Essential Portuguese phrases

The two gaúcho markers. 'Bah' is an all-purpose exclamation — surprise, sympathy, emphasis — and 'tchê' is the tag you attach to a sentence addressed to someone. Together they identify a rio-grandense anywhere in Brazil.

Boy and girl, used well past childhood. Where a paulista says 'menino' or 'cara', here it is 'guri'.

'No way', 'you don't say' — flat disbelief, delivered deadpan. It sounds like 'capable' and means the opposite of agreement.

Hot mate drunk from a shared gourd through a metal straw, refilled from a flask. It is drunk all day, at work, in parks and on buses, and it is shared — being offered the cuia is an invitation, and you drink and pass it back.

The cold dry wind off the pampas that arrives behind a front and drops the temperature sharply. When someone says the minuano is coming, put a coat in the car.

The Centro de Tradições Gaúchas, the neighbourhood clubs that keep the traditional music and dance going, and the week of encampments and parades that ends on 20 September, the state holiday.

Tangerine, traffic light and bread roll. Three everyday words that are different in Rio Grande do Sul from the rest of Brazil, and three ways to sound local immediately.

The water level of the Guaíba in metres, published continuously and followed by everyone since 2024. Three metres is the alert level; the May 2024 peak was 5.35.

Brazil's taxpayer number and, since 2023, its single national identification number. Obtainable from abroad, required for everything.

The foreign resident card issued by the Federal Police after you register. Your proof of legal residence in Brazil.

Free instant transfer between Brazilian accounts, used for rent, the feira stall and the plumber alike.

Brazil's emergency numbers, free from any phone anywhere in the country.