Essential Words for Meals, Groceries & Restaurants
Food vocabulary is one of the most useful categories to learn in Portuguese. Whether you’re traveling, living abroad, or just practicing conversation, food comes up constantly.
This lesson is part of our Portuguese Vocabulary Section, where beginner word groups are organized by everyday situations.
Let’s start with the basics.
Common Foods in Portuguese
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Bread | pão |
| Rice | arroz |
| Beans | feijão |
| Meat | carne |
| Chicken | frango |
| Fish | peixe |
| Egg | ovo |
| Cheese | queijo |
| Milk | leite |
| Water | água |
Fruits (Frutas)
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Apple | maçã |
| Banana | banana |
| Orange | laranja |
| Strawberry | morango |
| Mango | manga |
| Pineapple | abacaxi (BR) / ananás (PT) |
Vegetables (Legumes / Verduras)
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Tomato | tomate |
| Lettuce | alface |
| Onion | cebola |
| Potato | batata |
| Carrot | cenoura |
| Broccoli | brócolis (BR) / brócolos (PT) |
Meals of the Day
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | café da manhã (BR) / pequeno-almoço (PT) |
| Lunch | almoço |
| Dinner | jantar |
| Snack | lanche |
Example:
- Eu tomo café da manhã às 8 horas.
- Nós almoçamos ao meio-dia.
To understand numbers used in time expressions, review Portuguese Numbers 1–100.
Ordering Food in Portuguese
Useful phrases:
- Eu gostaria de… → I would like…
- Pode me trazer…? → Can you bring me…?
- A conta, por favor. → The bill, please.
- Está delicioso! → It’s delicious!
- Sem carne, por favor. → Without meat, please.
These phrases are especially helpful in restaurants.
Gender and Agreement with Food Words
Most food nouns have grammatical gender.
Examples:
- o pão
- a maçã
- o arroz
- a banana
Adjectives must agree:
- pão quente
- maçã vermelha
- arroz branco
If you need a refresher on agreement rules, see:
👉 Portuguese Gender Rules Explained
Useful Adjectives for Food
- delicioso / deliciosa → delicious
- doce → sweet
- salgado / salgada → salty
- picante → spicy
- fresco / fresca → fresh
Example:
- O peixe está fresco.
- A sopa está quente.
Common Beginner Mistakes
❌ Forgetting gender agreement
Incorrect: maçã vermelho
Correct: maçã vermelha
❌ Confusing similar words
manga = mango
manga = sleeve (context matters)
❌ Mixing Brazilian and European food terms
Example:
abacaxi (BR) vs ananás (PT)
Practice Exercise
Translate:
- Rice and beans
- Fresh fish
- Sweet banana
- Hot soup
- Delicious cheese
Answers:
- arroz e feijão
- peixe fresco
- banana doce
- sopa quente
- queijo delicioso
Ready to Expand Your Vocabulary?
Food vocabulary is just one part of everyday Portuguese.
To continue building high-frequency words, explore:
👉 Most Common Portuguese Words (Top 500)
If you want structured lessons with interactive food and restaurant dialogues, check our comparison of the Best Apps to Learn Portuguese, where many courses include themed vocabulary practice.