What does cafuné mean in Portuguese?

Cafuné is a caress with the fingers on someone's head. In the sentence, a grandmother does it until the child falls asleep.

What is a caçula in Portuguese?

A caçula is the last-born among the siblings. The sentence says everyone spoiled her because she was the caçula.

You say cochilar, which means to sleep a little, very lightly. In the sentence, she always does it in the hammock after lunch.

Your friend from Bahia tells you about childhood at her grandmother's house, and half the words she uses came from African languages.

Minha avó fazia cafuné em mim até eu dormir.

My grandmother used to stroke my head until I fell asleep.

10 words10 sentences

cafuné/kafuˈnɛ/
head caressnoun
A caress with the fingers on someone's head.
caçula/kaˈsulɐ/
youngest childadjective
Born last among the siblings.
cochilar/kuʃiˈla/Also said koʃiˈla.
to napverb
To sleep a little, very lightly.
moleque/muˈlɛki/Also said moˈlɛki.
boynoun
A boy or young man.
dengo/ˈdẽɡu/
clinginessnoun
The fussing of someone who wants affection.
fubá/fuˈba/
cornmealnoun
Very fine corn flour.
quiabo/kiˈabu/
okranoun
A long green vegetable that gives off slime.
marimbondo/maɾĩˈbõdu/
waspnoun
An insect similar to a bee that stings.
farofa/faˈɾɔfɐ/
farofanoun
Cassava flour fried in fat, served alongside the food.
xingar/ʃĩˈɡa/
to curseverb
To insult someone with swear words.

Spell it1 of 3

Minha avó fazia cafuné em mim até eu dormir.
My grandmother used to stroke my head until I fell asleep.
Eu sou a caçula, então todo mundo me mimava.
I'm the youngest, so everybody spoiled me.
Depois do almoço, ela sempre ia cochilar na rede.
After lunch, she would always go take a nap in the hammock.
Meu irmão era moleque e vivia jogando bola na rua.
My brother was a boy who was always playing ball in the street.
Eu fazia dengo quando queria colo da minha avó.
I would act all clingy whenever I wanted a cuddle from my grandmother.
Toda tarde ela fazia bolo de fubá com café.
Every afternoon she made cornmeal cake with coffee.
Eu não comia quiabo de jeito nenhum, por causa da baba.
I would not eat okra at all, because of the slime.
Um marimbondo me picou no quintal da casa dela.
A wasp stung me in the yard at her house.
Na casa da minha avó, não faltava farofa na mesa.
At my grandmother's house, there was always farofa on the table.
Minha avó não deixava ninguém xingar dentro de casa.
My grandmother didn't let anyone swear inside the house.

cochilar/kuʃiˈla/
The first o sounds like u: cu-chi-lar.
moleque/muˈlɛki/
The e in -le- is open, as in pé.
dengo/ˈdẽɡu/
The en is nasal, with no separate n sound before the g.
marimbondo/maɾĩˈbõdu/
The o in -bon- is closed and nasal, as in bom.
farofa/faˈɾɔfɐ/
The middle 'o' is open, like the o in 'more', and that's where the stress falls.

cafuné: It is a very common caress in families, done with the fingers in the hair, and it is often given to children at bedtime.
bolo de fubá: It is a homemade cake common at the afternoon snack, almost always served with coffee. You find it in bakeries and family homes across Brazil.
farofa: It is a common side dish at barbecues and everyday meals, served next to rice and beans. It usually shows up on the table without you asking.
rede: It is common to rest or nap in a hammock after lunch, mostly in the Northeast and in homes with a porch or yard.

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What does cafuné mean in Portuguese?: Cafuné is a caress with the fingers on someone's head. In the sentence, a grandmother does it until the child falls asleep.
What is a caçula in Portuguese?: A caçula is the last-born among the siblings. The sentence says everyone spoiled her because she was the caçula.
How do you say to take a short nap in Portuguese?: You say cochilar, which means to sleep a little, very lightly. In the sentence, she always does it in the hammock after lunch.

10 wordsabout 6 min