Notice vs. Notícia: Don’t Confuse a News Story with a Notice — Practice

Use notícia for a piece of news

Notícia means news item or news story. The plural notícias commonly refers to the news. For the general news media, Brazilian Portuguese also uses notícias or jornalismo, depending on context.

Use aviso or comunicado for an announcement or notice

A written notice or announcement is often an aviso or comunicado. A notice posted in a building might give a schedule change or maintenance update. For an official notice, the organization may use a more specific term, so read the full context.

Choose based on whether it reports news or gives instructions

A notícia reports something that happened or is happening. An aviso or comunicado usually tells a specific group about information, instructions, or a change. For the verb “to notice,” use perceber or notar rather than notícia.

Remember: Notícia is news; aviso or comunicado is usually a notice.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I read a news story about public transportation.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Li uma notícia sobre o transporte público.

2. Did you see the news today?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você viu as notícias hoje?

3. The building posted a notice about elevator maintenance.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O prédio colocou um aviso sobre a manutenção do elevador.

4. The school sent a notice to families.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A escola enviou um comunicado às famílias.

5. The news story was published in the morning.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A notícia foi publicada pela manhã.

6. Please read the notice before using the room.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Por favor, leia o aviso antes de usar a sala.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Notícia is news; aviso or comunicado is usually a notice.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Notice vs. Notícia: Don’t Confuse a News Story with a Notice lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.