Notice vs. Notícia: Don’t Confuse a News Story with a Notice
Notícia is a piece of news. Use aviso or comunicado for a notice that gives people information or instructions.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Notícia means news item or news story. The plural notícias commonly refers to the news. For the general news media, Brazilian Portuguese also uses notícias or jornalismo, depending on context.
Use notícia for a piece of news
Li uma notícia sobre o transporte público.
I read a news story about public transportation.
Você viu as notícias hoje?
Did you see the news today?
Use aviso or comunicado for an announcement or notice
A written notice or announcement is often an aviso or comunicado. A notice posted in a building might give a schedule change or maintenance update. For an official notice, the organization may use a more specific term, so read the full context.
O prédio colocou um aviso sobre a manutenção do elevador.
The building posted a notice about elevator maintenance.
A escola enviou um comunicado às famílias.
The school sent a notice to families.
Choose based on whether it reports news or gives instructions
A notícia reports something that happened or is happening. An aviso or comunicado usually tells a specific group about information, instructions, or a change. For the verb “to notice,” use perceber or notar rather than notícia.
A notícia foi publicada pela manhã.
The news story was published in the morning.
Por favor, leia o aviso antes de usar a sala.
Please read the notice before using the room.
Put it into practice
Notícia is news; aviso or comunicado is usually a notice.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Please read the notice before using the room”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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