Portuguese · Home, Clothes & Daily Life

"Laundry" in Portuguese: roupa para lavar

a roupa para lavar

ah HOH-pah PAH-rah lah-VAHRfeminine · a roupa para lavarnoun/ˈa ˈʁou.pa ˈpa.ɾa la.ˈvaʁ/

Note: doing laundry: lavar roupa

Laundry in Portuguese is a roupa para lavar—the clothes waiting to be washed. Doing the chore is lavar roupa.

Sunday chores

A roupa para lavar está acumulando no corredor.

The laundry is piling up in the hallway.

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How to pronounce roupa para lavar

Say it

ah HOH-pah PAH-rah lah-VAHR

/ˈa ˈʁou.pa ˈpa.ɾa la.ˈvaʁ/

ah HOH-pah PAH-rah lah-VAHR

"Laundry" in Portuguese: quick reference

Portuguese	English	When to use
a roupa para lavar	the laundry (to wash) The pile itself.	The pile itself.
lavar roupa	to do laundry The activity (note).	The activity (note).
cesto de roupa	laundry basket Related object.	Related object.
roupa suja	dirty clothes Casual synonym pile.	Casual synonym pile.

How to use roupa para lavar in real life

1Sunday chores
A roupa para lavar está acumulando no corredor.
The laundry is piling up in the hallway.
Full headword phrase.
2Roommate note
Deixei a roupa para lavar perto da máquina.
I left the laundry near the machine.
Location cue.
3Travel bag
Separei a roupa para lavar da roupa limpa.
I separated the laundry from the clean clothes.
Limpa = clean.

Mistakes English speakers make with roupa para lavar

Incorrect: Minha laundry está suja.

Correct: Minha roupa para lavar está suja.

Use the Portuguese phrase.

Incorrect: A lavanderia (meaning the dirty pile).

Correct: A roupa para lavar.

Lavanderia is a laundry business/room, not the pile.

Good to know

Apartment buildings often have a shared lavanderia room, but at home people still point to a roupa para lavar in a basket. Sun-drying on a varal is classic Brazilian style.