False friends and habitual errors

Two lists: words that look like English but aren't, and mistakes English speakers make repeatedly.

Grammar

Nothing new. This chapter is a checklist to re-read after every other chapter.

Examples

False friends — English speakers

Portuguese	Looks like	Actually means	English word you wanted
`pretender`	pretend	to intend	`fingir`
`puxar` (POO-shar)	push	pull	`empurrar`
`esquisito`	exquisite	weird, odd	`requintado`
`pasta`	pasta	folder, briefcase	`massa`
`livraria`	library	bookshop	`biblioteca`
`parentes`	parents	relatives	`pais`
`assistir`	assist	to watch	`ajudar`
`realizar`	realise (notice)	to carry out	`perceber`
`atualmente`	actually	currently	`na verdade`
`eventualmente`	eventually	occasionally	`no final`
`costume`	costume	habit	`fantasia`
`injúria`	injury	insult	`ferimento`
`notícia`	notice	news	`aviso`
`data`	data	date	`dados`
`taxa`	tax	fee, rate	`imposto`
`sensível`	sensible	sensitive	`sensato`
`pretensão`	pretension	intention	—
`escola`	scholar	school	`estudioso`
`êxito`	exit	success	`saída`
`constipado`	constipated	having a cold	`preso`

puxar / empurrar is the one that matters daily. Doors in Brazil say PUXE (pull) and EMPURRE (push). PUXE looks like push and means the opposite.

False friends — Spanish speakers

If you already have Spanish, these will trip you:

Portuguese	Spanish looks like	Portuguese means
`borracha`	borracha (drunk)	rubber, eraser
`oficina`	oficina (office)	workshop, garage
`escritório`	—	office
`cena`	cena (dinner)	scene
`salada`	salada (salted)	salad
`rato`	rato (a while)	rat, mouse
`pegar`	pegar (to hit)	to take, to get
`embaraçada`	embarazada (pregnant)	embarrassed
`apelido`	apellido (surname)	nickname
`logro`	logro (achievement)	fraud

The habitual errors

Ranked roughly by how often English speakers make them.

1. Dropping de after gostar and precisar

Wrong	Right
~~Eu gosto café~~	`Eu gosto de café`
~~Eu gosto o café~~	`Eu gosto do café`
~~Preciso ajuda~~	`Preciso de ajuda`

2. Dropping que

Wrong	Right
~~Eu acho é caro~~	`Eu acho que é caro`
~~Ele falou vem amanhã~~	`Ele falou que vem amanhã`

3. Not contracting

Wrong	Right
~~de o carro~~	`do carro`
~~em a mesa~~	`na mesa`
~~a o mercado~~	`ao mercado`

4. Using ser where estar belongs (and vice versa)

Wrong	Right	Why
~~Eu sou cansado~~	`Eu estou cansado`	temporary state
~~A loja é fechada~~	`A loja está fechada`	current state
~~Eu estou brasileiro~~	`Eu sou brasileiro`	identity

5. Using estar or ser for a building's location instead of ficar

Weaker	Better
`Onde é o banco?`	`Onde fica o banco?`
`O hotel está na praia`	`O hotel fica na praia`

6. vou a pagar

Portuguese takes no a between ir and the infinitive. That's Spanish.

Wrong	Right
~~Vou a pagar~~	`Vou pagar`
~~Vou a comer~~	`Vou comer`

7. chegar a instead of chegar em

Less natural	Brazilian
`Cheguei ao hotel`	`Cheguei no hotel`

8. mais bom / mais ruim

Wrong	Right
~~mais bom~~	`melhor`
~~mais ruim~~	`pior`
~~mais grande~~	`maior`
~~mais pequeno~~	`menor`

9. Adjective before noun

Wrong-sounding	Right
~~um novo carro~~ (for "a new car")	`um carro novo`
~~uma grande casa~~ (for "a big house")	`uma casa grande`

10. Single negative

Wrong	Right
~~Tem nada~~	`Não tem nada`
~~Vejo ninguém~~	`Não vejo ninguém`

11. Present instead of future subjunctive after quando / se

Wrong	Right
~~Quando eu chego, te falo~~	`Quando eu chegar, te falo`
~~Se eu tenho tempo~~	`Se eu tiver tempo`

12. o que instead of qual

Wrong	Right
~~O que é o seu nome?~~	`Qual é o seu nome?`
~~O que é o preço?~~	`Qual é o preço?`

13. obrigado agreeing with the wrong person

obrigado agrees with the speaker. A woman thanking a man still says obrigada.

14. Saying bom noite

noite is feminine: boa noite. Same for boa tarde. Only bom dia is masculine.

15. Conjugating after a modal

Wrong	Right
~~Eu posso ajudo~~	`Eu posso ajudar`
~~Eu quero como~~	`Eu quero comer`

Pronunciation errors that change meaning

Pair	Difference
`caro` KAH-roo / `carro` KAH-hoo	expensive / car
`avô` ah-VOH / `avó` ah-VAW	grandfather / grandmother
`pau` POW / `pão` POWNG	stick / bread
`mais` mais / `mas` mahs	more / but
`sede` SEH-jee / `sede` SEH-jee	thirst / headquarters (context only)
`sabia` sah-BEE-ah / `sabiá` sah-bee-AH	knew / a bird

The caro / carro pair is the one you'll actually hit.

Register errors

Don't say	Say instead	Where
`Me vê a conta`	`A conta, por favor`	formal restaurant, to `o senhor`
`Beleza?`	`Bom dia`	bank, clinic, official
`Cara`	nothing	anyone you don't know well
`Cafezinho`	`Café`	formal settings

Diminutives and slang are for casual settings. With o senhor / a senhora, use plain forms.

The re-read checklist

Run through this after each chapter:

[ ] Did I keep de after gostar and precisar?
[ ] Did I keep que after acho, sei, falou?
[ ] Did I contract — do, na, ao, pelo?
[ ] ser for identity, estar for state, ficar for buildings?
[ ] Adjective after the noun, agreeing with it?
[ ] não before the verb, even with nada / ninguém?
[ ] melhor / pior, never mais bom / mais ruim?
[ ] Infinitive after a modal, not a conjugated form?
[ ] Qual é o seu nome?, not o que?
[ ] Future subjunctive after quando / se about the future?

What to take from this chapter

PUXE means pull. This one will get you.
The two errors you'll make most: dropping de after gostar, and dropping que after acho.
melhor, pior, maior, menor — no mais.
obrigado / obrigada agrees with you, not them.
boa noite, boa tarde, bom dia.