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- Topic: Portuguese >
- "Eles amam café."
16 Comments
It sounds right to me, despite the robotic voice. You can compare with it a human voice here: http://pt.forvo.com/word/amam/
317
I find it difficult to get used to that Portuguese sometimes pronounces "a" like English pronounces "uh."
76
Is there another form for "love?" In Spanish, one uses "amar" when referring to a person and "encantar" when referring to a thing. Does Portuguese follow a similar rule?
We use "adorar" mostly. It's much less a big deal than "amar", and yet, much more than just "liking".
If you're saying it to a person, "eu te amo" is something you'd say to your boy/girlfriend, while "eu te adoro" can be said with less compromising.
If you're talking about things, "adorar" is the most common option. "Amar" is still possible and still more sentimental.
Maybe you could scale them like this:
- Gostar = To like / To appreciate
- Adorar = To like very much / To love
- Amar = To love
"Encantar" has something magical to it. To "charm", "amuse" or "fascinate" may be good translations.
It should be used the other way around, though:
- Eu amo algo
- Algo me encanta
I came here to ask a similar question, still curious. Is Brazillian portuguese as liberal with amar as English is with to love? Thanks.
I don't know about the others, but French has a strong restriction about leaving a noun unaccompanied.
But Portuguese is much more like English: articles for specific things, no articles for general things.
A few differences occur about:
- Portuguese allowing "singular countable" nouns to be used without articles having a general meaning.
- Portuguese requiring definite articles in many cases for nouns that English sees as naturally general nouns: "Nature, Peace, Mankind".
- Portuguese often using definite articles in general plural subjects.
Examples:
- Gosto de bolo = I like cakes
- A humanidade precisa parar e pensar = Mankind needs to stop and think
- As coisas estão esquisitas por aqui = Things are strange around here