Portuguese · Nature, Animals & Weather

"Duck" in Portuguese: pato

o pato

Say it: PAH-toomasculine · o patonoun/ˈpa.tu/

Duck in Portuguese is o pato. Parks have patos na lagoa; menus may list peito de pato as a dish.

Park stroll

As crianças alimentam o pato com milho, não com pão.
The kids feed the duck corn, not bread.
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How to pronounce pato

Say it

PAH-too

/ˈpa.tu/

PAH-too. Open a.

"Duck" in Portuguese: quick reference

PortugueseEnglish
o patothe duck

Animal (male/default).

a patathe female duck / duck’s foot

Context decides.

patinhoduckling / little duck

Cute diminutive.

peito de patoduck breast

Menu item.

How to use pato in real life

  1. 1Park stroll

    As crianças alimentam o pato com milho, não com pão.

    The kids feed the duck corn, not bread.

    Park tip.

  2. 2Restaurant

    Vou pedir o pato com laranja hoje.

    I’ll order the duck with orange today.

    Food sense.

  3. 3Farm visit

    O pato correu para o lago quando ouviu barulho.

    The duck ran to the lake when it heard noise.

    Animal action.

Mistakes English speakers make with pato

Incorrect: A pato nadou.

Correct: O pato nadou.

Default animal noun is masculine: o pato.

Incorrect: Olha o duck!

Correct: Olha o pato!

Use pato.

Good to know

Pato is both the bird and a restaurant protein in Brazil. Pato no tucupi is a famous Northern dish. Calling someone pato can mean a sucker in slang—tone matters.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Watching birds at a lake

  1. ChatPal

    Aquele pato branco é enorme!

    That white duck is huge!

  2. You

    Verdade. O pato nem liga para a gente.

    True. The duck doesn’t even notice us.

  3. ChatPal

    Quer fotografar o pato antes que voe?

    Want to photograph the duck before it flies?

  4. You

    Quero. Sem flash, luz natural.

    I do. No flash, just natural light.

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"Duck" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Duck" in Portuguese

Gender?

O pato for the default animal.

Female duck?

A pata (also means paw/foot).

Duckling?

Patinho.

On menus?

Pato / peito de pato.

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