Fabric vs. Fábrica: A Portuguese False Friend
Fábrica is a factory; fabric is tecido. The words look similar but refer to different things.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
The English noun fabric means material or cloth. In Portuguese, use tecido. Portuguese fábrica means a factory or manufacturing plant—the place where products may be made. The accent mark in fábrica belongs to the Portuguese spelling and does not make it the translation of fabric.
Use tecido for cloth or fabric
Este tecido é leve e confortável.
This fabric is light and comfortable.
A fábrica produz roupas para várias lojas.
The factory makes clothes for several stores.
Quero comprar um tecido de algodão.
I want to buy some cotton fabric.
Describe the material and the place separately
If you are shopping for clothes, ask about the tecido, the material. If you are talking about where an item is produced, use fábrica. Naming the object in your sentence is a quick way to prevent the similar spelling from leading you to the wrong meaning.
A loja vende tecidos de várias cores.
The store sells fabrics in several colors.
Meu tio trabalha em uma fábrica de sapatos.
My uncle works at a shoe factory.
Put it into practice
Use tecido for fabric and fábrica for factory. Learn the two nouns with their typical settings: a material you touch and a place where goods are made.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “The factory makes clothes for several stores”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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