How many words are in this list?

This page gives 100 Portuguese words on “Society and politics”. The full topic holds 178 in the KoKo app: 71 at the easy level, 62 at the medium level and 45 at the hard level.

Which words should I start with?

With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.

How can I remember this Portuguese vocabulary?

By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

Portuguese vocabulary: politics and society

Government, elections, rights, debates: the Portuguese words for talking about society and politics.

Here are 100 Portuguese words on “Society and politics”, translated into English and sorted from easiest to hardest.

Level 1: easy 40 words

Portuguese	English
exército	army
ataque	attack
batalha	battle
fronteira	border
campanha	campaign
candidato	candidate
igreja	church
função pública	civil service
sociedade civil	civil society
conselho	council
país	countryAn inhabited territory, in the geographical sense
derrota	defeat
democracia	democracy
União Europeia	European Union
liberdade de expressão	freedom of speech
governo	government
direitos humanos	human rights
programa eleitoral	manifesto
presidente da câmara	mayor
serviço militar	military service
ministério	ministry
município	municipality
oposição	opposition
parlamento	parliament
paz	peace
política	politics
presidente	president
primeiro-ministro	prime minister
reforma	reform
religião	religion
república	republic
resistência	resistance
justiça social	social justice
discurso	speech
Estado	stateThe political institution that holds sovereign power
mandato	term of office
tratado	treaty
voto	vote
direito de voto	voting right
arma	weapon

Level 2: medium 35 words

Portuguese	English
aliança	alliance
crença	belief
capitalismo	capitalism
cidadão	citizen
colonização	colonisation
círculo eleitoral	constituency
corrupção	corruption
repressão	crackdown
manifestação	demonstration
ditadura	dictatorship
dissolução	dissolution
embaixada	embassy
exclusão	exclusion
genocídio	genocide
ecologia política	green politics
refém	hostage
imigração	immigration
instituição	institution
sanção internacional	international sanction
invasão	invasion
poder judicial	judicial power
monarquia	monarchy
ocupação	occupation
tratado de paz	peace treaty
petição	petition
oração	prayer
governador civil	prefect
escândalo	scandal
senado	senate
senador	senator
mobilidade social	social mobility
soldado	soldier
soberania	sovereignty
atentado	terrorist attack
taxa de participação	turnout

Level 3: hard 25 words

Portuguese	English
abstenção	abstention
ativismo	activism
urna	ballot box
cessar-fogo	ceasefire
desobediência civil	civil disobedience
comunismo	communism
descolonização	decolonisation
diplomacia	diplomacy
extremismo	extremism
paridade	gender parity
poder legislativo	legislative power
grupo de pressão	lobby
multiculturalismo	multiculturalism
moção de censura	no confidence motion
investidura	nomination
câmara de voto	polling booth
autodeterminação	self determination
debater	to debate
reivindicar	to demand as a right
governar	to govern
filiar-se	to join a party
ratificar	to ratify
reformar	to reform
sufrágio universal	universal suffrage
refugiado de guerra	war refugee

In Brazil, people say

KoKo also teaches Brazilian Portuguese. Among the words on this page, here are the ones that change.

mayor presidente da câmara prefeito
constituency círculo eleitoral distrito eleitoral
prefect governador civil representante do governo central
turnout taxa de participação comparecimento às urnas
polling booth câmara de voto cabine de votação

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

How many words are in this list?: This page gives 100 Portuguese words on “Society and politics”. The full topic holds 178 in the KoKo app: 71 at the easy level, 62 at the medium level and 45 at the hard level.
Which words should I start with?: With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.
How can I remember this Portuguese vocabulary?: By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

How KoKo makes words stick

These lists come from KoKo, the app to learn Portuguese vocabulary on iPhone.