Meaning & use
Brazilian
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Belonging to or relating to Brazil, its people, or its culture.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe something from Brazil: Brazilian coffee, Brazilian music.
Patterns
- Brazilian + noun
She loves Brazilian music, especially samba and bossa nova.
The Brazilian coast is famous for its beautiful beaches.
He studies Brazilian history at university.
nouncountable
A person who was born in Brazil or who is a legal citizen of Brazil.
Grammar: Countable noun; plural is Brazilians. Use it to talk about one person or a group.
Patterns
- a Brazilian
- the Brazilians
My neighbor is a Brazilian who moved here five years ago.
Many Brazilians speak Portuguese as their first language.
She married a Brazilian and now lives in São Paulo.
Word forms
| plural | Brazilians |
|---|
Common combinations
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Brazilian Portuguese sounds different from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal.
- Brazilian wax
- She booked a Brazilian wax before her vacation.
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- He trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu three times a week.
- Brazilian real
- The Brazilian real lost value against the dollar last year.
Commonly confused: Brazilian or Brasilia?
Brazilian vs Brasilia
Brasilia is the capital city of Brazil, while Brazilian describes anything from the country. Do not confuse the city name with the nationality adjective.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Brazilian' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Brazilian' is the correct noun for a person from Brazil, so option 0 works. Option 1 repeats 'Rio' unnecessarily but is not wrong; however, option 0 is the best because it avoids the awkward repetition. Option 2 uses 'Brazil' (the country) instead of 'Brazilian' (the person), and option 3 misspells 'Brasilia' and uses it as a place to live, which is not standard English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Brazilian”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.