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Paulistano Portuguese
The accent of Brazil's largest city and its business capital. Crisp s, a tapped r, and an Italian echo in neighbourhoods like Mooca.
São Paulo
6sound rules18words and phrases10everyday 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 stays an s
Unlike Rio, the s at the end of a syllable is a plain s. It is the quickest way to tell the two cities apart.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| mêsmo | mesmo | same, really |
| féssta | festa | party |
| doiss | dois | two |
S2The r after a vowel is tapped
Where Rio says an h, São Paulo city taps a light r. In the interior of the state it becomes a curled r close to American English, the caipira r.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| porta | porta | door (tapped r) |
| mar | mar | sea (tapped r) |
| porrta | porta | door (caipira r, interior) |
S3T and d before i still turn to ch and j
Shared with Rio.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| noichi | noite | night |
| jia | dia | day |
| chipo | tipo | like (filler) |
S4Plurals only on the first word
In casual speech the plural is marked once, on the article, and dropped from the noun.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| os menino | os meninos | the boys |
| duas cerveja | duas cervejas | two beers |
| as coisa tudo | todas as coisas | all the stuff |
NoteCommon everywhere in Brazil, but heard constantly in São Paulo. Not for writing.
S5A gente for we
A gente with a singular verb replaces nós in conversation.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| a gente vai | nós vamos | we're going |
| a gente se vê | nós nos vemos | see you |
| a gente tá chegando | nós estamos chegando | we're on our way |
S6Meu and mano open the sentence
The city's fillers. Orra, meu is the old Italian-Paulistano exclamation.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Meu, cê viu isso? | Você viu isso? | man, did you see that? |
| Mano, que trampo | Que trabalho | man, what a job |
| Orra, meu! | Nossa! | wow, man! |
Words and phrases
18 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Greetings and fillers
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| meu | meu | man, matecasual |
| mano / mina | irmão / moça | bro / girlcasual |
| firmeza? | tudo bem? | all good?casual |
| da hora | da hora | cool, greatcasual |
| suave | suave | chill, finecasual |
| pode crer | pode crer | for sure, rightcasual |
W2City life
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| o trampo | o trabalho | workcasual |
| o rolê | o passeio | an outing, going outcasual |
| a balada | a balada | a night out, a clubcasual |
| o farol | o semáforo | the traffic light (Rio says sinal)neutral |
| o busão | o ônibus | the buscasual |
| a treta | a treta | drama, a fightcasual |
| a zica | a zica | bad luckcasual |
W3Food
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| o pingado | o pingado | coffee with a splash of milkneutral |
| o pão na chapa | o pão na chapa | buttered bread toasted on the griddleneutral |
| a bolacha | a bolacha | biscuit (Rio says biscoito)neutral |
| o pastel de feira | o pastel de feira | fried pastry from the street marketneutral |
| a coxinha | a coxinha | chicken croquetteneutral |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the padaria
The bakery is also the breakfast bar and the lunch counter.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Me vê um pingado e um pão na chapa | Me vê um pingado e um pão na chapa | a coffee with milk and toast, please |
| Quanto deu? | Quanto deu? | how much is it? |
| Pode passar no débito? | Pode passar no débito? | can I pay by debit card? |
L2Getting around
Traffic sets the timetable.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Pego o metrô e depois o busão | Pego o metrô e depois o ônibus | I take the metro and then the bus |
| o bilhete único | o bilhete único | the transit card |
| Tá o maior trânsito | Está muito trânsito | the traffic is terrible |
| Vira no próximo farol | Vire no próximo semáforo | turn at the next light |
L3Going out
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Bora num rolê? | Vamos dar uma volta? | want to go out? |
| Vai ter balada hoje | Vai ter balada hoje | there's a night out tonight |
| Fechou! | Combinado! | deal! |