tapuia
Portuguese, noun/taˈpu.jɐ/
tapuia is spelled T-A-P-U-I-A (6 letters) and appears about once in every 17 million words in written Portuguese, the 122,069th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Tapuia is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “a non-Tupi native of Brazil, usually of the Jê ethnicity, which inhabited the interior (non-coastal) areas of what is now Brazil” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “nome dado pelos portugueses a indígenas que não falavam línguas do tronco tupi e que moravam nos interiores”.
What does tapuia mean in English?
adjective
- 1
Brazilfemininemasculinenon-Tupi indigenous
- 2
Brazilderogatoryfemininemasculinerude, ignorant
noun
- 1
Brazilfemininemasculinea non-Tupi native of Brazil, usually of the Jê ethnicity, which inhabited the interior (non-coastal) areas of what is now Brazil
- 2
Brazilderogatoryfemininemasculinea native who, subordinated to whites, lost part of his or her own culture
- 3
Brazilderogatoryfemininemasculinecaboclo, a person of mixed white and indigenous ethnicity
- 4
Brazilfemininemasculinea type of river vessel, with a flat bottom, open mouth and planked hull, used for fishing and transportation
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. relativo aos tapuias
noun: 1. nome dado pelos portugueses a indígenas que não falavam línguas do tronco tupi e que moravam nos interiores 2. indígena que, subordinado aos brancos, perdeu parte de sua própria cultura 3. filho de branco com indígena ou mestiço de indígena 4. caboclo rude, ignorante
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of tapuia
- tapuias plural
- tapuio alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce tapuia?
- Brazil /taˈpu.jɐ/
- Portugal /tɐˈpu.jɐ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is tapuia in Portuguese?
tapuia appears about once in every 17 million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).