How to Talk About Seasoning in Brazilian Portuguese — Practice

Taste and describe the seasoning

Provar means to taste or try a food. Temperar means to season it, and tempero means seasoning. You can say Está bem temperado (It is well seasoned) or Precisa de mais sal (It needs more salt).

A bit too much is um pouco demais. Use the adjective salgado or salgada to describe something salty, and apimentado or apimentada for spicy food. Match the ending to the dish or ingredient when the adjective changes.

Ask for less or more of an ingredient

Use sem for ‘without’ and pouco or pouca for ‘little’ or ‘not much.’ Sem pimenta means without pepper or chili; pouca pimenta asks for only a little. If the ingredient is countable, use poucos or poucas.

A gosto means ‘to taste’ or ‘as desired’ in a recipe. At a meal, ask whether an ingredient is already mixed in before requesting that it be left out.

Make a gentle adjustment request

When cooking with someone, offer a specific suggestion: Talvez precise de mais alho (Maybe it needs more garlic) or Acho que já está bom assim (I think it is good as it is). Talvez softens a suggestion, while acho que introduces your opinion.

If you are ordering at a restaurant, ingredient changes may depend on how the dish is prepared. Ask whether an adjustment is possible rather than assuming every request can be accommodated.

Remember: Name the seasoning and say whether you want more, less, or none. A specific request is easier to understand than ‘make it different.’

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I’m going to taste the sauce before serving.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou provar o molho antes de servir.

2. The soup is too salty.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A sopa está salgada demais.

3. Is this sauce very spicy?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Esse molho é muito apimentado?

4. Could you use just a little pepper, please?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Pode colocar pouca pimenta, por favor?

5. I prefer it without cilantro.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Prefiro sem coentro.

6. Could you serve the sauce on the side?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você pode servir o molho à parte?

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Name the seasoning and say whether you want more, less, or none. A specific request is easier to understand than ‘make it different.’

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our How to Talk About Seasoning in Brazilian Portuguese lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.