The Falando Atlas of Brazilian Portuguese
14 regional words and expressions documented for the Central-West.
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Approximate. Usage varies by age, social group and context; a word can be heard outside the highlighted area.
Central-Western Portuguese combines interior Brazilian patterns with newer migration-led varieties. The retroflex “caipira r” is documented in Goiás and Mato Grosso, while studies of everyday terms such as carrinho de mão show rural vocabulary continuing inside large, medium and small urban centres.
Brasília and the Federal District form a particularly clear migration mosaic: speech brought from many parts of Brazil is still producing local norms. Across Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, você and its reduced forms predominate in second-person address, while vocabulary maps record corridors shared with the Southeast and with southern migration routes.
| Word | Meaning | Category | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| abiscoitar | to inherit money, to come into cash | Actions & verbs | informal |
| bitelo | huge, gigantic | Praise, insults & judgements | informal |
| bolicho | small countryside store | Places & getting around | informal |
| borracho | drunk, drunkard | Praise, insults & judgements | informal |
| camelo | bicycle | Everyday objects | informal |
| custoso | costly, mischievous, difficult | People & forms of address | informal |
| desenxabido | bland, dull | Praise, insults & judgements | informal |
| lagartear | to sunbathe lazily | Actions & verbs | informal |
| mocorongo | silly, distracted, dimwit | People & forms of address | informal |
| patife | wimp, scaredy-cat | People & forms of address | informal |
| trem | thing, stuff, item | Other words | informal |
| trupicar | to trip, to stumble | Actions & verbs | informal |
costly, mischievous, difficult
Nationwide, custoso means costly or laborious. In Goiânia speech it can describe a child who is mischievous, stubborn or disobedient.
Processo custoso teria consumido toda herança familiar.The costly process had allegedly consumed the entire family inheritance.
silly, distracted, dimwit
A pejorative for someone seen as a country bumpkin — clumsy, unpolished, out of step. Aulete marks it Pej., so it is an insult, not affectionate teasing. In Pará it separately means someone from Santarém.
Não seja mocorongo, presta atenção!Don't be silly, pay attention!
wimp, scaredy-cat
Learner warning: the mainstream meaning of 'patife' across Brazil and Portugal is 'scoundrel, rogue'; the 'weakling/coward' reading in this entry is a secondary Brazilian sense. Both are insulting.
Não seja patife, sobe na árvore!Don't be a wimp, climb the tree!
loose woman (means just "girl" in Portugal)
A false friend with real consequences: in Portugal 'rapariga' is simply 'girl', but in the Northeast, Minas Gerais and Goiás it means a prostitute or a kept woman and is a serious insult. Learners should avoid it in Brazil and say 'moça' or 'menina'.
No Nordeste do Brasil rapariga tem um peso forte.In Northeast Brazil rapariga has a heavy meaning.
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huge, gigantic
Said of a person, animal or thing that is strikingly big, usually with admiring surprise. Aulete marks it for both the Centre-West and the Northeast; in the Centre-West it has a second, unrelated mining sense, 'small diamond'.
Esse cachorro é bitelo!That dog is huge!
drunk, drunkard
Borrowed from Spanish 'borracho', so it turns up most in border and Centro-Oeste speech; in Portugal the same word informally means 'good-looking', so context matters.
O Charles chegou em casa borracho ontem.Charles came home drunk yesterday.
bland, dull
Used both for food with no taste and for a person, speech or event with no spark. It is standard Portuguese, not restricted to any region, and is mildly critical rather than rude.
Essa sopa tá muito desenxabida.This soup is so bland.
bicycle
Informal word for a bicycle. Both dictionaries tie it to Rio de Janeiro; elsewhere people will just say 'bike' or 'bicicleta'.
Vou pro trabalho de camelo.I'll go to work by bike.
to inherit money, to come into cash
Informal verb meaning simply 'to get hold of, to land' something — money, a job, an advantage — not specifically an inheritance. Both dictionaries mark it informal/Brazilian with no regional restriction.
O Fernando abiscoitou um dinheiro da herança.Fernando came into some cash from the inheritance.
to sunbathe lazily
To bask lazily in the sun the way a lizard does — a relaxed, slightly humorous verb for lounging on a porch or a beach. Both dictionaries record it without any regional restriction, and Priberam's example is European Portuguese.
Passou a tarde toda lagarteando na varanda.He spent the whole afternoon sunbathing on the porch.
to trip, to stumble
A rural-flavoured variant of 'tropeçar': to trip on something, whether or not you actually go down. Marked as caipira/goiano speech rather than neutral Portuguese.
Trupiquei na pedra e quase caí.I tripped on the rock and almost fell.
small countryside store
A small countryside or roadside general store, often doubling as a bar — the gaúcho equivalent of 'venda' or 'bodega'. Strongly gaúcho-flavoured; Aulete also records it for Mato Grosso do Sul.
Na esquina tem um bolicho.At the corner there is a small store.
thing, stuff, item
The all-purpose mineiro noun: any object, situation or thing whose name you cannot be bothered with — 'passa esse trem aqui'. Completely everyday in Minas; elsewhere it reads as a deliberate mineiro marker.
Passa esse trem aqui.Pass that thing here.
can you believe it? / is that even possible
Tagged onto the end of an outrageous story to mean 'can you believe that?'. A Goiás/Centro-Oeste marker — using it elsewhere will read as deliberately goiano.
O cara cobrou cem reais por um café. Tem base?The guy charged a hundred reais for a coffee. Can you believe it?
