Comparing options in Portuguese: price, size and quality

Level A2

Comparing options in Portuguese: price, size and quality

You are choosing between two backpacks with a friend. Compare their price, size and quality, then say which one you want. One comparison describes one quality: more or less, equal, or better or worse.

Words for two familiar objects

Mochila means backpack; it is feminine: a mochila. Vermelha means red and azul means blue; a vermelha and a azul mean the red one and the blue one once mochila is understood. Caro means expensive: with mochila, use cara; grande means big, pequeno small, novo new and velho old. Feminine forms include pequena, nova and velha; grande and azul do not change for gender. Recall the plural: a mochila nova → as mochilas novas, a mochila grande → as mochilas grandes; é becomes são. Custa means costs, vinte is twenty, trinta thirty, and the Brazilian currency real becomes reais after these numbers.

Two backpacks, one choice

Listen to the conversation between a buyer and a friend: red costs 30 reais, blue 20, and they are the same size. The friend judges the red backpack better in quality, but the buyer prioritizes price. Qual é melhor? means Which is better? and Quero a azul means I want the blue one. The four comparisons cover a higher price, a lower price, equal size, and the better/worse quality contrast.

Compare the price

Mais cara que means more expensive than, and menos cara que means less expensive than. Put mais or menos before the adjective and que before the other option; cara still agrees with mochila. In the template, a opção means the option and a outra means the other one. Portuguese que does the work of English than here; you do not add an English-style ending such as -er to cara. These two examples describe the same prices from opposite sides.

A opção é mais / menos cara que a outra

The same size

Tão grande quanto means as big as: put the quality between tão and quanto. The blue backpack is as big as the red one, so a lower price does not mean a smaller backpack. Unlike English as… as, Portuguese uses two different words here. Grande stays grande with a feminine singular noun; this section compares size, not price.

A opção é tão grande quanto a outra

Better and worse

Melhor means better and pior means worse in quality or suitability, not best and worst. For this comparison, say melhor and pior rather than mais bom and mais ruim. You can name the other option after que, as in A vermelha é melhor que a azul. Without that ending, the two options can be understood from the conversation. A better-quality backpack may cost more, but price alone does not prove quality; in this scene the friend has also compared the backpacks themselves.

Your turn: new prices, your decision

First replay the conversation: the red backpack costs 30 reais, the blue one 20, their size is equal, and the friend judges the red one better in quality. The buyer wants the cheaper one, so Quero a azul means I want the blue one; quero is I want, with no need to say eu here. Now imagine a different shop: blue costs 30 reais, red costs 20, and the two are equally big. Before looking at the examples, say which is more expensive, say the red one is as big as the blue one, and choose the red one because your priority is price. Check the three models below, then tell a friend your own choice between two familiar objects using a comparison you can support.

Choose by a clear comparison

Ask Qual é melhor? (Which is better?): qual asks which one, é means is, and melhor means better. For price, use mais/menos cara que; for equal size, tão grande quanto; for quality, melhor or pior, with que if you name the other option. Portuguese keeps é after qual in this question. Compare a specific quality before deciding: a cheaper option can be the right choice for you.

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