Portuguese · Nature, Animals & Weather

"Fly (insect)" in Portuguese: mosca

a mosca

Say it: MOHS-kahfeminine · a moscanoun/ˈmos.ka/

A fly (insect) in Portuguese is a mosca. Swat talk uses matar a mosca or espantar a mosca.

Kitchen

Tem uma mosca em cima da fruta.
There’s a fly on top of the fruit.
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How to pronounce mosca

Say it

MOHS-kah

/ˈmos.ka/

MOHS-kah

"Fly (insect)" in Portuguese: quick reference

PortugueseEnglish
a moscathe fly

Singular.

as moscasthe flies

Plural.

espantar a moscato shoo the fly

Action.

mosca na sopafly in the soup

Complaint idiom setup.

How to use mosca in real life

  1. 1Kitchen

    Tem uma mosca em cima da fruta.

    There’s a fly on top of the fruit.

    Spotting.

  2. 2Restaurant

    O garçom espantou a mosca da mesa.

    The waiter shooed the fly off the table.

    Service moment.

  3. 3Window

    Fechei a janela para a mosca não entrar.

    I closed the window so the fly wouldn’t come in.

    Prevention.

Mistakes English speakers make with mosca

Incorrect: O mosca entrou.

Correct: A mosca entrou.

Mosca is feminine.

Incorrect: Matei um fly.

Correct: Matei uma mosca.

Use mosca for the insect (not the verb to fly).

Good to know

Mosca is the housefly. Don’t confuse it with the verb voar (to fly). Screens and closed food containers are the usual Brazilian kitchen defense.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Lunch interrupted

  1. ChatPal

    Olha a mosca no suco!

    Look at the fly on the juice!

  2. You

    Tira o copo a mosca some.

    Move the glass — the fly will leave.

  3. ChatPal

    fechei a janela.

    I already closed the window.

  4. You

    Bom. Vamos cobrir a comida.

    Good. Let’s cover the food.

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"Fly (insect)" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Fly (insect)" in Portuguese

Gender?

Feminine: a mosca.

Plural?

As moscas.

Verb to fly?

Voar — different word.

Mosquito vs fly?

Mosquito is mosquito; fly is mosca.

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