Capoeira Glossary
Basic Capoeira Vocabulary
When you step into your first capoeira class, you will be bombarded by many foreign words. Don’t worry. You don’t need to be fluent in Brazilian Portuguese to play capoeira, but it would help you to know a few basic words you may hear while training:
Numbers (One – Ten)
um: 1
dois: 2
tres: 3
quatro: 4
cinco: 5
seis: 6
sete: 7 (pronounced “setch”)
oito: 8 (pronounced “oy-toh”)
nove: 9 (pronounced noh-vay)
dez: 10
Questions
quando: when
onde: where
o que: what
por que: why
quem: who
como: how
Pronouns
eu: I
voce: you
ele/ela: he/she
nos: we
Body Parts
mao: hand
braco: arm
cabeca: head
cotovelo: elbow
perna: leg
pe: foot
joelho: knee
Instruments
berimbau: the main instrument of capoeira
atabaque: the capoeira drum
pandeiro: the capoeira tambourine
Miscellaneous
de novo: again
mais uma vez: one more time
assim: like this
pior: worse
melhor: better
pouco: few/little
muito: many/very
esquerda: left
direita: right
para tras: backwards
para frente: forward
mais: more
menos: less
rapido: fast
devegar: slow
roda: circle/wheel, this is the circle of people in which the capoeira game is played
jogo: game, jogar capoeira is to play capoeira
volta ao mundo: around the world, this is when capoeiristas circle the roda, usually to catch their breath or take a break in the game
mestre: a master of capoeira
esquiva: dodge
movimento: movement
comprar de jogo: buy the game, this is when you enter the jogo by “cutting out” a player, it’s sometimes considered disrespectful to buy from mestres and other instructors
Movements
au amazona: one hand cartwheel kick; trademark capoeira move
armada: basic upright spin kick
aú: capoeira style cartwheel
bananeira: handstand or headstand
banda: movement to trip or flank an opponent
cabeçada: headbutt
chamada: literally to call; ritualized movement across roda (mainly used in Angola)
cisora: “scissors”; a takedown
pisao: flat footed kick to the side
comprar o jogo – to buy a game, entering the circle by cutting in on another player
entrar: to enter
esquiva: escape movement
floreios – acrobatic movements
ginga: basic movement of capoeira
jogar: to play
negativa: literally “negative”; basic defense
macaco: “monkey flip”; a low back handspring
martelo cruzado: “roundhouse kick”; strike with the top of foot
meia lua de compasso: low spining kick with hands on the ground
mortal: backflip
piao de cabesa (de mao): spin on the head (spin on the hands)
queixada: circular kick; strike with the outside of the foot
rasteira: a sweeping trip; trademark capoeira move
role: “roll”; basic defense
volta ao mundo: “around the world”; circling the roda
General Vocabulary
Angola: traditional capoeira; usually played slow and close to the ground
angoleiro: a practitioner of the capoeira angola style
Apelido – nickname given to a player in the course of his training, sometimes as part of a batizado initiation
atabaque: a drum
ataque – attacking move or movement initiative
axe: life force; energy of capeira
batizado – the capoeira initiation ceremony; baptism
beriba: wood for making berimbau
berimbau: one-stringed precussion instrument
Besouro: a famous capoeirista who had legendary mandinga, a beetle
Bimba: a famous deceased capoeira mestre; father of capoeira regional
cabaça: gourd resonator of the berimbau
capoeirista: one who plays capoeira
camará: comrade
caxixí: shaker played with the berimbau
corda: “cord”; capoeira belt used to show advancement
corridos: call and response songs accompanying action in the circle
costas: back (anatomy)
defesa: defensive movement
fechado: to be closed
fechar: to close
frente: front
gunga: bass berimbau
hora: hour; time
jogador – player
jogo: game; a game of capoeira; the verb is jogar
ladainha: introductory solo of roda or game, usually sung by a mestre
maculêlê: stick fighting dance
malandragem: double-dealing or cunning
malandro: crook or streetwise person
malícia: deception, trickery, double-dealing
mandigueiro: a tricky capoeira player
mangangá: sorcerer, healer in the Afro-Brazilian tradition
mar: ocean
medio: middle pitched berimbau
mestre: master, senior capoeira teacher
moleque: street urchin; punk
pandeiro: a tambourine
Pastinha: famous deceased teacher of Capoeira Angola from Bahia
patuá: amulet worn around the neck for protection
pé do berimbau: position in front of the berimbau
reco-reco: ribbed bamboo scraper
Regional – innovative, modern style of capoeira, associated with Mestre Bimba
roda: circle; circle made of people where capoeira is played
samba: brazilian rhythm and dance
sequencia – sequence of moves learned by players in Regional style
tocar: to touch; to play music
vaqueta: stick used to strike the string of the berimbau
viola: the highest pitched berimbau
Glossary adapted from Ring of Liberation and Capoeira Angola Club (Boulder, CO).