IM big mess!

Four languages at a time... a whole new sensation!

Skype, spanish...
Gtalk, galician and portuguese ("galaico-portuguese" language actually, "portuñol" or something like that)
Facebook chat, english...

I'm not definitely good at english. I'm as good as you can see within this blog. But it was easier for me to change from english to anyone of the other languages than changing among them. The more similar they are, the more difficult it becomes. Specially between galician and my "kind of portuguese". It should be also difficult between spanish and galician, but I'm used to that. I'm also used to change from portuguese to english, specially when I can't manage to be understood because of the meaning of just a single word. Then I say it in english and the problem is over.

But when it comes to write in both galician and portuguese at a time, there are a lot of little things to take into account... and it's not so easy. But it's fun! It's even funnier when people you're talking to, do enjoy your own mistakes and they mess with you, they make jokes and so on... I'm not becoming a portuguese guys! I've always had a portuguese inside me! :D  

Next step, multiple chat conversation with those four languages involved. That will be a real mess indeed!

See you!

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter IV)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

This time all we get is a mess with verbs... Not much to transcribe here, just one curiosity:

• "pegar", which means hit in spanish is just a verb used in portuguese to refer to the action of holding hands together... This leads us to be able to say that you "hit" your girlfriend in the street without being punished for that! :D

It was really brief this time, wasn't it? ;)

See you!

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter III)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

Yes, yes, yes... you already know what comes after the video...

A brief lesson about adjectives:

• "exquisito" doesn't mean tasteful but rare, strange... (but you should write it as "esquisito", with 's', in portuguese...)
• "espantoso" doesn't mean terrible, but terrific...

Some kind of "false friends" in portuguese too, I suppose...

• "borracho" means drunk in galician, but handsome/pretty/beautiful in portuguese.
• "chulo" means handsome/pretty/beautiful in galician, but it only refers to that man behind every whore (a procurer, which would lead me to talk about the spanish term "procurador", but I will not) when you're speaking portuguese. 

Moreover, going on with this topic, a "puto", which is some kind of bad word in spanish, only means child in portuguese... And a "rapaza", a girl in galician, means whore/bitch in portuguese... So take care using that word and change your vocabulary to use "rapariga" instead... But also be careful when traveling to Brazil, where "rapariga" is the word used for whores... You must use "menina" or "garota" there... This seems some kind of words game from hell, doesn't it?

More, more, more...

• "embaraçada", which means embarrassed in portuguese, is pronounced like "embarazada", which means pregnant in spanish... You must use the word "grávida" to refer to pregnant women in Portugal.

All of this leads us to be able to say, in some situations, that a man is "embaraçado", something that would cause laugh if you say it after having crossed the borderline.

• "meiga" is a familiar word to galician people. It means witch in galician (a good witch, I must say, not a bad one, which would be called "bruxa"), but it's not a name but an adjective in portuguese, meaning warm, loving and affable...

Enough by now, don't you think so? More to come... there are at least seven videos like these three we've already reviewed...

See you!

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter II)

"Muito obrigado" again, Rober:

What I've learned this time:

• "Carpeta" sounds similar to "carpete", which doesn't mean folder, but carpet... A folder is a "pasta", which means paste/pulp in galician...
• "Prenda" is not any kind of clothes... but it can be, as it means "gift" in portuguese. The word used to refer to gifts in spanish is "regalo", but it means relief in portuguese...

Any trouble so far? Ok, let's keep learning...

• You can also use "oferta" to say gift in portuguese (well, not exactly gift, but any kind of free stuff...), which is shocking for spanish people, as "oferta" means "sales offer" in spanish...
• "The 'coche' and 'carro' problematic": Easy this time... "Carro" means car in portuguese. "Coche" means carriage (typically horse-drawn...). Ok, now flip it over: "Coche" means car in spanish... "Carro" means carriage... Got it? :D
• One funny misunderstanding in this video: "Pila" is the word we use to refer to small batteries, like those inside the remote control of your TVs... But it means "penis" (in a coloquial way, I must say...) in portuguese. You must use "pilha" to refer to batteries...
• Another funny misunderstanding: "Caixón", the galician word for referring to "drawer" is similar to "caixão" when pronouncing... but wait! "caixão" means coffin in portuguese... take care when using that word or you'll seem to be a psycho killer...

Are you having fun with Coco?

More to come... see you!

The ultimate guide for any galician trying to speak portuguese... (Chapter I)

"Muito obrigado", Rober:

What I've learned from this video:

• "Jantar", which is pronounced like the galician word "xantar", doesn't mean lunch, but dinner.
• "Almoço", which is similar to the galician word "almorzo", means lunch, not breakfast.
• "Azeite" is used just for referring to olive oil. All the other kind of oil are called "óleos".
• "Salsa" means parsley, so if you want some sauce with your meal, then you must ask for "molho".
• "Xamón", the word we use to refer to ham, can be confused with hashish because of its pronunciation ("chamon" in portuguese). You should ask for "presunto" to avoid trouble with police...
• Following this kind of drug misunderstanding, you may ask for a "dose", but all you'll get will be a serving (maybe a serving of "xamón" :D)
• "Vaso" means vase, you know, to keep your flowers wet. If you ask for a "vaso" of water you'll get some laughs instead of "a glass of water".

I hope you enjoy learning portuguese with Coco me.

See you!