Music vocabulary Música
12 Portuguese words on the topic of music — with pictures, audio recordings and example sentences. Sounds and performances.
| Picture | English | Portuguese · Português | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | music | a música | In everyday speech also 'a song': uma música; a musician is o músico. |
 | song | a canção | A bit formal — colloquially people say música; plural canções. |
 | singer | o cantor | Feminine: a cantora; a true cognate of the English 'cantor' in a synagogue. |
 | band | o grupo | A rock band is usually a banda; o grupo is more general. |
 | guitar | a guitarra | In Brazil guitarra means electric guitar; an acoustic one is o violão. |
 | piano | o piano | tocar piano = to play the piano; pianist: o pianista. |
 | to play | tocar | Also 'to play an instrument' and 'to ring'. |
 | to sing | cantar | Family: o cantor (singer) and a canção (song); a regular -ar verb. |
 | rhythm | o ritmo | In Brazil an initial r sounds like English 'h': roughly 'HEE-chee-moo'. |
 | lyrics | a letra | Lyrics, a letter of the alphabet, or handwriting — but a mail letter is a carta. |
 | concert | o concerto | Sounds exactly like conserto (a repair) — only the spelling differs. |
 | stage | o palco | To go on stage: subir ao palco. |