Portuguese Pet Vocabulary: Cats & Dogs

CATS AND DOGS AS PETS IN BRAZIL

Cats and dogs are both common pets in Brazil (but in Brazil, many animals from small monkeys to exotic birds are kept as pets). According to Globo, sixty percent of Brazilian households have a pet. Unfortunately Brazil also has a problem with strays. Many cats and dogs in Brazil live in the streets, living off of what scraps they can find. Some of the homeless dogs in Brazil were once pets whose families simply couldn’t afford to take care of them anymore, others were just born and lived their whole lives in the streets.

WHAT IS A VIRA-LATA?

Either way, Brazilians call these street dogs “vira latas,” a word that technically means “mutt,” but in Portuguese this word has a more negative connotation than it does in English. The name “vira lata” derives from the fact that when they are abandoned, they end up searching out food and are often found digging through trash and turning over latas (cans, ie, of canned food). Vira means turn or turn around/over, from the verb Virar.

Furthermore, even though I would say that most owners love and treat their pets very well, Brazil does not have a culture of caring so much about the “health of a dog.” In terms of taking their dogs on regular long walks or throwing tennis balls for them in the park, Brazilians aren’t really big on this. And I don’t think that many towns in Brazil would have what you would call a “dog park,” but perhaps just a park with a bunch of stray dogs living in it, and that would be considered the “dog park.”

For wealthier Brazilians, Dogs are popular pets and are often treated like children: owners buy them outfits, shoes, fancy collars, and doggie beds. Also, since Brazilians are very concerned about personal hygiene, people who have the means to do so also keep their dogs very clean, often bringing them to a groomer. Here are some vocabulary lists so that you will be able to talk about your pets in Portuguese…

PORTUGUESE CAT VOCABULARY

gato – cat

gatinho / filhote – kitten

ração para gato – cat food

gato doméstico – domestic cat

patas – paws

arranhar – to scratch

bigodes – whiskers (this is also the Brazilian Portuguese word for mustache)

um gato preto – a black cat

caixa de areia – litter box

ronronar – to pur

gatos selvagens - wild cats (OK, so I’ll just include some of them because why not):

• pantera - panther (a pantera cor-de-rosa - the pink panther)
• onça - jaguar (funny side note - “bafo de onça” - literally meaning: “jaguar breath,” is a way of describing someone who has really bad breath (“ele tem bafo de onça!” - “he has terrible breath!”)
• tigre - tiger
• leão - lion
• leopardo - cheetah/leopard

PORTUGUESE DOG VOCABULARY

cachorro - dog

cão (pl. cães) - big dogs/hounds/canines

osso – bone

ração – dog food

latir – to bark

chorar – to cry

ofegar – to pant

pata – paw

pêlo – fur

rabo - tail

abanar – to wag

animal de estimação – pet

raça – race

apito – wistle

apitar – to wistle

filhote / cachorrinho – puppy

casinha – dog house

coleira – collar, leash

cerca – fence / gate

cerca invisível – invisible fence

vira lata – mutt / street dog

cachorro de raça / cães de raça - pure breed dog

focinho – snout (dog’s nose)

brincar – to play

brinquedos – toys

tosar – to shear (in dog grooming)

pastor alemão - german shepard

passear com cachorro - to walk the dog

comandos – commands

“andar junto, senta, deita, fica, vem etc…” – “heal, sit, lay down, stay, come etc…”

canil – kennel

dar carinho / afagar – to pet

 

 

DESCRIBING YOUR PET IN PORTUGUESE

 

temperamento – temperment

leal – loyal

companheiro – companion

obediente – obedient

inteligente – intelligent

esperto – clever

brincalhona – playful

alerta – alert

dócil – docile

carinhoso – loving, affectionate

barulhento – noisy

bagunceiro – messy

preguiçoso – lazy

 

OTHER PORTUGUESE PET VOCAB

 

veterinário – vet, vetrinatian

resgatar – to rescue

adotar – to adopt

abrigo – shelter

animal de estimação – a pet

vacinação – shots

pet shop – pet shop (this is strangely the same word in Portuguese)

adestramento – (pet) training

animais domésticos – domestic animals

gaiola – cage

 

VIDEOS

Here are two wonderful reports from my absolute favorite Brazilian news show, Fantástico. The first one talks about “The Mind of Dogs” …what are dogs really thinking, and what are they doing when you aren’t home? The second video is super interesting and sweet – it talks about all kinds of different animals as pets….and these special pets’ relationships with their owners. See how much you can understand, these videos are worth it!