Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive 01	50		2002/04/14, 08:56 am
	Archive 02	50		2002/08/16, 02:48 pm
	Archive 03	50		2005/06/10, 12:02 am

Things you might be called or told by garotas

gostoso = like you
adoro = adore (that's what you want to hear from garota)
gatinho, katchinho = little cat
safado, safadinho, cachorro = dog (good or bad depending on situation)
eu queiro voce = i want you
voce nao me quis = you did not want me (with girl acting sad on your shoulders)
voce foi rui = you were a jerk (I try to put distance in that case)
sento saudade, tenho saudade = yearn for you (you want to hear that, my favorite word in portuguese saudade)
legal, simpatico = nice person
vai com deus = goodbye

Here is an excellent 80,000 word "talking" dictionary on cd-rom. It gives the definition and pronounces the word, as well. Probably is more Portugal Portuguese (the English is more British English) but still mighty useful for learning the pronunciation of words. And it's six dollars plus shipping: Collins Portuguese - English Talking Dictionary CD.

glub glub = CIM?

CIM + swallowing

What does it mean when brasileiros write:

Fui!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And is ky jelly use by a gp a big deal -- a big negative point that is important to mention? If so, why?

Minor adjustments to Athos post;

Castanho=Brown; Mel is honey colored as mentioned;
Vai com Deus=go with god; A nice way of saying goodby
Legal also is used to mean "cool", "neat"

Fui! = "I'm gone"... brazilian equivalent of L8R (later)

Soccer
The use of K&Y by a braziliera suggests that she isn't into the session enough to get wet. That's a big negative in a country that expects perfection from women.
DG

lol, this number accounts for over 50% of the women i am with in brazil! (girls who use ky when sessioning). I need to get on them about that! then again, if you are banging 4-6 guys a day, i can understand, much in the same way i might need viagra after banging six girls in a day

morrendo de saudades...........

Which hole the garota is using the KY to lubricate may be a factor, 'cause one doesn't lubricate itself, even if she's into it.

Last week at a terma, there was a song where singer was telling to have her ass eaten.
I am used to ask garotas to lick my ass "voce beija o meu cuzinho?" but in the song singer was using comer as in "Come meu cul", eat my ass. Can someone confirm which way is proper?

i think the right way to say it is chupe meu cu.

I also found this online
comer (verb) † to fuck note Normally used as the verb 'to eat', comer can also be used in the same way as foder.

So maybe the singer was saying fuck her in the ass, not lick.

(Message edited by gr8ter on June 08, 2005)

Gr8ter is right. Comer meu cu is fuck my ass. If you want her to lick your ass try "vá você faz beijos negros"

my understanding of the portuguese language is:

Comer meu cu = To eat my ass

vá você faz beijos negros = you do black kisses

chupe meu cu = suck my ass.

semantics

Diversity,

You are giving literal translation to slang expressions. It doesn't work.

Anyone use Rosseta Stone software to learn Portuguese? Good enough to justify the cost?

I used Rosetta Stone to supplement Pimsleur. Frankly, I don't see how one could really learn Portuguese from Rosetta Stone alone. I didn't use it diligently though and maybe I've missed something about how to best use that program. With that said, I found Pimsleur a much better way to go, at least initially.

Thanks, Laguy. I've got the first set of Pimsleur and was wondering what was good to go with from there. Sounds like Rosetta is worthwhile, but not enough in your opinion?

Again keeping in mind have have not had the time to use Rosetta Stone as much I would like, it is probably a good thing to have assuming both you are also proceeding with Pimsleur (including going to the next Pimsleur level) and aren't on a strict budget. But I would defer to anyone who has more experience with Rosetta Stone as to how effective it really is.

I have just purchased Linkword to help expand my vocabulary. My spoken skills are getting better but i notice i use the same words over and over again. what a bore i must be .. will write back and let u know if its worthwhile.

- LB

Learning a new language is tough...there are no easy ways. The various "drill and kill" methods give you a start, but generally leave you with a handful of stock phrases.

Here's my experience: I found Pimsleur to be a good starting place. The CDs give you an opportunity to hear Portuguese spoken, albeit much more slowly than it is spoken in actual practice, but it allows you to learn the sounds contained in the language. It's not enough to just listen to the tapes/CDs; you have to speak along in order to learn how to produce some of the sounds (esp. the nasalized vowels) that don't exist in English or Spanish.

Pimsleur (or Rosetta Stone) provide you with a very limited vocabulary, so another thing you'll want to do is build your vocabulary. I use a computer-based flash card program, and have entered a few thousand words thus far. I started with about 600 verbs that are commonly used, and also created groups of related words (body parts, household objects) to study. I also developed lists of common adjectives and adverbs and studied these.

Portuguese, like English, is an idiomatic language, so you have to learn lots of idioms and set phrases. These are more difficult to learn, but a really good dictionary will contain many of these.

Next, I realized I needed to take Portuguese grammar more seriously. People get tired of listening to you speak in the first person present tense all the time. So I picked up some grammar texts, a tape/book course by Barron's that includes a decent dose of grammar, and began studying grammar in earnest. Writing helps alot, and I practiced writing in various tenses to Brasilian friends who were willing to help me out. Learning to conjugate tenses on the fly in normal conversation is a challenge, so I took a couple of Portuguese courses in Brasil that involved building both oral and written grammatical skills. Nothing helps more than being in a situation where you have to speak the language and you get feedback on your mistakes.

In my next update of the Rio Guide I'm going to add more advanced info on learning Portuguese, as I've found some useful material over the past year.

My experience is somewhat similar to BD's. I had a good Spanish background, from high school (really nothing more than basic understanding of the algorythms of sentence structure), so I could parallel that much to Portuguese.

I did the first disc or two of Pimsluer, and had many Brasilian friends to coach me when I had questions.

But what really got me to the next level (using the Pimsluer as the base) was conversing with gf's on messenger, having a webpage translator open at the same time to translate words at a time (not phrases nor sentences) - I like freetranslation.com - and having a book that does a good job of illustrating verb conjugation for past and present tense (future is merely combining 'to go' with a verb). Of course, if you can do in person time instead of over the web time you'll learn to listen and learn the accents better... but using the internet/messenger will do a better job of teaching you how to read/write, and the technicals of conjugation.

Hey BD, can you provide some more info on your flashcard program?? That's a great tool for building vocabulary - I'd love to have a progam like that.

Thanks for the advice, and suggestions. I can take courses for free at my university (my job has some advantages), but Portuguese is rarely offered (e.g., short summer sessions only right now).

The best way to learn Portuguese is to spend time in Brasil!

Short of that, I didn't get over the hump, even after three trips down, until I had about 10 hours with a tutor. At this point, I have the nasal sounds down ok, and am progressing pretty well. I yahoo with my GF every day, and that has helped greatly, but you need to hear and practice speaking whenever possible.

One big piece of advice - focus on verbs. Portuguese is much more verb-important than English. With English, if you get your nouns and adjectives down, you can be understood even if your verbs and/or tenses are off. I learned that in Brasil, verbs are paramount and as long as your pronunciation and verb usage is good, the rest is gravy.

I agree with Bwana, Cat, and others. You need to spend a great deal of time and learn Portuguese verb conjugations. The other main issues are with words that have more than a single meaning, pronouns, and the various types of idiomatic expressions. On my last trip, I took the advice of a fellow hombre who lives in Brazil and purchased an excellent textbook and workbook. If this linguistically challenged hombre can learn the language, than anyone can. Also, forcing yourself to watch a telenovela can help. (personally, I can't watch more than 10 minutes of the latest telenovela America without changing the channel). There is a great free online program that most Brazilians use called Dicionário de Sinônimos. The dictionary contains synonyms and conjugations for most common verbs. One of the great features with this dictionary is that you can create your own notes with each verb as you learn the language.

Dicionário de Sinônimos

List of Portuguese Textbooks


(Message edited by howard69stern on August 20, 2005)

For me the best way to improve my Portuguese was to take classes at local University taught by native speaker and learn all the grammar, go beyond using present tense with I and You conjugations.
Another great method is to have pen pals to exchange languages, garota learns English from you and you improve your Portuguese, best is to use messenger. Key is to find a garota who is dedicated in learning English and is not too young, here conversing with mid 20's beats a ninfa.
For those who have dishnetwork satellite provider, getting Globo tv is the way to go. Watch news and soaps.
Finally the best books do have everything you need to be fluent but I have found that hard for me to go that route as I tend to drop the book in a corner.
Pimsleur was a great starting point for me as I was able to pick up the pronunciation which is the key to learn Portuguese. To this day I think it is the most beaufiful language.

These are great books, forget the rest:
1. Falar Ler Escrever Portugues
Um curso para estrangeiros
Emma Lima, Samira Lunes
book specifically written for foreigners. There is also an exercise book. Expensive in the US, best is to buy it in Brazil, saving you 1/2 the cost.
2. A grammar of spoken Brazilian Portuguese
Earl Thomas
All time favorite as written in 1974, author tries to teach Portuguese the same way they teach kids in Brasil. Good book but tough to use as reference book as all over the place.
3. Using Portuguese
a Guide to Contemporary Usage
Ana Sofia Ganho and Timothy McGovern
Advanced level
4. Get also a dictionary.

Going to Brasil helps a lot but being dedicated and interested in learning will get you there.

I strongly agree with the others about learning the verbs.Learning to say something in the proper verb tenses,can make a big difference in the meaning of what you are trying to say.Its funny listening to guys talking in present tense for everything, I'm pretty sure it sounds more funny to the natives.Most of the garotas will compliment you on your portuguese right or wrong as part of the game.Don't put too much on what they say.Try saying one sentence in portuguese and see how many think you speak "very good portuguese" based on that alone.

The verbs are not that easy,but if you can at least learn the main ones(imho)(present,past,present continuous(estar+endo),future(using present and ir+verb),that would be a big boost.The other forms are more advanced and seem to be more used in written form.

Another good thing is to listen to the grammar/words the natives use when speaking,especially the ones you hear often.I usually make it a point to study up on those and add them to my vocabulary.

For those who don't have time or can't speak with Brasileiras via internet or in person or take lessons,etc...I would suggest Sonia portuguese.com grammar book.It's about $30, but worth it if your serious about learning more grammar and about the verbs.Also 501 verbs in portuguese book is good and can be found at most book store or library.

In the end the best way is to live and interact with the native speakers.But for most mongers,the very basics seem to be enough to have fun and thats what counts.

FLhobbyer-

The flashcard program I use is a Mac OS-specific program called iFlash. If anyone has a Mac and is interested, you can Google iFlash and find it. Costs next to nothing, and I'm happy to share my "decks" of Portuguese cards for free.

Damn, I don't have any Macs... if anyone finds a similar program for Windows let me know? I'm going to be teaching my girl English, and that would be a great aid instead of doing the old fasion index card flashcards which I'll have to do.

Last time I was in Brazil, I heard mulheres talking about periquitas in a termas. I thought they were talking about parakeets. I later discovered that periquita is another word for pussy.

Well they used to be called beavers but now with the shaving thing I guess that word is no longer appropriate. I suppose parakeets is in keeping with the animal analogy theme. Works for me.

Spend money to buy it, do the best you can to keep it caged, feed it and clean up it's shit, it chirps and makes a racket whenever it should be quiet, it'll bite your finger and in the end it flies away.

I got no problem with calling a GdP a parakeet, sounds pretty fucking accurate now that I think about it.

Trying to learn Portuguese... IS KICKING MY ASS !
My Spanish is ok, so I thought Portuguese is similar so how hard can it be. Well I found out. The pronunciation sounds alot like a combination of Spanish/Italian/and German mixed in. I just can't seem to commit the words to memory, I'm sure the fact that I suffer from C.R.S. (Can't Remember Shit) doesn't help. Will I be able to get by with Spanish?

German?

yes, I mean, some of the words sound like german pronunciation, no, in spanish is no, in german, its nine, in Portuguese it sounds like noun. And there are other words with a lot of sh or sch sounds seem like german influence to me. Are there any linguist out there who can speak on the root of the portuguese language.

Not a linguist, but the influence is not Germanic. Portuguese is a romance language, and probably most similar to Italian. The difference is Portuguese has more nasalized vowel sounds than any other language. That's why Spanish speakers have such a hard time understanding spoken Portuguese...it has all these nasal sounds that simply don't exist in Spanish. Brasilian Portuguese speakers are also infamous for "swallowing" the final consants (and sometimes syllables) of their words. Also, a lot of those "sh" or "sch" sounds are peculiar to the pronunciation of Cariocas (residents of Rio). I learned Portuguese in Rio, and my friends down south tease me mercilessly about my "sotaque carioca."

Even though there are lots of people of German descent in Brasil, they had no real influence on Brasilian Portuguese because they came relatively recently. So any similarity in sound is purely coincidental.

Keep working at it, LL. One key is to treat Portuguese as a language in it's own right rather than a variation of Spanish.

(Message edited by Bwana_dik on March 29, 2007)

(Message edited by Bwana_dik on March 29, 2007)

Thanks BW, I'm sure Brazilians resent the implication that there language is a form of spanish, I would too.

Can I get by with spanish and english?
By the way BW I downloaded you guide and printed it up. Great work! I hope your around when I get in, not everyone would go to the trouble you did to help to newbies. Drinks are on me!

If your Spanish is decent, the girls (and others, I suppose) will understand much of what you're saying. The problem comes when they talk, in Portuguese, and you don't have a clue what they're saying. English is, for the most part, not spoken. Many girls can carry on a 1-minute conversation in English:

What's your name?
Where are you from?
You like Brazil?
You want fuck me?

And most speak English fluently when it comes to negotiating prices. But otherwise you should expect to hear Portuguese spoken in most places. Some of the front desk attendants at the termas can tell you costs and such in English, but only at the larger termas.

Have fun. Practice your Portuguese. And I'll take those drinks when our paths cross.
BD

There's a Moorish influence as well, particularly on the r's in the middle of a word before a nasal sound. The first time I heard irmao with that very throaty harsh sound for the r - almost like you're clearing your throat - it reminded me of some arabic pronunciations.

Portuguese is an odd mix of sounds and spellings. Written looks a lot like Spanish but the spoken I think is much more like Italian, with a dose of French thrown in. Certainly no German, though, except maybe a few words the Goths threw in 1500 years ago.

I find that written Spanish and Portuguese are very similar. I almost always spot roots between the two. Pronunciations, however, are another thing entirely.

I met a Mexican national from Mexico City on one of my trips to Rio at Alcazar. He, obviously fluent in Spanish, said that most Brazilians understood him when he spoke Spanish, but he couldn't understand much when they spoke Portuguese.

When I am there and can't think of a word in Portuguese I usually slip in the Spanish word and am generally understood. Remember one of the most important Portuguese phrases to learn if you are truly interested in conversing is, "Can you speak a little slower please?" (It's been almost a year since I've been in Brazil and can't remember if this is correct, but here goes the translation attempt.)

Por favor, pode falar a pouco mais lento?

EA

Lento is slow, devegar is slowly, so you should use devegar.

Your translation above is, "please, are you able to speak to little more slow" which, I guess is close to accurate although more than a bit stilted.

I would just say "fale mais devegar, por favor" which would translate as "speak more slowly, please" with the polite subjunctive present tense of the verb.

Cat's got it, although it's consider more polite, when making a request, to not use the imperative form (same form as the subjunctive, but not actually considered using the subjunctive tense), so you'd say "Por favor, falo mais devagar." You use the imperative when giving an order as opposed to making a request (in Brasil).

You can use "lentamente" (slowly) instead of devagar if you wish.

El apodo-

Change "a" to "um" and "lento" to "lentamente" and you've got it.

Devegar came up in my mind, but I couldn't remember if it meant slowly or far away. Living in Mexico and speaking Spanish has caused most of my Portuguese to drift back into the nether regions of my mind. I guess I need another trip to Rio!

EA

subjunctive present tense of the verb? imperative form? subjunctive tense?
I'm Fuc_ked!
What are you guys, professors?
I had no idea the hobby had so many intelectuals.
It's clear to me now, if I like Rio, I will have to take a few courses in portuguese.

Lots of verb tenses to learn in Portuguese and verbs are more important than nouns.

El apodo-
I have the opposite problem. Spending so much time in Brasil has destroyed my Spanish. When I was in Ecuador in December I had to use a Portuguese/Spanish translator for my business. I understood the Spanish pretty well, but my Portuguese was not understood by the Ecuadorians, partly a reflection of the language differences and partly my shitty pronunciation!

LL-
I said the same thing at first. But if you learn just two tenses--present indicative and past preterite indicative (what we would call simple present and past tenses), you'll get along fine. 50% of Brazilians (and 90% of GdPs) can't use the subjunctive tense properly. The imperative form (not a tense) is worth knowing so you can give orders to your beloved: "Chupe meu pau." "Lamba meu cu, puta."

As long as we're on a language lesson, my two cents on verbs:

There are 18-20 tenses, depending on who's counting. I agree with Bwana that simple present and past will get you far, and the compound future like the favelado's use will cover the bases. Compound future = "vou falar" (I'm going to speak) instead of the simple "falarei" (I will speak). Compound future is the easiest of all tenses since you just use the present tense of go (vou, vai, vamos, vao) and the infinitive of whatever verb you want. No need to remember the different spellings of the simple future for the irregulars and three regular verb types, plus the always confusing accent placement and pronuncuations.

You also should learn the subjunctive present, which is used all the time in place of simple present. You also need to learn the past imperfect - "falava" (I used to speak) and the conditional "falaria" (I would/should speak).

Portuguese doesn't have helper auxillery verbs like should, would, could, may, might, will, etc. So that's why you need to learn 18-20 verb tenses, times 3 types of regular verbs, plus the irregulars. It shouldn't take you more than a year or two of intense study to have it all mastered.

Actually, Portuguese has a couple of auxiliaries that are used in very specific ways.

"Ter" is used as an auxiliary in combination with the participle. Examples: Tenho comido (I have been eating); Tinha comido (I had eaten); Teria comido (I would have eaten). This form can be used with any participle and is quite common.

More common is the auxiliary using some for of "Estar" followed by a gerund. Examples: Estou comendo (I am eating); Estivemos fodendo (We have been fucking); etc. This is very common in spoken and written Port.

One grammarian I know of treats "Ir" as an auxiliary when used with the infinitive as in Cat's examples above: Vou viajar (I'm going to travel), but he's been crucified by other grammarians because this is viewed as a corruption of the language rather than an actual grammatical form. It's a corruption because there exists a perfectly reasonable tense for expressing the simple future: "Viajará (I'm going to travel). But the truth is, everyone uses the shorthand version (ir + infinitive) to express future events when speaking. But educated people never use it when writing. Future tense can also be expressed by using the simple present tense when describing something that will happen in the very near future. If a person asks you when you are going to eat lunch, you can reply "Almoço em dez minutos" ("I'm going to eat in 10 minutes"--but literally translates as "I eat in 10 minutes") and that's as acceptable as "Almoçará em dez minutos."

So, LatinaLover. Aren't you glad you opened this can of worms?

(Message edited by Bwana_dik on March 30, 2007)

Ter and estar are used to form compound verbs but are not in fact auxiliary verbs. My technical writing class senior year always seems to come back to haunt me. Of course, that was part of my famous 7-credit final semester which consisted of Eng 420 (technical writing, 3 credits), Econ 450 (public choice theory, 3 credits) and Hth 331 (AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, 1 credit, half semester). Only Tues/Thurs classes, no classes on Mon, Wed and Fridays.

oooooooohhh, I hope they understand some really weak spanish.
Well its official, booked the flight on Continental out of Newark wed the 18th of april and leave Rio on the 24th of april. I'll have 9+ hours to cram those 18 to 20 tenses.
Side note: We were really looking forward to staying at the Portinari Design hotel but Ken informed me via e/m that they say they are girl friendly but it truth they are not. So we have elected to stay at the Ipanema Towers> Any thoughts?

I really recommend staying in Copa on your first trip. I love Ipanema Tower but you'll be far from the action and will need to cab it everywhere you go. The best advice for newbies remains as always - get a place on Atlantica or no more than a block or two inland fairly close to Help, since newbies always hang out there at night.

Bwana

>>>>Almoço em dez minutos" ("I'm going to eat in 10 minutes"--but literally translates as "I eat in 10 minutes") and that's as acceptable as "Almoçará em dez minutos."

Doesn't it really mean, "I lunch in 10 minutes"

"I'm going to eat in 10 minutes would be more like, "Vou comer em dez minutos" Right/wrong??

I guess you could say "Vou almocar em dez minutos" as well (I will/am going to lunch in 10 minutes). They don't "have" lunch. They "Lunch", They "dinner"

The meals always threw me off when I was studying and I made the mistake many, many times.

You and cat are much more the grammarians than I am though.

Bottom line: Eat something before your termas run...LOL

Sandman

I believe you are right as to lunch/dinner.

Interestingly, I believe also that contrary to lunch and dinner, one does not "breakfast". Instead one "takes" breakfast e.g. to take breakfast is "tomar cafe" or "tomar cafe de manha" (to take coffee of the morning).

But in all cases as you point out, you should eat first and save dessert for the termas.

>>>>Almoço em dez minutos" ("I'm going to eat in 10 minutes"--but literally translates as "I eat in 10 minutes") and that's as acceptable as "Almoçará em dez minutos."

Doesn't it really mean, "I lunch in 10 minutes"
-----
Excuse my typo above. I meant to say it means "I'm going to eat lunch in 10 minutes." Almoço has two forms: as a noun for "lunch" and as the first person present indicative form of almoçar (to eat lunch). In Port there are verbs for eating lunch and dinner (almoçar e jantar). SFHombre is correct about breakfast...it is taken, and there's no verb for "to eat (or have) breakfast."

The noun form of almoçar is used in this way:

Você pode fazer almoço? (Can you make lunch?)
-----
"I'm going to eat in 10 minutes would be more like, "Vou comer em dez minutos" Right/wrong??
_____
Yes, although you can say I'm going to eat in 10 minutes in three different ways, and all are correct:
Comerá em dez minutos.
Como em dez minutos.
Vou comer em dez minutos.

"Como em dez minutos" uses the present rather than future indicative verb form, but as I mentioned above, this form is common when you're talking about something that will happen in the near future. If you were talking about something to occur the following week, you would have to use one of the other two forms.

______
I guess you could say "Vou almocar em dez minutos" as well (I will/am going to lunch in 10 minutes). They don't "have" lunch. They "Lunch", They "dinner"
_____
My Port/English dictionaries, including the two Brasilian editions, variously translate "almoçar" as either "to eat lunch" or "to have lunch." So pick your translation.

My resident brasileira assures me, though, you would never say "Vou comer almoço" or "Vou ter almoço." It's not that these phrases are technically incorrect, but, in her words "it's stupid when you can just say "Vou almoçar.""

Same as above. You can say:
Almocará em dez minutos.
Almoço em dez minutos.
Vou almoçar em dez minutos.
The latter two versions are common in spoken Portuguese. The first is used only in wrtten Port.

_______

And thanks for the reminder about eating. That issue has been a real problem in the past. I just stocked up on protein bars for those occasions when stopping for a meal between termas simply isn't gonna happen.

But I always save dessert for the termas!

As a further curveball, to have a meal called almoco you need to have a sitdown hot meal. If you just have a sandwich you are having a lanche instead.

Of course, if you wait to have lunch real late, at 4:00 PM you would be having cafe de tarde.

So for all the newbies out there, there are about five different meals you could have per day: breakfast (cafe de manha), lunch (almoco or lanche depending on the food served), cafe de tarde (afternoon tea for the Brits on the board) and dinner (jantar)

Since we have a growing contingent from Alabama on the board these days, what's dinner for most of us supper for Southerners and hillbillies who call lunch "dinner". While supper is really a midnight snack we won't discuss that at all.

Now, if someone can just figure out what to call it when you wake up in the morning (magrudar or acordar) I would appreciate that info.

Cat-

I can help, as those verbs were discussed in my Port. class in POA. If you wake up VERY early (in the wee hours) you use madrugar. If you wake up at a more civilized hour, you use acordar. The phrase "de madrugada" means "in the early hours" and is contrasted with "de manhã" (in the morning).

Acordar is just means to wake up recardless of when. Madugar is to wake up (very) early. So in fact madrugar is : acordar cedo demais.

Yeah Bwana. I remember a TR about "don't forget to eat"! Wit a minute, I wrote it...LOL

It is an easy thing to forget when you are up to your ears in Br pussy huh?....Literally..he he!

Sandman,

I expect to be up to my ears in buceta brasileira in about 27 hours. Wish you could be there.

Coats001,

Exatamente, mano! Acordar means to wake up at any time, but if you wake up very early (acorda cedo demais) you usually madrugar.

So what is too early? My Portuguese professor in POA was a grad student and clearly into the POA nightlife. He said he would use the term for any time before 10 in the morning! But he suggested that "madrugada" refers to the hours between midnight and 6 a.m., so if you wake between those hours you can use "madrugar" and people will understand.

I believe that for GdPs anytime before noon would have to be considered madrugado.

Bwana, You are mistakenly using the second person in the future indicative. If you want to say "I will have lunch" you would say "almoçarei".

I have to agree with stayawayjoe.

Something that is helping me out tremendously in my ever ending quest to learn more Portuguese, is a Portuguese Podcast called Tá falodo. It is Portuguese for Spanish speakers but even if you don't know Spanish it is definetly a kool source of information and fun to listen to as well.

It's free and you can download them from the website or itunes and they have pdf files for the dialog of the conversation.

http://tltc.la.utexas.edu/brazilpod/tafalado/

OK, then its settled. After 36+ lessons on Pimsleur, I still won't know what the fuck they're saying in any of the tenses.

Bwana, I'm headed to airport now. I'll look for you and buy you that beer I promised. Take care and have a safe trip.

Oh after the 36 tapes, you'll know what they're saying on the tapes. But when you're in Brazil, unless somebody asks you the exact same questions you heard on the tapes, you won't have any idea how to respond to anything anybody says to you.

Thank god the only language we really need in Brazil is "green".

There are certainly a lot of tenses in Portuguese, and it can be intimidating. I starting learning Portuguese in Sep 2003, close to 3.5 years ago. I have found that if you just focus on a few basic verb tenses you can communicate fine. Those tenses are :

Present. Eu falo. I speak
Past: Eu falei I spoke
Past progressive: Eu estava falando. I was speaking.
Present progressive: Eu estou falando. I am speaking
Future: Eu vou falar. I am going to speak.

The only time I got into trouble is talking in the conditional. I would speak. Eu falaria. So I have been trying to work the conditional into my every day conversation. My personal opinion is that it is much important to focus on vocabulary than verb tenses. You can fake tenses in verbs, but it is much harder to fake a word that you don't know.

I practiced the 36 lessons over and over, and became fluent with the words used in those lessons. I spoke rapidly with pretty good pronunciation--so the Cariocas thought I actually spoke Portuguese. When they responded to me, like SF_Hombre says, I didn't have a clue what they were saying. I even had trouble recognizing the words I knew, since the native speakers were not as clear as the Pimsleur teachers.

But I did give me the ability to communicate somewhat, and I definitely recommend it as a start.

What does "falsa magra" mean? The dictionary is no help here.

It is someone that has thin arms and legs but still has a substantial bunda. Basically a nice or big ass without being fat.

or, put slightly differently...thin but with a decent bunda (seems skinny (magra) but isn't really skinny (falsa) where it counts)

Something tells me Soccer heard the phrase in a different context, but my favorite song from the "new" Jorge Benjor CD ("new" in quotations because most of the songs were recorded 20 years ago but never released until now) is "Falsa Magra," and I didn't have a clue what it meant. Thanks guys.

GCL and BD -- Thanks.
I read this term without knowing the meaning in many escort ads, but as LAG suggests, the song title pushed me over the edge to ask.

I love the terms used to describe girls on the Brasilian boards and in the escort ads. Terms like "falsa magra," "mignon," and "estilo namoradinha" are common, but a favorite term these days is "tipo aeromoça" which translates to "flight attendant type." Obviously, these brasileiros have never flown on United Airlines. For those of us flying US carriers, "tipo aeromoça" means 5'2", 190 lbs., gray hair, between 50-65 years old.

wich airline company is called jurrasic park?

On the other side of the coin, TAM between Sao Paulo and JFK (or Miami) usually has some "tipo aeromoca" eye candy on board.