Mozambican Portuguese→English

Translate Mozambican Portuguese to English the way locals mean it.

Mozambican Portuguese uses local words and familiar Portuguese particles in ways that can make a literal reading miss what someone actually means.

Going the other way? English to Mozambican Portuguese

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Portuguese varieties

What locals actually say

Isso é maningue caro.

That’s really expensive.

Maningue is a Mozambican intensifier meaning “very” or “really,” not a reference to quantity.

Apanha uma chapa até à Baixa.

Take a minibus to downtown.

Chapa is the everyday Mozambican word for a shared minibus, so it does not mean a sheet or piece of metal here.

Estou a chegar já.

I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon.

Já can point to the immediate future in this construction, rather than saying the speaker has already arrived.

Quanto custa isto em meticais?

How much is this in meticais?

Meticais is Mozambique’s currency, signalling a Mozambican setting.

Hoje temos xima com caril.

Today we’re having xima with curry.

Xima is a Mozambican staple made from maize meal, signalling local food culture.

A mana já chegou a casa.

My sister has already got home.

Mana is a familiar Mozambican term for sister, and can also be used as a friendly form of address.

O cacimbo está forte hoje.

The cold mist is really thick today.

Cacimbo refers to the cool, misty weather associated with the dry season in Mozambique.

Vamos bazar cedo amanhã.

We’re heading out early tomorrow.

Bazar is colloquial Mozambican Portuguese for leaving or heading off.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Mozambican Portuguese differs

Mozambican Portuguese. European-leaning grammar; local vocabulary where casual (chapa for minibus, machimbombo for bus, maningue for very); metical currency.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way