Portuguese · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 20
A comidaThe food
The most common foods and drinks: pão, arroz, feijão, carne, peixe, fruta, água, café, suco. For "to be hungry" and "to be thirsty" Portuguese uses "ter" + noun (NOT "ser/estar"): Tenho fome (I have hunger), Tenho sede (I have thirst) — just like "tenho … anos". For eating/drinking you also use "tomar" (tomar um café, tomar um suco). And "gostoso" = delicious: A comida é gostosa. New vocabulary: pão, arroz, feijão, carne, peixe, fruta, água, café, suco, gostoso. Culture section: rice, beans and the cafezinho.
Dialogue
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Sou fome ou tenho fome?— sou fome or tenho fome?
- LucasMike, você quer comer?Mike, do you want to eat?
- MikeSim, sou fome.Yes, I'm hungry. (slip: hunger uses ter, not ser — say "tenho fome")
- LucasCom fome usamos "ter": tenho fome. Como com a idade.With hunger we use "ter": tenho fome. Like with age.
- MikeAh, tenho fome e tenho sede. Quero pão e água.Ah, I'm hungry and thirsty. I want bread and water.
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Que gostoso!— So Tasty!
- BiaLucas, o que você come?Lucas, what are you eating?
- LucasComo peixe com arroz. É muito gostoso.I'm eating fish with rice. It's very tasty.
- BiaE o que você bebe?And what are you drinking?
- LucasTomo um suco. Você quer fruta?I'm having a juice. Do you want fruit?
Vocabulary
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- pão
n.m.bread (m)
- arroz
n.m.rice (m)
- feijão
n.m.beans (m)
- carne
n.f.meat (f)
- peixe
n.m.fish (m)
- fruta
n.f.fruit (f)
- água
n.f.water (f)
- café
n.m.coffee (m)
- suco
n.m.juice (m)
- gostoso
adjectivetasty, delicious
Grammar
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"Tenho fome": ter + noun
Explanation
For "I'm hungry / thirsty" Portuguese does NOT use "ser" or "estar", but "ter" + a noun: Tenho fome (I have hunger), Tenho sede (I have thirst). It's the same pattern as age: Tenho vinte anos. The classic English mistake is "sou fome" or "estou fome" — it doesn't exist; you say "tenho fome". For eating and drinking, besides "comer/beber", "tomar" is used a lot: tomo um café, tomo um suco. And "gostoso" (delicious) agrees: o peixe é gostoso, a fruta é gostosa. Phrases: Tenho fome, quero comer. Tomo água porque tenho sede.
Examples
- Tenho fome. Quero comer arroz e feijão.I'm hungry. I want to eat rice and beans.
- Tenho sede. Bebo água.I'm thirsty. I drink water.
- O peixe é gostoso e a fruta é gostosa.The fish is tasty and the fruit is tasty.
- No café da manhã, tomo um café e como pão.At breakfast, I have a coffee and eat bread.
Culture
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Arroz, feijão e o cafezinhoRice, beans & the cafezinho
In Brazil, everyday food revolves around two simple things — rice and beans on the plate and the little coffee, the cafezinho, in the cup. Together they say a lot about Brazilian hospitality.
The everyday plate
The classic Brazilian lunch is white rice with beans, almost always with a meat and a salad. It's cheap, filling, and on every table from north to south. Calling someone "arroz de festa" (rice at every party — someone who shows up everywhere) shows how rice even entered the language.
The cafezinho
The cafezinho is a small, strong, sweet coffee served in tiny cups. Offering it is a gesture of hospitality: at home, at work, in a shop, "Aceita um cafezinho?" (Will you have a little coffee?) is almost a greeting. Refusing isn't rude, but accepting opens the conversation.
One country, many flavors
Beyond rice and beans, each region has its own: feijoada (black beans with meat) on Saturdays, tapioca and açaí in the north, churrasco (barbecue) in the south. Eating in Brazil is almost always in a group, plentiful and unhurried — food is for sharing.
In short: rice and beans on the plate, a cafezinho in the cup, and people around the table. In Brazil, everyday food is simple but never solitary — it's an invitation. If someone offers you a cafezinho, accept: that's how friendship begins.
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