Dalmatian

Adverb

coisa

1. so
2. as, like
3. like this/that

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• coysa (obsolete)
• cousa (dated)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese cousa, from Medieval Latin causa ‎(“thing”), from Classical Latin causa ‎(“cause, reason”). Compare French chose, Galician cousa, Spanish cosa, Italian cosa.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal, Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkoj.zɐ/
• Hyphenation: coi‧sa

Noun

coisa f (plural coisas)

1. thing (a physical object, entity or situation)

   Aconteceu uma coisa bastante estranha ontem à noite.‎

   A very strange thing happened last night.

   Comprei umas coisas com o salário desse mês.‎

   I bought some stuff with this month’s salary.

2. thingamajig; gizmo, thingy (something whose name is unknown)

   Me alcance aquela coisa.‎

   Hand that thing over to me.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:coisa.

Synonyms

• (thingy): troço (Brazil), treco (Brazil), negócio (Brazil), bagulho (Brazil), bagaça (Brazil), trem (Brazil), pira (Brazil), cena (Portugal), bang

Derived terms

• coisinha (diminutive), coisazinha (diminutive, rare)
• coisona, coisão (augmentatives)
• coisa-feia
• coisa-ruim
• coisas do arco-da-velha

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: kusa
• Papiamentu: kousa