Essential Portuguese phrases

The two all-purpose Northeastern exclamations — surprise, disbelief, mild alarm. You will hear both within an hour of landing and neither is used in the south.

Dad and mum in Bahia, and also used affectionately to strangers. A shopkeeper calling you 'mainha' is being warm, not familiar.

A Yoruba word for vital force, central to Candomblé, and separately the name of the city's carnival pop genre. Context tells you which one is meant.

A Candomblé house of worship. Salvador has hundreds; some are listed heritage sites. Visits happen by invitation and there is etiquette — ask before photographing anything.

The articulated lorry rigged as a moving stage that carnival is built around. Invented here in 1950 and the reason Salvador's carnival is a street parade rather than a stadium show.

The three ways to do carnival: buy an abadá shirt and follow a bloco inside its ropes, go 'pipoca' and dance free in the street, or pay for a camarote balcony. They are different experiences and different budgets.

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 acarajé stall and the plumber alike.

Salvador is built on a 70-metre escarpment and the two halves are genuinely separate cities. The Elevador Lacerda has connected them since 1873 and still costs small change.

Black-eyed-pea fritter fried in dendê palm oil, split and filled with vatapá, caruru and prawns. Sold by baianas de acarajé, whose craft is registered national intangible heritage.

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