In the depths of the high school language classroom learning routine vocabulary in Portuguese may have seemed a waste of time. Once you mature, you realize how much day-to-day duties consume your day. Alas, you needed Portuguese daily routine vocabulary all along.
Furthermore, there can be a fair amount of ambiguity in Portuguese daily routine vocabulary. For instance tomar café is the abbreviated phrase for having breakfast, where tomar um café is just gulping a coffee. You’d be highly distressed if you turned up for breakfast and were shooed away with a measly coffee.

Contents
Getting Up and Going to Bed in Portuguese
Acordar | to wake up |
Despertar-se | to wake up (o despertador = alarm clock) |
Levantar-se | to get up |
Colocar roupa / vestir-se | to get dressed |
Escovar os dentes | to brush your teeth |
Pentear o cabelo | to brush or comb your hair (BTW:cabelo is hair on your head, whereas pelo is hair everywhere else!) |
Tomar (um) banho | to take a shower (BTW: “vai tomar banho” can be an insult for telling someone ‘to get lost’) |
Ir ao banheiro | to go to the bathroom |
Lavar o rosto | to wash your face |
Fazer a barba | to shave (barba is beard, this phrase translates literally as ‘to do the beard‘) |
Ir para cama | to go to bed |
dormir | to sleep (dormi bem = I slept well) |
deitar-se | to lie down |
Tirar a roupa | to take off your clothes / to undress |
Secar o cabelo | dry your hair |
Alisar o cabelo | to straighten your hair |
Encaracolar os cabelos | to curl your hair (caracóis are curls, cabelos encaracolados is curly hair) |
Pintar o cabelo | to dye your hair |
Pintar as unhas | to paint your nails |
Depilar or fazer depilação | to shave (not beard, elsewhere) |
Botar maquiagem | to do your makeup |

Daily Routine in Portuguese Around the Kitchen
Almoçar | to have lunch |
Jantar | to have dinner |
Cozinhar | to cook |
Assar | to bake or roast |
Ferver | to boil |
Refogar | to simmer |
Grelhar | to grill |
Cortar or Picar | to cut up or chop |
Misturar | to mix |
Mexer | to stir |
Household Chores for Daily Routine in Portuguese
Lavar roupa | to wash clothes or do the washing (máquina de lavar is washing machine) |
Passar roupa | to iron |
Fazer a faxina | to clean the house (general all over clean is faxina and a cleaner who works just for a day is called faxineira) |
Arrumar a casa | do the chores |
Pendurar a roupa | hang up the clothes |
Lavar a chão | wash the floor |
Esfregar | to mop (um esfregão is mop) |
Aspirar | to vacuum |
Tirar o lixo | take out the trash/ rubbish |
Tirar pó | to dust |

The Rest of Your Brazilian Daily Routine
Pagar as contas | pay the bills |
Malhar | to work out or go to the gym |
Fazer exercício | to do exercise |
Relaxar or descansar | to relax or to rest |
Fazer as compras | to do the shopping (groceries) |
Resolver coisas | to run errands |