Autumn in Portugal: Words for the Season

Autumn in Portugal is one of my favourite times of year.
The light softens, the air cools, and the countryside smells of wood smoke and olives.

It’s also the perfect season to learn a few new Portuguese words — especially ones that describe what’s happening all around you.

🍂 Seasonal Basics

Let’s start with the essentials:

• outono — autumn
• folha — leaf
• vento — wind
• chuva — rain
• céu cinzento — grey sky
• frio — cold

You’ll hear these words often, especially as the weather changes and conversations turn to the season.

🫒 The Olive Harvest

October and November bring the olive harvest, a apanha da azeitona, a major event in rural Portugal.
Even if you’re not helping in the fields, you’ll see signs of it everywhere:
trucks piled with branches, nets spread under trees, and that unmistakable smell of fresh azeite (olive oil).

Key words:

• azeitona — olive
• azeite — olive oil
• apanha — picking / harvest
• lagar — olive press
• colheita — harvest

🌰 Autumn Flavours

You can’t talk about autumn in Portugal without mentioning chestnuts and São Martinho (more on that in the next post!).
For now, here are a few food words that belong to the season:

• castanhas — chestnuts
• vinho novo — new wine
• sopa — soup
• abóbora — pumpkin

💬 Phrases You Might Hear

• O tempo está a mudar. → The weather’s changing.
• Cheira a outono. → It smells like autumn.
• Vai começar a apanha das azeitonas. → The olive harvest is about to start.

🧭 Final Thought

Autumn in Portugal is quieter, slower, and full of tradition, a perfect reminder that learning Portuguese isn’t just about grammar and vocabulary.
It’s about noticing the rhythm of life around you, one season and one word at a time.