Esta peça é delicada, então eu vou enxaguar à mão.

This item is delicate, so I am going to rinse it by hand.

Breakdown of Esta peça é delicada, então eu vou enxaguar à mão.

• eu: I
• ser: to be
• esta: this
• ir: to go (future auxiliary)

Questions & Answers about Esta peça é delicada, então eu vou enxaguar à mão.

Why is it esta peça and not essa peça?

Traditionally, esta is used for something close to the speaker, while essa is used for something close to the listener or something already mentioned.

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, though, this distinction is often relaxed, and many people would also say essa peça in natural speech. So esta peça is correct, but essa peça may sound more common in conversation depending on the context.

What does peça mean here?

Here, peça means an item or garment, especially in the context of clothing or fabric care.

So in laundry or clothing language, peça often stands for something like:

• piece of clothing
• garment
• item

It does not have to mean a literal loose piece in the English sense.

Why is it delicada and not delicado?

Because peça is a feminine noun in Portuguese, and adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

So:

• peça = feminine singular
• delicada = feminine singular

If the noun were masculine, you would use delicado instead.

Does delicada just mean delicate, or does it have a special meaning here?