use this verb to say which team you support in general:

Na copa do mundo, eu sempre torço para o Brasil, mas a minha esposa torce para a Argentina.
In the world cup, I always support (cheer for) Brazil, but my wife supports Argentina.

Eu torço para o Lakers.
I support the Lakers/ I'm a Laker's fan.

Exercises: 

a. Make 2 sentences saying which teams you support in any sport you like. 

b. Make 3 sentences saying which teams people you know support.

c. Practicing asking someone which team they are cheering for.

3. Soccer terms:

If you know a little bit about soccer you may like to know these terms. I took them straight from this nice article (which teaches English soccer terms to Portuguese speakers):

• Escanteio – Corner kick
• Árbitro – Referee
• Técnico – Coach ou Team Coach
• Atacante – Striker
• Zagueiro – Defender
• Lateral – Winger
• Goleiro – Goalkeeper
• Meio campo – Midfielder
• Impedimento- Offside
• Lateral (cobrança) – Throw-in
• Penalti – Penalty kick
• Torcedor – Supporter/fan
• Bandeirinha – Linesman

Exercises:

This exercise is only recommended for those  into soccer and it may be a nice prep before watching a game (assuming Brazil wins today :-)).

1. Do a little research and describe in Portuguese sentences, using the terms above:

     a. The Brazilian team in a recent game;

     b. Either (i) the team you support (if not Brazil); (ii) a team you recently watched, or; (iii) the team who is next playing Brazil.

E.g.:

    O Dunga é o tecnico do Brasil.

This should give you a little bit to start speaking a little Portuguese on the next game... For now, see you after Brazil x Chile!

A Great Website for Portuguese for Spanish Speakers

If you know Spanish, learning Portuguese is really great! You get a ton of vocabulary and grammatical structures for free, which you can use very soon after learning some basics on the pronunciation. (If you have not heard much Portuguese yet, you may try just reading some text first, to start appreciating the similarities)... but it is not all easy: since the languages are so similar, it is very easy to get confused where they do differ. It can be really tricky to separate them (to have an idea on the types of differences you can have a look here (written in Spanish)).

Because of that, it is very useful for Spanish speakers to learn through a program especially for them, focusing on speeding up on the similarities and giving you a lot of practice on the differences. This is exactly what you can find at Tá Falado, an excellent resource including podcast lessons and notes put up by the University of Texas Language Technology Center... and it is all free too. Definitely worth a try for the Spanish speakers.

A final note before you start: I find from observing myself and my students that the hard part is not to understand what the differences are. The real challenge is to remember them when you are speaking. So don't just read the notes at Tá Falado and consider yourself done: really practice each lesson extensively so that it becames part of your speech.

'Ter' versus 'estar com'

We have seen the difference between ser and estar... Ter and estar com form another pair that can be confusing, this time for both English and Spanish speaking learners.

Like in Spanish, to say you are cold, hungry, sleepy etc., in formal Portuguese you use ter (have):

Tenho frio/ calor/ fome/ sono. (Written Portuguese)
Tengo frio/ calor/ hambre/ sueño. (Spanish)
I am cold/hot/hungry/tired.

... though we sometimes see this in written text, it sounds very unnatural. In spoken Brazilian Portuguese, it is much more natural to use estar com to say these things:

Eu estou com frio/calor/fome/sono.

[Suggestion: At this point, you may try to make simple phrases on your own now using estar com with different persons (você, a gente, eles...) and different words you may know (frio, medo, sede, raiva, muita pressa, vontade de comer chocolate)... If that is easy, try making up small dialogues using other expressions you may know, e.g.:

João: Você quer água?
Maria: Quero sim. Eu estou com muita sede.]

The main difference between the two is very similar to the difference between ser and estar: In general, Ter is more appropriate to express conditions that are somewhat permanent, whereas estar com is best for temporary states. (... so since frio/calor/fome/sono above are things that are normally temporary, estar com is the best form to be used with them). We can see this more clearly from the following examples:

Eu tenho medo de cachorro.
I am (always/permanently) afraid of dogs.

Eu estou com medo daquele cachorro.
I am afraid of that dog (right now).

Ele tem raiva de todos os politicos.
He is (permanetly) angry at all politicians. ( since he hates all politicians)

Ele está com raiva da Maria, mas vai passar.
He is angry at Maria, but it will pass.

This can also happen in cases indicating possession:

Eu tenho um carro importado.
I have/own an imported car.

Eu estou com um carro importado hoje, emprestado do meu chefe.
I have (temporarily) an imported car today, borrowed from my boss.

Did you get the difference? Now, you could practice by trying to make sentences that emphasize the difference (like the ones immediately above)... or you could do search for estar com to see how people use it on the Internet... Meanwhile, eu já vou: estou com fome!

'Ser' versus 'Estar'

The other day I got a question about ter and estar com from a student again and I thought it would be a great tip to post... but I thought I should back up to a quick look at the use ser and estar for early beginners first.

Just as a quick reminder*, here is the conjugation for the verbs ser and estar in casual spoken Portuguese:

Eu sou
Você/ele/ela/a gente é
Nós somos
Vocês/eles/elas são

Eu estou or tô (common pronunciation in very casual speech)
Você/ele/ela/a gente está or tá
Nós estamos or tamos
Vocês/eles/elas estão or tão

Ser and estar can be most often translated as the verb be in English... Since there is is one word in English for two in Portuguese, no wonder English speaking learners get confused!

Similar to what happens in Spanish, the main idea (it works for most of the cases) is that ser is for intrinsic, somewhat permanent caracteristics, whereas estar is for temporary passing things. I have translated them roughly like that in the following examples, in case that helps (just to get the idea, in reality things are a little more subtle):

Meu nome é Ananda.
My name is (permanently/always) Ananda.

Eu sou brasileira.
I am (permanently/always) Brazilian.

Ele é casado.
He is is (somewhat permanently) married.
(note that in Spanish they use estar here... hmmm :-))

Eles estão cansandos.
They are (temporarily) tired. or They are tired (right now).

A Susan está na academia.
Susan is (temporarily) at the gym. or Susan is at the gym (right now).

The difference between the two is sometimes jokingly used by Brazilians:

Joana: Nossa Maria! Você está bonita!
Wow Maria! You are beautiful!

Maria: Eu não ESTOU bonita, eu SOU bonita.
I am not (temporarily) beautiful, I am (permanently/always) beautiful.

So this is the main idea on ser and estar. When you feel that you have enough practice on this or if this is all old news to you, come back for a post on ter versus estar com.

*Note: If you haven't learnt anything about the verbs ser or estar before, I recommend learning them in a more natural setting, such as part of a conversation first, rather than going straight for the grammar. This post is intended to those who have at least heard these verbs enough to get confused :-).

5 Ways to Get Started Learning Portuguese On Your Own

Have you decided or at least thought about learning Portuguese, maybe a while ago, but you don't know a word of it yet? Here are a couple of things you could do right now, without the help of a Portuguese teacher:

1. Get a Teach Yourself Book with audio.You could order one right now from an online vendor... or you could just take a walk and go get a copy from the library for free. There are a lot of books out there that would probably use to get started (check out some possibilities here). I find the Teach Yourself and Living Language books to do a decent job at it (I usually don't use them when I am teaching, and if I do, I find myself doing little corrections and using other sources all the time... but I think they are great if you are doing it on your own), covering basic expressions, conversation with some grammar and cultural notes... If you just want to start by picking up some quick phrases, I find Pimsleur audiobooks to be really great.

A couple of things you should have on your check list: make sure you get a book with accompanying audio, otherwise it will be really tough to pronounce things correctly (even if they try to explain it with phonetic spelling...)... and make sure to get the correct version of Portuguese (if you are here, you are probably going for Brazilian), as Portuguese from Brazil and from Portugal are quite different.

2. Try Language Learning Software.

There are also courses you can do on your computer and it seems that new ones will keep coming up. As with teach yourself style books, language learning software often offers structured programs with progressive ordered lessons you can do in your own pace, but with extras like integration of audio with the text, more interactivity etc... I recommend Mango Languages (Ok, so I work with these guys... but the recommendation is legit :-))... Another very popular option is Rosetta Stone.

3. Look up websites for beginners.You probably already know it: there are tones of stuff on the Internet for free. You could learn some quick words, do one of many quick basic courses around, including a the ones in this great collection of resources. The great thing is that you can start immediately, and for free!... The downside is that these sites are often put up by well intentioned speakers/ learners who may not know much about language teaching, so the content and pedagogy may be all over the place. Unlike teach yourself books and computer software, these are often not well organized into lessons... so I recommend doing 3 in combination with 1, 2 or a teacher (but you could definitely get started now, while you wait for your book to arrive!).

4. Try one of the lessons on YouTube.

As with the websites mentioned in 3, there is a lot of material teaching Portuguese available for free... though here things are really messy! Search for "Portuguese Lesson" and similar term and you will find some potentially funny and other bizarre stuff, as well as lessons. Content and quality varies a lot and, as far as I have seen, tends not to be structured enough to be your main source of learning for a long time... but you can certainly use it to complement your learning or to get started right now! Here are a couple of videos that you may try.

5. Sign Up for a Podcast.

A couple of my students swear by this method (and I can actually see that they have learnt a lot this way!). There seem to be a couple great podcasts out there, mostly free and available immediately! Some of them do offer some structured lessons and are presented in the context of conversations, similar to the basic organization that you often find in self-paced teach yourself books and learning software that I have been mentioning. BrazilianPodClass and BrazilianPortuguesePod seem worth a try.

Now you can just pick one of these 5 and finally start!

P.s.: Let me know how you go (even using your newly acquired Portuguese if you want!).