Semantics of Portuguese

In absolutely every language there are words that are repeated, similar, differ only in spelling, but have different meanings. Why it happened, why a separate word was not invented for each individual meaning – there is no answer. The language was not invented by one person, it was formed by entire nations and it was impossible to avoid repetition or very similar words.

If you are still not very clear about what we are talking about, then now we will explain in more detail and give examples. In fact, we are confident that you pronounce words intuitively without noticing how you use the same word in different situations.

Homonyms

Words that are spelled exactly the same but have completely different meanings are called homonyms.

Both of these words can be completely different parts of speech. For example, two nouns of the same gender are “manga” (sleeve) and “manga” (mango).

A manga do meu casaco está suja. (The sleeve of my jacket is dirty.)
Ontem tu compraste uma manga muito doce. (Yesterday you bought a very sweet mango.)

Also, the word itself can be the same, but its gender is different! For example: o rádio (radius) – a rádio (radio), o capital (fund) – a capital (capital), o cabeça (general person) – a cabeça (head).

An interesting fact is that some verbs in the form for the pronoun “eu” (I) sound the same as a noun with a meaning far from its meaning. Read the sentences carefully and notice the difference:

A. Eu canto muito bem. (I sing very well.)

O frigorífico está no canto da cozinha. (The refrigerator is in the corner of the kitchen.)

B. Rio sempre no Circo. (I always laugh at the circus.)

Há crocodilos neste rio. (There are crocodiles in this river.)

But the verb “ser” (to be) for the pronouns “eles, elas, vocês” is exactly the same as the adjective “healthy”:

Eles são simpáticos. (They are nice.)
Ele é são e forte. (He is healthy and strong.)

One can only guess the meaning of such a word in context.

Homophones

Words that sound exactly the same, have slight differences in spelling, and the meaning is completely different, are called homophones. Here, too, there are different parts of speech. For example, both words can be nouns:

Não consigo adormecer sem escovar os dentes. (I can’t sleep without brushing my teeth.)

Disse-te cem vezes: lava a loiça! (I told you a hundred times: wash the dishes!)

Alugámos um apartamento no concelho de Leiria. (We rented an apartment in the Leiria area.)

Ela não precisa do teu conselho! (She doesn’t need your advice!)

It can also be two verbs in the infinitive or in any of the forms of conjugation for tenses and persons:

A mãe quer cozer uns ovos para uma salada. (Mother wants to boil some eggs for salad.)

Posso coser as tuas calças. (I can sew up your pants.)

Nós precisámos de cerrar os olhos por causa da luz forte. (We had to cover our eyes because of the strong light.)

Eu não queria serrar esta árvore grande. (I didn’t mean to saw this big tree.)

Houve muitas pessoas na praça ontem à noite. (There were a lot of people in the square last night.)

O meu gato ouve muito bem! (My cat hears very well.)

Both among homonyms and among homophones, the form of the verb for the first person in the present tense acquires its similarity with nouns. Namely:

Cinto de segurança é obrigatorio nos transportes. (The seat belt is important in transport.)
Sinto um cheiro estranho quando entro em casa. (I smell a strange smell when I enter the house.)

A noun can even be confused with an ordinal number! Guess which one?

A minha avó deu-me um cesto de legumes da horta dela. (My grandmother gave me a basket of vegetables from her garden.)

É o sexto prémio que elas receberam durante um ano. (This is the sixth award they have received during the year.)

There are a huge number of similar examples, but we need to talk about a few more types of words. So let’s move on.

Homographs

Words that are spelled the same, have different meanings, and are stressed or accented are called homographs. The most famous homographs for us are avó (grandmother) and avô (grandfather). In fact, the letter “o” in these words is pronounced differently: a closed and an open sound. However, for a foreigner it is elusive. The homograph may not contain any sign, however, in the same words when written, the very sound “o” may differ. He will not linger on this also because it is difficult to reflect the sound of words in an article.

Verbs once again create confusion for us and their forms are very similar to other words that are similar in meaning. For example:

Tenho uma dúvida. (I have a doubt.)

Ela duvida que tenha conchecimentos adequados. (She doubts she has the right knowledge.)

A minha amiga e tão sábia! (My friend is so wise!)

Não sabia que eras tão trabalhador. (I didn’t know you were so hard-working.)

Precisas de fazer um análise! (You need to do an analysis!)

Analisa bem a situação antes de tomares decisões. (Analyze the situation well before making decisions.)

Paronyms

Words that have different meanings but sound very similar are called paronyms. Their spelling also differs by one or even several letters, it’s just that with a quick pronunciation it’s almost impossible to catch the difference.

Este texto é ilegível. (This text is illegible.)

Ele é elegível para a vaga. (he is eligible for the vacancy.)

Os emigrantes portugueses procuram condições melhores na Suiça. (Expats from Portugal seek better conditions in Switzerland.)

Neste ano Portugal recebeu muitos imigrantes do Brasil. (This year Portugal received many immigrants from Brazil.)

Conclusion

We did not mention synonyms and antonyms, although they belong to the same section of language learning. Simply because everyone knows these obvious things. Today we got a little carried away with semantics and expanded your horizons in the field of the Portuguese language!