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Onde Canta o Sabiá

Two friends discuss a famous Brazilian poem about longing for home — practicing até onde eu sei, nature vocabulary, and Brazilian literary culture.
até onde eu seivocabulário da naturezacultura literária
🎧 Língua da Gente · Ep. 75
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Listen to the episode

Áudio: COERLL · University of Texas at Austin · Ver a lição completa no COERLL →

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Read the dialogue

Two friends discuss the famous poem "Canção do Exílio" and the bird it mentions, the sabiá.

A: Você já ouviu falar do poema 'Canção do Exílio'?

Have you ever heard of the poem 'Canção do Exílio'?

B: Já, é do Gonçalves Dias, né?

Yes, it's by Gonçalves Dias, right?

A: Até onde eu sei, sim. É um dos poemas mais famosos da literatura brasileira.

As far as I know, yes. It's one of the most famous poems in Brazilian literature.

B: E fala sobre o sabiá, não é? Aquele pássaro que canta tão bonito.

And it talks about the sabiá, right? That bird that sings so beautifully.

A: Isso mesmo. O poeta sente saudade do Brasil e lembra do canto do sabiá lá na sua terra.

That's right. The poet feels homesick for Brazil and remembers the song of the sabiá back in his homeland.

B: Que bonito. Eu adoraria ouvir um sabiá cantando um dia.

How beautiful. I'd love to hear a sabiá singing one day.

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Language focus
Focus 1
Até onde eu sei — As far as I know
English: as far as I know
Até onde eu sei introduces a statement of limited but reasonably confident knowledge — a useful hedge for facts you believe but aren't 100% certain of.
Até onde eu sei, é do Gonçalves Dias.
As far as I know, it's by Gonçalves Dias.Até onde eu sei, o museu abre às nove.
As far as I know, the museum opens at nine.
Focus 2
Vocabulário da natureza — Nature vocabulary
English: nature vocabulary (birds, singing)
This dialogue introduces nature-related vocabulary tied to Brazilian cultural identity and literary imagery.
Sabiá — a small Brazilian songbird (national bird)
Pássaro — bird
Cantar — to sing
Focus 3
Cultura literária — Literary culture
English: cultural/literary content: Gonçalves Dias's "Canção do Exílio"
"Canção do Exílio" (1843) by Gonçalves Dias is one of the most iconic poems in Brazilian Romanticism, expressing homesickness (saudade) for Brazil while the poet was abroad.
O poeta sente saudade do Brasil.
The poet feels homesick for Brazil.
🐦 O sabiá The sabiá-laranjeira is Brazil's national bird, famous for its melodic song. It became a powerful symbol of homeland and saudade thanks to Gonçalves Dias's Romantic poem, still memorized by Brazilian schoolchildren today.
🔊 Sabiá Sabiá has stress on the final syllable (oxítona) with a nasal-free open á: sa-bi-Á — don't confuse with words ending in -ão.
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Exercises
Exercise 1 — Comprehension check
Choose the correct answer based on the dialogue.
Exercise 2 — Até onde eu sei, sabiá, ou saudade?
Fill in each gap to complete the sentence with the correct word(s).
1. 1. , é do Gonçalves Dias.
2. 2. O poema fala sobre o .
3. 3. O poeta sente do Brasil.
Exercise 3 — Vocabulário da natureza e cultura
Match each Portuguese word to its English meaning.
Exercise 4 — Your turn
Write 4–6 sentences about a place, song, or memory that gives you saudade. Use até onde eu sei at least once.
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