Index / Language / Records / Portuguese / Regional dialects
Carioca Portuguese
The Brazilian accent of television and the beach. The s turns to sh, the r turns to h, and t and d before i become ch and j.
Rio de Janeiro
6sound rules21words and phrases11everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1The s at the end of a syllable sounds like sh
The single biggest Carioca marker. Before a consonant or at the end of a word, s and z sound like the English sh, or zh before a voiced sound.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| féshta | festa | party |
| doish | dois | two |
| mêjmo | mesmo | same, really |
| ash coisash | as coisas | the things |
NoteStart here. It is what Brazilians imitate when they do a Carioca.
S2The r at the start and the double rr sound like h
Rio itself starts with an h sound. The same h appears at the end of a syllable, so mar sounds like mah.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Hiu | Rio | Rio |
| cahu | carro | car |
| hua | rua | street |
| pohta | porta | door |
S3T and d before an i sound become ch and j
Shared with most of Brazil, but strong here. Final -te and -de count, because the final e sounds like i.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| chia | tia | aunt |
| jia | dia | day |
| noichi | noite | night |
| verdaji | verdade | truth |
S4Final e and o close to i and u
Unstressed vowels at the end of a word rise, which is what triggers the ch and j above.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| leichi | leite | milk |
| tudu | tudo | everything |
| bonitu | bonito | pretty |
S5Estar gets cut down
Tô, tá and tamo carry most everyday sentences, and você shrinks to cê.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| tô cansado | estou cansado | I'm tired |
| tá bom | está bom | it's fine, OK |
| cê vai? | você vai? | are you going? |
| tamo junto | estamos juntos | we're in this together |
S6Tu with the você verb
Cariocas say tu, but with the verb form that goes with você. Correct-sounding tu vais is heard as Portuguese or formal.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| tu vai? | tu vais? | are you going? |
| tu quer? | tu queres? | do you want some? |
| tu viu? | tu viste? | did you see? |
Words and phrases
21 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Greetings and fillers
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| e aí? | e aí? | what's up?casual |
| beleza? | beleza? | all good?casual |
| valeu | valeu | thanks / cheers / byecasual |
| mermão | meu irmão | brocasual |
| tá ligado? | está ligado? | you know? you get me?casual |
| partiu | partiu | let's gocasual |
| caraca! | caraca! | wow!casual |
W2Describing things
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| maneiro | maneiro | coolcasual |
| sinistro | sinistro | awesome (literally "sinister")casual |
| irado | irado | amazingcasual |
| a parada | a parada | the thing, the situationcasual |
| bolado | bolado | upset, annoyedcasual |
| zoar | zoar | to mess about, to teasecasual |
W3Beach and boteco
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| o mate | o mate | iced mate tea sold on the beachneutral |
| biscoito Globo | biscoito Globo | the puffed beach biscuitneutral |
| o chope | o chope | draught beerneutral |
| a saideira | a saideira | the last roundcasual |
| o calçadão | o calçadão | the beachfront promenadeneutral |
W4No filter
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| porra! | porra! | damn!vulgar |
| caralho! | caralho! | damn! (stronger)vulgar |
| otário | otário | sucker, idiotinsult |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1On the beach
Everything comes to you: chairs, drinks and food.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Me vê um mate e um biscoito | Me vê um mate e um biscoito | a mate and a biscuit, please |
| Quanto é a cadeira? | Quanto é a cadeira? | how much is the chair? |
| Bota na conta | Põe na conta | put it on the tab |
| Vou dar um mergulho | Vou dar um mergulho | I'm going for a swim |
L2At the boteco
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Me vê um chope | Me vê um chope | a draught beer, please |
| Desce mais uma | Desce mais uma | another round |
| Fecha a conta pra gente? | Fecha a conta para nós? | can we have the bill? |
| Essa é a saideira | Essa é a saideira | this is the last one |
L3Getting around
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| o metrô / o ônibus | o metrô / o ônibus | the metro / the bus |
| Vou de Uber | Vou de Uber | I'm getting an Uber |
| Desce no próximo ponto | Desce no próximo ponto | get off at the next stop |