On Saturday I’m headed to Brazil to lead a week-long workshop on interactive fiction as a (very small) part of a literature conference in Passo Fundo. I gather most of the people I’ll be working with will know some English, and there will also be translators available. But it occurred to me that it might be helpful to have the standard verb list from my intro-to-IF pdf here, with Portuguese equivalents, so that I can hand this around to people when they’re trying out games.
It would’ve been smarter to have thought of this two weeks ago, I realize, but perhaps someone out here either a) already has written out a list of standard verbs in the process of making a Portuguese library or b) wouldn’t find it hard to translate the list quickly?
If not, I imagine we’ll still be okay, but any help would be much appreciated.
Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling 
There’s always Babelfish…
(waits for the groans of protest)
C.
ps – Hey, I *like* Babelfish.
Hi, I am a native brazilian, let me help you:
[something]:algo OR alguma coisa
answer [text] to [someone] : responder [texto] para [alguém]
score: pontuação
ask [someone] for [something]: pedir a [alguém] por [alguma coisa]
search [something]: procurar [alguma coisa]
ask [someone] about [something]: perguntar a [alguém] sobre [alguma coisa]
set [something] to [something]: Hi, I haven’t played IFs in a while and don’t remember this… could you e-mail me with this in some context? Because this can be translated in several ways
attack [something]: atacar [alguma coisa]
show [something] to [someone]: mostra [algo] para [alguém]
blow [something held]: Again, can you give me some context?
sing: cantar
burn [something]: queimar [algo]
sit on [something]: sentar em [algo]
buy [something]: comprar [algo]
sleep: dormir
climb [something]: escalar [algo]
smell [something]: cheirar [algo]
close [something]: fechar [alguma coisa]
sorry: desculpa
cut [something]: cortar [algo]
squeeze [something]: espremer [algo]
dig [something]: cavar [algo]
swim: nadar
drink [something]: tomar [algo]
swing [something]: balançar [algo]
drop [things held]: jogar [coisa em mãos] no chão (drop could be ‘ derrubar’, too, but ‘derrubar relógio’ sounds really weird in portuguese, because you usually only ‘derruba’ things by accident )
switch [something] [on/off]: switch on: ligar / switch off: desligar
eat [something held]: comer [algo em mãos]
talk to [someone]: falar com [alguém]
enter [something]: enter a building? Could be ‘adentrar [something]’.
take [things]: pegar [coisas]
look: olhar
examine [something] (or X): examinar [algo]
take off [something]: tirar [algo]
look inside [something]: olhar dentro de [algo]
exit: verb: sair / noum: saída
taste [something]: saborear [algo] (‘saborear’ is usually to taste something good, you could use ‘experimentar’ if you want to know what something tastes like, like, ‘experimentar fruit’ to see if it’s not rotten, and ‘saborar grandma’s cake’ to really ‘feel’ the taste of your favorite cake)
look under [something]: olhar debaixo de [algo]
fill [something]: encher [algo]
tell [someone] about [something]: contar a [alguém] sobre [alguma coisa]
look up [text] in [something]: olhar [texto] em [alguma coisa]
get off [something]: tirar [alguma coisa]
think: pensar
no: não
give [something] to [someone]: dar [algo] a [alguém]
touch [something]: tocar [algo]
open [something]: abrir [algo]
go [direction — N, S, E, W,NW, NE, SW, SE, up, down, in,
out]: ir para [direção — N, S, L, O,NO,NL,SO,SL, cima, baixo, dentro, fora]
transcript [on/off]: transcrito [ligado/desligado]
pull [something]: puxar [algo]
turn [something]: virar [algo]
push [something]: empurrar [algo]
go to [any room]: ir para [qualquer lugar]
unlock [something] with [something]: destrancar [algo] com [alguma coisa]
[direction]: [direção]
help: ajuda
put [things] in [something]: colocar [coisas] em [algo]
inventory (or I): inventário
wait (or Z): esperar
jump: pular
wake up: acordar
pray: rezar
jump over [something]: pular sobre [algo]
wake [someone]: acordar [alguém]
quit (or Q): sair
kiss [someone]: beijar [alguém]
wave: acenar
restart: reiniciar
listen: ouvir
wave [something held]: balançar [algo]
restore: restaurar
listen to [something]: ouvir [algo]
wear [something held]: vestir [algo]
rub [something]: esfregar [algo]
lock [something] with [something]: trancar [algo] com [algo]
yes: sim
save: salvar
Wonderful! Thanks very much. (I’ve emailed about the “set” command.)
Please, e-mail me with any doubts, and to give me some context to about the things I couldn’t translate
My two cents and suggestions, from a native portuguese that plays IF games.
Cindy can tell me if I’m suggesting anything that isn’t used in Brazil.
I think the main problem with translating commands is that the majority of games is available in english, so most people are familiar with the rudimentary terms.
“climb,” I’d use “subir” (“escalar” is usually for mountains).
For “drink” I think that the most general term (suiting all regional versions) would be “beber.”
“drop,” in the sense of the action usualy used in the games, is “largar.”
“taste” is simply “provar” (“saborear” is for pleasure, and “experimentar” can be applied to pretty much anything – maybe good for a “try” command).
For “save” I’d probably use “guardar” or “gravar.”
“Salvar” has the sense of saving someone’s life…
I hope this is still in time…
I agree with those, they are better than my translations.
Not too late at all, and thanks to both of you.
About this (very useful for beginners!) standard verb list, I’ve always wondered why “sorry” was included. Is it really a common command? I don’t think I’ve ever played an IF game which required it…
It’s implemented by default in Inform, which is why it’s on the list. I may leave it out for this purpose, though, since as you say it is rarely important for anything.
Well it was useful when I was mean to Galatea.
How’d your thing go?
C.
Hi Emily!
Do you know about an Inform library to portuguese? After you speech in Brazil people did not get interested to translate the Inform library to portuguese?
Best!
There was interest at the time, but I know of no completed Portuguese library at the moment.