Portuguese Brazilian Jiu Jitsu terminology...

Learning some Português will REALLY help enhance your experience here in AND out of the gym. But even if you don't know any when you arrive, you should still be able to understand what's going on in class through observation, although it REALLY helps to understand some of the details of a technique if you know some basic words.

The following are some terms I thought would be useful that I've found through other sources (blogs, forums) and picked up through my own observations in class. I'll be continually updating this as I learn more so make sure to keep updated. I even wanted to do a video with Dennis so you could hear the pronounciation, but will have to save that till next time as I'm not in Brasil anymore :( or confident enough to do it myself yet.

Also I've tried to write how you might phonetically say them and hopefully that helps some people. If anyone has corrections or things they could add to it then please comment or email me.

Positions (Posições):

Side Control - Cem Kilos (literally: 100 kilos)

(Close) Guard - (Fechar) Guarda ... where "fechar" is a verb

Half Guard - Meia guarda

Spider guard - Guarda aranha

Mount - Montada

Top / up - Acima (ah-see-ma)

Bottom / down - Baixo (bye-shoo)

Belts & Training gear:

Belts - Faixas (fai-shas)

White - Branca

Blue - Azul

Purple - Roxa (ho-sha)

Brown - Marrom (mah-hoom)

Black - Preta

Gloves - Luvas

Shirt - Camisa /camiseta

Shorts - Bermudas

Pants - Calças
Backpack - Mochila (mo-shilla)

Hat/cap - Boné

Speedos - Sunga ... buy a red one and train with it in sem kimono, I dare you!
Gi / Kimono - Kimono (duhhhh!)
No-Gi - Sem kimono (seng kimono) ... sem = without
Lapel - Lapela
Collar - Gola
Sleeves - Mangas

Useful terms:

Yes - Sim

No - Não ... (a real nasally: now)

Left - Esquerda (ee-scare-da)

Right - Direita (jee-reta)

Prepare/Get ready - Preparar
Go - Vai
Stop - Pare ... VERY useful if you can't physically tap!
Stopped - Parou ... Gordo would ask me this; if I'd "stopped"/finished with rolling or wanted one more
Been - Foi ... I noticed alot of guys say this to verbally tap, the literal translation is "been" but if anyone can explain better I'll update it

Here - Aqui (ah-kee)

There - Lá

This/that (depending how you use it) - Isso
Weight - Peso

Heavy - Pesado
Change - Trocar / Troco

Always - Sempre

Never - Nunca

Return/go back - Voltar

Is this correct? - É isso certo?

More or less - Mais or menos

Of course - É claro

Time - Tempo (heard at end of rounds)

Dominate - Dominar / Domina .... e.g. "domina o braço" (domin-ey oo bra-zhoo) = control the arm

Just / Only - Só ... (s-oh)

Actions:
Grip - Pegada / Pega .... e.g. "Pega aqui" = "Grip here"

Hook - Gancho (gan-shoo)

Push - Empurre (ing-poo-hey)

Pull - Puxe (pu-shay)

Pummel - Escrima
Hold - Segura ... e.g. "Segura o posição" = "Hold the position"

Posture - Postura

Backwards/go back - Pra trás / Vai para trás ... sounds like "partraish"

Lift / Raise - Leve / Levantar ... "Levantar ele" = "Lift him up"

Get / seize - Pegar ... so if you're setting up an armbar and someone says "Pegar" = "Get/take it"
Calm - Calma ... Self explanatory but if someone tells you "calma" they're telling you to calm down.
Relax - Relax (he-lash) ... same explanation as above
Turn - Vire ... "Vire seu quadril" = "Turn your hips"
Straighten - Shika (not sure on spelling) ... "Shika o braço" = "Straighten the arm"

Body (Corpo):

Hand - Mão

Foot - Pé

Arm - Braço (bra-zhoo)

Leg - Perna

Knee - Joelho (zhoo-el-oo ... sometimes sounds like they say "joo-el-ee")

Elbow - Cotovelo (koh-toh-velo)

Fingers - Dedos do mão

Toes - Dedos do pé

Hips - Quadril (kwa-dril)

Body - Corpo
Chest - Peito (Pay-too)... "Peito a Peito" = "Chest to chest"
Trunk - Tronco

Head - Cabeça (ka-beh-sa)

Neck - Pescoço
Throat - Garganta
Back - Costas

Shoulder - Ombro

Shoulder blade - Omoplata

Commands:

Go - Vai / Embora

Pass the guard - Passar de guarda

Attack - Attaque

Defend - Defendar

Escape - Saida /S air

Sweep - Raspa / Raspada (has-pa)

Spar/roll - Spare (sh-par-ey)

Close the guard - Fechar a guarda

Other things you might here in class:

Valeu - thanks ... used as a departing

Até amanhã - until tomorrow

Treinar - training

Vai com ele (vai kong el-ee) - go with him

Tiver duvida - Have doubts (questions

Boa treinar - Good training ... (before rolling with your partner)
Mais um - One more
Quem quero mais? (Keng kero maes?)- Who wants more?
Livre treinar - free training ... (usually after normal class and if people want to keep rolling they'd say this)

Striking:

Jab - Jabby

Cross/right straight - Direita (jee-reta)

Straights - Direito ... if they say "só direito" then just do straight punches
Hook - Cruzo/Cruza ... not sure on spelling for this one

Uppercut/Body hook - Gancho or cruza ... From memory they called an uppercut a hook (gancho) and same for a hook or "rip" to the body
Kick - Chute (shoo-ta)

Elbow - Cotovelo

Knee - Joelho

Sources:

Sherdog forums

http://williamkoplitz.com/

Fightworks podcast

Gordo Jiu Jitsu classes

Fight Zone classes