What does “besteira” mean in Portuguese?

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A2 Portuguese listening practice · Brazilian Portuguese · Picked for people who know a little

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besteira
Brazilian Portuguese everyday word
“nonsense, silly stuff”; fazer besteira = goof around, or mess up

Besteira means silly or unimportant stuff. Falar besteira is talking nonsense, and é besteira means “it’s nothing, don’t worry.” Fazer besteira depends on the situation. Between friends it’s goofing around. After a mistake, fiz besteira means “I messed up.” You’ll hear it all the time in Brazil. In Portugal, people often say disparate instead.

The couple here explain what keeps them together: a gente dá risada, faz besteira, passeia, viaja (“we laugh, fool around, go out, travel”). That’s the friendly meaning, two people being silly together. The word comes from besta (“beast, dumb animal”), which is why que besteira! can also sound a bit dismissive.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this A2 Portuguese listening practice video?

95%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common Portuguese words
Most of the words in this video are common Portuguese words.

How common in written Portuguese

85%
Top 1,000
95%
Top 2,000
98.3%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken Portuguese

89.1%
Top 1,000
100%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in Portuguese.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.

passeia
1×
Not in top 5,000
risada
1×
Not in top 5,000
laugh or giggle
besteira
1×
Top 5,000People say this a lot
nonsense or foolishness
absolutamente
1×
Top 5,000People say this a lot
absolutely or completely
a amizade além de tudo
1×
friendship is essential above all else

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-PT-BR 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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