"They eat beef."

Translation: Eles comem carne bovina.

[cbrown214]

Why wouldnt it be " eles comem bife "

[vivisaurus]

Because:

Bife = steak
Beef = carne bovina (carne vermelha/carne de vaca/carne de boi)

So the words are similar, which causes confusion. But bife is not synonymous with beef. I hope it helps! =]

[ChristianD607584]

But a steak is beef. So why woukdnt it be the same?

[DREDWARD]

NOT ALL steaks are BEEF,i.e. Ham steak..... :)

[cdenisenm]

this comes up early in the color section but never in the food section. So it is very confusing for beginners.

[Kevin1313]

Wouldn't 't "Comem carne vermelha" be considered correct as well?

[vivisaurus]

No, you need "Eles" in this case.

[BronwynB]

Is "red beef" something that people really say?

[vivisaurus]

No. "Red meat" is. Carne means "meat" not beef. =]

[arvore]

I learned "bife" meaning "beef" from a native Carioca. Does anyone know whether it's used in other Lusophone countries, like Portugal or the PALOPs?

[vivisaurus]

The native carioca was slightly incorrect. Beef is "carne de vaca", "carne de boi" or "carne vermelha". Bife is a cut of meat, like a steak.

I don't know about Portugal.

[edit]: I forgot that it is also called carne bovina, which is what you will see on product labels. Honestly, most Brazilians buy beef by the cut. We often call the meat by its specific name (Alcatra, Picanha, Fraldinha, Maminha, etc). If you have ever been to a Brazilian Grill and Rodízio restaurant, you should have encountered these by now. Picanha is the big star. =)

[iggypeti]

it's the same in Portugal

[alhA8U]

"Carne de vaca" was marked incorrect.

[DREDWARD]

OBRIGADO :)

[Dagmar714239]

Hi,here in Portugal they say bife for steak and vaca for beef (meat) lol

[tonsq]

in the sentence it does not state the color

[vivisaurus]

You're right. But "carne vermelha" is a translation of the word "beef" (which is also called "red meat" in English.) =)

[julianvm]

Where is the RED in the Portuguese text???????

[vivisaurus]

Please take a look at my response to tonsq and other users to see if it helps clarify. =)

[xConnorDx]

Look under each of the words in the sentence, it says "Eles comem carne vermelha." Vermelha or vermelho means "red". Carne vermelha means beef.. or Red meat in English. You're welcome.

[ChristianD607584]

Im confused. It said in thr comments above that bife is wrong for beef because it means steak....steaks are beef? So how is it not the same?

[vivisaurus]

There are other types of steaks, like for example a tuna steak (fish). Beef always refers to bovine meat. =]

[Kirstendos]

Why is it carne vermelha and not carne vermelho. Is carne feminine?

[vivisaurus]

Yes it is. =]

[Winnie776977]

I have not yet been taught the word "bovina", so why is it in an answer that I have to translate? The only time I saw a similar sentence, "beef" was translated as "carne vermelho" which is what I used in my translation and it was marked incorrect. Please explain this to me.

[melesana]

The program rejected "Comem carne de vaca." it said I left out "eles", which I did. Isn't "eles" included, at least by implication, in "comem"?

[vivisaurus]

Yes, it is implied, but it sounds weird when done with "eles", so I don't think you can do that. To be clear, it can be done with "eu", no problem. I think it is because it is in the beginning of the sentence, or maybe it is because it is simply not used with other conjugations, specifically because it is not clearly "eles" (when it could be "elas). Sorry, I am not sure why, but it is simply not really done when it is "they", unless it is a response.

[jcg591]

Could the implied subject also be "voces"?

[AlisonEOK]

My boyfriend is a native Brazilian and says that "eles comem bife" is an acceptable answer to this question and that he would've translated the sentence this way.

[ALex_BR]

They eat red beef.

[echaces]

They eat red MEAT