How to Say "Butter" in Portuguese

manteiga

/mɐ̃ˈte(j).ɡɐ/feminine

The Portuguese word for butter is manteiga.

manteiga refers to the soft foodstuff made from milk. It is used to distinguish real dairy butter from margarina, which is the word for margarine.

Meaning: soft foodstuff made from milk (noun)

Is it said differently in some regions?

In northeastern Brazil, you may encounter the term manteiga de garrafa, which refers to a traditional type of clarified butter.

The noun manteiga is feminine, so it is used with feminine articles such as a (the) or uma (a).

The word has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable. The IPA is /mɐ̃ˈte(j).ɡɐ/.

The origin of manteiga is actually a mystery to linguists, as it may stem from ancient Paleo-Hispanic languages like Iberian or Celtiberian.
While manteiga means butter, the Spanish cognate manteca usually refers to lard or pork fat, which can lead to confusion when ordering food in a bilingual setting.

Onde está a manteiga?
Where's the butter?
This sentence is useful for asking for the location of the manteiga.
Tatoeba #4256092 by ajdavidl, translation #1841526 by CK
Eu queria mais manteiga.
I'd like some more butter.
This sentence is useful for requesting more manteiga.
Tatoeba #395129 by brauliobezerra, translation #35195 by CK
Do leite se faz manteiga.
Milk is made into butter.
This sentence is useful for describing how manteiga is produced from milk.
Tatoeba #2484944 by MarlonX19, translation #19471 by shekitten
Por favor, você poderia me passar a manteiga?
Could you please pass me the butter?
Este prato é feito com manteiga de garrafa.
This dish is made with bottle butter.
64 more sentences on Tatoeba

In a kitchen during breakfast.

Sources

Wiktionary, “butter” translations and entries manteiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries manteiga, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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