The Falando Atlas of Brazilian Portuguese
mosquito, muriçoca, or carapanã — mosquito (understood nationwide); muriçoca (the Northeast); carapanã (the North).
Maintained by the Falando editorial team6 cited sources
Everyone knows mosquito, but in much of Brazil that is not the word people reach for when one is biting them.
Muriçoca is the Northeastern word — Caldas Aulete labels it "(Bras., Nordeste)" — and carapanã is the word across the North, which Priberam marks "[Brasil: Amazônia]". Both often refer to the big, slow, night-flying kind rather than to mosquitoes in general, which is worth knowing if you are trying to complain convincingly.
Pernilongo, the term many southeasterners use, is not shown on this map: both dictionaries label it simply "[Brasil]", so we have no source that ties it to a region. It will appear here when one is found.
| Word | Meaning | Where it is most associated | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| mosquito | mosquito | Understood everywhere in Brazil. |
Regional patterns, not hard borders. A word may be used outside the highlighted area, and multiple words can coexist in the same region. Falando highlights the strongest and most useful patterns from its sources.
| neutral |
| muriçoca | mosquito | the Northeast — Strongly associated | neutral |
|---|
| carapanã | mosquito | the North — Strongly associated | neutral |
|---|
mosquito
The general word for a mosquito, understood everywhere. Regional names are extremely common in speech — muriçoca in the Northeast, carapanã in the North, pernilongo in the Southeast and South.
O mosquito picou meu braço.The mosquito bit my arm.
Understood everywhere in Brazil.
mosquito
The ordinary Northeastern word for a mosquito, where São Paulo says pernilongo and Rio says muriçoca or carapanã. Fully neutral, used by everyone; from Tupi.
Em Salvador, o mosquito é chamado de muriçoca.In Salvador, the mosquito is called muriçoca.
mosquito
The Amazonian word for mosquito (from Tupi karapa'nã); in the Southeast the same insect is a pernilongo or muriçoca. Neutral, everyday vocabulary in the North.
Na Amazônia, o mosquito é chamado de carapanã.In the Amazon, the mosquito is called carapanã.
Falando teaches the word locals actually use — free for 7 days, no credit card required. Start 7-day free trial →
