In this lesson, we cover directions in Portuguese. A direction in Portuguese is “uma direção.” A map is “um mapa,” and a street is “uma rua.” Here are more related vocabulary to directions in Portuguese.
The four geographical directions of a compass or “uma bússola” are:
| east | lestem [1] estem | south | sulm |
| north | nortem | west | oestem |
[1] Both “leste” and “este” are equally correct when referring to the direction of the “east.” However, “este” is rarely used to avoid confusion when the definite article is added to “este,” in which case “o este” (the east) may sound the same as “oeste” (west).
And the four main directions right, left, up, and down are:
| right | direita | up | acima |
| left | esquerda | down | abaixo |
To describe the location of an object with respect to another, one can use one of the following:
| above on top (of) | em cima (de) acima (de) sobre | there | lá ali aí |
| here | aqui cá | to the left of | à esquerda de |
| inside | dentro (de) | to the right of | à direita de |
| near | perto (de) | far (from) | longe (de) |
| outside | fora (de) | toward | na direção |
| straight ahead | direto em frente | under beneath | debaixo (de) sob |
“Here” vs. “There”
There is a subtle difference between “aqui” and “cá,” both translated as “here,” as “aquí” tends to be less specific about the location. However, this subtle difference is not often respected.
While “aí,” “ali,” and “lá” all mean “there,” “aqui” is used more often for things that are within reach whereas “por alí” and “por lá” are sometimes better translated as “over there.”
Other lessons in Level III:
