Cachaça in Brazil: Pinga, Slang Names and How We Drink It

So, what is cachaça? It's Brazil's national spirit, a sugarcane liquor we've been making for centuries and the base of the caipirinha. And if you've ever been to Brazil, you probably heard someone at the bar order "uma pinga". Don't worry, it's the same drink: pinga in Brazil is one of the most common nicknames for cachaça.

Brazilian cachaça (you'll often see it written "cachaca", without the ç) is distilled from fresh, fermented sugarcane juice, which is what sets it apart from rum, usually made from molasses. The word "pinga" comes from the verb "pingar" (to drip), because of the drops that fall from the still during distillation. Here in Brazil we use it every day to talk about any cachaça, from the cheapest bottle at the corner bar to premium ones aged in wooden barrels.

In this lesson you'll learn the cachaça meaning and the pinga meaning, other slang names for this Brazilian sugarcane liquor, the types of cachaça, how we drink it, the expressions we use when someone has had one too many and, of course, the caipirinha recipe, the most famous cocktail in the country. Saúde!

Video: Cachaça Vocabulary and Expressions in Brazilian Portuguese

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ALL ABOUT BRAZILIAN CACHAÇA

Other names for "cachaça" in Brazil

• Cana
• Pinga
• Água que passarinho não bebe
• Birinaite
• Bafo-de-tigre

Article in Portuguese: Criatividade do Brasileiro para apelidar a Cachaça

MEANINGS OF PINGA, PINGO AND PINGAR

Pinga: A word we use in Brazil to refer to cachaça.

Fun fact: in many Spanish-speaking countries, "pinga" is slang for "penis". So if you have Spanish-speaking friends, they'll probably laugh when you order one!

Gato pingado: An expression we use to say there are very few people somewhere, like saying "there were only a handful of people".

Pingo: The same as "gota" (a drop).

Pingar: A verb that means "to drip".

CACHAÇA AROUND THE WORLD: WHO IMPORTS THE MOST?

The countries that import the most cachaça from Brazil are Paraguay, Germany, the US, Portugal and France.

Articles in Portuguese

• The History of Cachaça
• What Is EXPOCACHAÇA?
• Cachaça in Numbers: Exports

TYPES OF CACHAÇA (BRAZILIAN SUGARCANE LIQUOR)

Prata (Silver)

• Unaged or barely aged cachaça. It keeps the freshness and the purest flavors of the sugarcane.

Ouro (Gold)

• Cachaça aged in wooden barrels, which gives it color and more complex flavor notes from the oak.

Premium

• Higher quality cachaça, often made with more refined techniques. It may go through special aging or filtering processes.

Extra Premium

• The top category, with exceptional and often rare cachaças. They can go through meticulous production processes and long aging periods.

HOW TO SAY SOMEONE IS DRINKING A LOT

• Encher a cara
• Enchendo a lata
• Bebendo adoidado

And if the person is already drunk, one way to say it is "ele já tá chutado".

Ways to say "drunk" in Portuguese and the stages of getting drunk

LOSING YOUR BALANCE

• Ficar/estar tonto
• Ter tontura
• Cambalear

A slang way to say "to pee" in Portuguese is "tirar água do joelho" (literally "to take the water out of the knee"). It's very informal and mostly used among men.

15 expressions with the verb TIRAR in Portuguese

QUOTES ABOUT CACHAÇA / PINGA

A cerveja e a cachaça são os piores inimigos do homem. Mas o homem que foge dos seus inimigos é um covarde.
- Zeca Pagodinho

Sou aquele vinho caro que você não sabe degustar porque só esta acostumado com pinga barata.
- Vanessa Pimentel

How to Say "Bar Snacks" in Portuguese

• Petisco
• Tira gosto
• Petiscar
• Beliscar (it also means "to pinch" someone)

Article in Portuguese: 4 Petiscos que combinam com cachaça

Ways to say "let's set something up" in Portuguese: COMBINAR

Typical Brazilian food

SMOOTH OR STRONG? TASTING CACHAÇA

What to say when you have a "dose de cachaça" (a shot of cachaça) and want to comment on how strong it is.

WEAK CACHAÇA (LOW ALCOHOL)

• Tá muito fraca
• Muito suave

STRONG CACHAÇA (HIGH ALCOHOL)

• Tá forte demais
• Desceu queimando
• Tacá porra
• Carai (caralho)

The most common swear words in Brazilian Portuguese

PEGADINHA (PRANK VIDEO) - PINGA

How to use PEGAR in Portuguese

Funny Portuguese phrases: Brazilian inside jokes

DRINKING ALCOHOL TO SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGES

It's a fact that a lot of people loosen their tongue when they drink, but how far can alcohol actually help you speak other languages?

Article in Portuguese: Álcool te ajuda a falar melhor outras línguas

I had a good laugh when I found this old song they used to play during Carnival here in Brazil.

Cachaça Não É Água - Marchinhas de Carnaval

Você pensa que cachaça é água?
Cachaça não é água não
Cachaça vem do alambique
E água vem do ribeirão

Você pensa que cachaça é água?
Cachaça não é água não
Cachaça vem do alambique
E água vem do ribeirão

Pode me faltar tudo na vida
Arroz, feijão e pão
Pode me faltar manteiga
E tudo mais não faz falta não

Pode me faltar o amor
(Disto eu até acho graça)
Só não quero que me falte
A danada da cachaça

Você pensa que cachaça é água?
Cachaça não é água não
Cachaça vem do alambique
E água vem do ribeirão

Recipes: Caipirinha, Caipiroska and Caipifruta

Article in Portuguese: Receitas com Cachaça

Caipirinha (made with cachaça)

Caipiroska (made with vodka)

Caipifruta (made with fruit)