Fruta vs. fruto
In Portuguese, both fruta and fruto translate to fruit in English, but they are not interchangeable. The main difference lies in their context: fruta is used in a culinary sense for edible fruits, while fruto is a broader term used in botany and for figurative meanings like result or outcome.
Fruta
A1The word fruta is a feminine noun that refers to the sweet, edible part of a plant. It is the common, everyday term used when talking about food you would buy at a grocery store or eat for dessert.
Qual é a sua fruta preferida?
(What is your favorite fruit?)
A salada de fruta é uma sobremesa leve e saudável.
(Fruit salad is a light and healthy dessert.)
Vou ao mercado comprar maçãs, bananas e outras frutas.
(I'm going to the market to buy apples, bananas, and other fruits.)
Este sumo de fruta parece muito fresco.
(This fruit juice looks very fresh.)
É importante incluir fruta na nossa alimentação diária.
(It is important to include fruit in our daily diet.)
Fruto
B1The word fruto is a masculine noun with two main meanings. Botanically, it is the scientific term for the seed-bearing structure of a plant, regardless of whether it's edible or sweet (like a tomato or a pumpkin). Figuratively, it means the product, result, consequence, or reward of an action or effort.
O tomate é, botanicamente, um fruto.
(The tomato is, botanically, a fruit.)
O sucesso da empresa é fruto de um trabalho em equipe.
(The company's success is the fruit of teamwork.)
Cada árvore é conhecida pelo seu próprio fruto.
(Each tree is known by its own fruit.)
Este prémio é o fruto de muitos anos de dedicação.
(This award is the fruit of many years of dedication.)
A paciência finalmente deu os seus frutos.
(Patience finally bore its fruits.)
A abóbora é o fruto da aboboreira.
(The pumpkin is the fruit of the pumpkin plant.)
Summary
In essence, use fruta when you're talking about sweet, edible fruits in a culinary context (what you eat). Use fruto for the botanical classification of any plant's reproductive body (like a tomato or a nut) or, most commonly, in a figurative way to refer to the result or product of a situation or action. You eat fruta, but success is the fruto of your labor.