Memory aids for simple Portuguese words: letter, newspaper, pineapple

LETTER NEWSPAPER PINEAPPLE

Write a letter to a Portuguese newspaper about pineapple

Problem
Some Portuguese words are 'false friends' which sound like other words. How do I remember them?

Answer
LETTER
Carta sound and looks like card, but means letter. My memory aid is: Don't send me a card - send me a letter.

Carta means letter.
Carta=letter.
Carta - letter.

NEWSPAPER
Jornal looks like the English word journal, old word for a diary. in romance languages, it means daily.

So my memory aid is, I read the Portuguese Jornal daily. I hope my journal is published in a newspaper.

Jornal means newspaper.
Jornal=newspaper.
Jornal - newspaper.

PINEAPPLE
Abaxi means pineapple. I forgot this. So I tried to devise a memory aid. I look at the x. It reminds me of the spiky green top to a pineapple.

Spiky green top of a pineapple. Abaxi in Portuguese. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Now I can recognise the Portuguese word. But how do I remember it when I want to ask for one in a supermarket?  a - baxi. Don't bring that spiky thing near me. Take a back seat in a taxi with that abaxi.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of languages. I have several posts on Portuguese and other languages. If you need a talk on languages in England or Singapore please write to me. If you have a request for a memory aid, contact me here or through facebook. Please share links to your favourite posts.