The Falando Atlas of Brazilian Portuguese

Regional vocabulary in Amazonas

3 regional vocabulary words and expressions documented for Amazonas, including forms associated with Amazonian speakers.

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Last updated August 20, 2026Maintained by the Falando editorial team5 cited sourcesHow to cite this page

Geographic orientation. The highlighted state or region locates this page; its outline is not a linguistic boundary.

Why regional patterns differ

Amazonas Portuguese developed through long contact among Indigenous languages, Portuguese-speaking river communities and successive migration into Manaus and the interior. Tupi-derived vocabulary remains structurally productive: research on the suffix -rana, for example, shows speakers forming words for something that resembles, but is not identical to, its base.

Everyday grammar strongly favours tu, while agreement and pronunciation differ among Manaus, Middle Solimões and other communities. UEA teaching research also documents a recognisable urban vocabulary including maceta, chibata and telezé, whose meanings form part of contemporary Amazonas identity rather than a single historical relic.

Sources: O sufixo -rana no português falado pelo caboclo amazonense (2012) · Amazonian Indigenous-derived lexicon; Traduzir para ensinar a variação linguística nas formas de tratamento da língua espanhola, por que não? (2016) · tu and você systems; O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · Amazonas vocabulary and identity; Projeto Atlas Linguístico do Brasil: antecedentes e estágio atual (2012) · regional context

Quick comparison

Regional Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary documented for Amazonas
Word	Meaning	Category	Register
chibata	excellent, very good	Praise, insults & judgements	slang
maceta	huge, enormous	Praise, insults & judgements	slang
telezé	are you serious?, are you being foolish?	Interjections & fillers	slang

Interjections & fillers

telezé

/te.leˈzɛ/

are you serious?, are you being foolish?

An Amazonas reaction related to tu é leso, é?, expressing disbelief, criticism or surprise. The spelling telesé is also encountered.

Telezé? Não mexe nisso agora.Are you being foolish? Do not touch that now.

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA documents the lexicalized reaction.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

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Praise, insults & judgements

chibata

/ʃiˈba.tɐ/

excellent, very good

In Amazonas speech, chibata can praise something as very good or excellent. Other Brazilian meanings of chibata still exist outside this regional use.

O show de ontem foi chibata.Yesterday's show was excellent.

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA definition: very good.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

maceta

/maˈse.tɐ/

huge, enormous

In the Amazonas material, maceta means very big or huge. Dicionário Informal’s competing “good” gloss is not used because multiple UEA sources support size.

Mana, tu comprou uma porção maceta de batata, né?Girl, you bought a huge portion of fries, right?

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA definition: very big.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

Sources cited on this page

1.UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino. Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (2023). Vocabulary list: Amazonas meanings. Supports: regional association. tier 1
2.O sufixo -rana no português falado pelo caboclo amazonense. Alfa (2012). Abstract and analysis of productive -rana formations. Supports: Amazonian Indigenous-derived lexicon. tier 1
3.Traduzir para ensinar a variação linguística nas formas de tratamento da língua espanhola, por que não?. Cadernos de Tradução (2016). Brazilian tu/você regional systems and agreement patterns. Supports: tu and você systems. tier 1
4.O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino. Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (2023). Vocabulary inventory and discussion of Amazonas lexical identity. Supports: Amazonas vocabulary and identity. tier 1
5.Projeto Atlas Linguístico do Brasil: antecedentes e estágio atual. Alfa (2012). Objectives, methodology and lexical-level experimental maps. Supports: regional context. tier 1

Why regional patterns differ

Word

Meaning

telezé

/te.leˈzɛ/

are you serious?, are you being foolish?

An Amazonas reaction related to tu é leso, é?, expressing disbelief, criticism or surprise. The spelling telesé is also encountered.

Telezé? Não mexe nisso agora.Are you being foolish? Do not touch that now.

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA documents the lexicalized reaction.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

Praise, insults & judgements

chibata

/ʃiˈba.tɐ/

excellent, very good

In Amazonas speech, chibata can praise something as very good or excellent. Other Brazilian meanings of chibata still exist outside this regional use.

O show de ontem foi chibata.Yesterday's show was excellent.

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA definition: very good.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

maceta

/maˈse.tɐ/

huge, enormous

In the Amazonas material, maceta means very big or huge. Dicionário Informal’s competing “good” gloss is not used because multiple UEA sources support size.

Mana, tu comprou uma porção maceta de batata, né?Girl, you bought a huge portion of fries, right?

slang

Amazonas· strongly associated — UEA definition: very big.

Sources: UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino (2023) · regional association

Sources cited on this page

1.UEA — O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino. Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (2023). Vocabulary list: Amazonas meanings. Supports: regional association. tier 1
2.O sufixo -rana no português falado pelo caboclo amazonense. Alfa (2012). Abstract and analysis of productive -rana formations. Supports: Amazonian Indigenous-derived lexicon. tier 1
3.Traduzir para ensinar a variação linguística nas formas de tratamento da língua espanhola, por que não?. Cadernos de Tradução (2016). Brazilian tu/você regional systems and agreement patterns. Supports: tu and você systems. tier 1
4.O léxico amazonense em práticas de ensino. Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (2023). Vocabulary inventory and discussion of Amazonas lexical identity. Supports: Amazonas vocabulary and identity. tier 1
5.Projeto Atlas Linguístico do Brasil: antecedentes e estágio atual. Alfa (2012). Objectives, methodology and lexical-level experimental maps. Supports: regional context. tier 1