tilápia
/t͡ʃiˈla.pjɐ/feminine
The English word tilapia is tilápia in Portuguese.
tilápia refers to any fish belonging to the genus Tilapia.
Meaning: any fish of the genus Tilapia (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is feminine. In a sentence, it is preceded by the feminine articles a (singular) or as (plural). The plural form of tilápia is tilápias.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃiˈla.pjɐ/. The word has 3 syllables and the stress is on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- The word tilápia is a learned borrowing from the Tswana language of Southern Africa, where the word tlhapi simply means 'fish'.
- In many parts of Brazil, tilápia is so ubiquitous in aquaculture that it is often jokingly called 'the chicken of the water' due to its ubiquity and ease of farming.
- In Brazil, the word tilápia is often used as a catch-all term for various cichlid species that do not actually belong to the genus Tilapia.
Examples in context
- Numa grande exploração piscícola ao longo do Mecom, em Vienciana, as tilápias pululam à superfície das suas jaulas flutuantes, enquanto pás são usadas para lançar comida à água.At a large fish farm along the Mekong in Vientiane, tilapia swarm to the surface of their floating cages as food is shoveled into the water.This sentence shows how tilápia behaves in the plural when describing fish at a farm.Tatoeba #11803101 by Cangarejo, translation #11803100 by Cangarejo
- A tilápia é um peixe muito saboroso.Tilapia is a very tasty fish.
- Eu comprei uma tilápia fresca no mercado.I bought a fresh tilapia at the market.
Example conversation
Felipe and Camila are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- FelipeCamila, o que vamos jantar hoje?Camila, what are we having for dinner today?
- CamilaEu pensei em fazer tilápia grelhada.I thought about making grilled tilapia.
- FelipeParece ótimo, eu adoro esse peixe.That sounds great, I love that fish.
- CamilaEntão vou preparar a tilápia agora.Then I will prepare the tilapia now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tilapia” translations and entries tilápia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tilápia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
