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.
