Definition
A smell or scent — it can be pleasant or unpleasant. You use it to describe what your nose detects.
Example
O cheiro do café me acorda toda manhã.
Show translation
The smell of coffee wakes me up every morning.
Etymology
From Old Portuguese *cheirar* ("to smell"), derived from Latin *flagrare* via a conflation with *olere* and possibly influenced by Vulgar Latin *clariare*. The modern form evolved through the typical sound changes of Ibero-Romance, with the initial /ʃ/ reflecting the familiar Portuguese palatal shift.
Cultural note
In Brazilian everyday speech, *cheiro* is extremely versatile — you'll hear "que cheiro bom!" (what a great smell!) wafting from street food stalls, and "cheiro de terra molhada" (smell of wet earth) is a beloved sensory touchstone often tied to nostalgia for the countryside. Brazilians also use the phrase *cheiro de saudade* poetically, linking scent directly to longing — a neat tie-in to the classic Brazilian concept of *saudade*.