"It is true."

Translation: É verdade.

[bananajello]

What is the rule for when you use "verdade" instead of "verdadeiro"?

[Paulenrique]

Truth = verdade, true = verdadeiro. This expression in Portuguese differs from English. We say "é verdade". "é verdadeiro" is used, for instance, for original brands.

[liofla]

That always bothered me a bit, isn't it technically incorrect? Shouldn't it either be "é a verdade" or "é verdadeiro"?

I understand that "é verdade" is idiomatic, my question is more if it can be generalized to other nouns. Can I say for instance "é tristeza" or "é vergonha"?

[Paulenrique]

I think this is a particular case for "verdade", as you should use "é triste" and "é vergonhoso".

"É verdadeiro" is also right, but it is used in another context: "It's genuine/legitimate".

Maybe that's why we use "é verdade" to mean "it's true".

[liofla]

Thank you for clearing that up, that bothered me every time I encountered it!