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 |
