
What’s up, guys!
Let’s learn Portuguese?
In one of our posts, we talked about some idiomatic expressions, very common in the Brazilian Portuguese.
Today, let’s see some popular expressions in Portuguese.
Portuguese Expressions
Abrir os olhosΒ – To pay attention to something or to be careful.
- JosΓ© nΓ£o Γ© confiΓ‘vel. PrecisoΒ abrir os olhosΒ com ele.
- JosΓ© is not reliable. I need to be careful with him.
Bater na mesma teclaΒ – Keep on talking about the same stuff.
- Nossa! Ele nΓ£o para deΒ bater na mesma tecla. Que absurdo
- Wow! He keeps talking about the same thing all the time. It’s an absurd!
Baixar a bolaΒ – Calm down.
- Acho melhor vocΓͺΒ baixar a bola, ou vocΓͺ poderΓ‘ ter problemas aqui.
- You had better calm down,Β or you may have problems here.
Dar o braΓ§o a torcerΒ – When you change your mind or admit you are wrong.
- Ela Γ© uma pessoa muito difΓcil: nuncaΒ dΓ‘ o braΓ§o a torcer.
- He is a very difficult person: He never changes his mind.
Dormir no pontoΒ – When you don’t have an attitude.
- Marcos, vocΓͺ sempreΒ dorme no ponto. Nunca faz nada quando deve fazer.
- Marcos, you never take an attitude.Β You never do what you have to do.
Estar com uma pedra no sapatoΒ – When youΒ have a problem or something is botheringΒ you.
- Estou com uma grandeΒ pedra no meu sapato. NΓ£o sei o que fazer.
- I have a huge problem. I don’t know what to do.
Fazer de olhos fechadosΒ – A very easy task to do or that someone can do easily.
- Acho incrΓvel como FelipeΒ fazΒ esses trabalhosΒ de olhos fechados. SΓ£o muito difΓceis para mim.
- It’s amazing how Felipe does his tasks so easily.Β They are very difficult for me.
Onde Judas perdeu as botasΒ – A very distant place.
- Manoel mora lÑ onde Judas perdeu as botas. Muito longe!
- Manoel lives really far from here. Way far from here!
Segurar a velaΒ – When you are in the middle of a couple.
- Lilian nunca sai de perto de Marina quando ela estΓ‘ com o namorado dela. Parece atΓ© que gosta deΒ segurar vela.
- Lilian never leaves marina when she is with her boyfriend. She loves to be between them.
BraΓ§o direitoΒ – Best friend or someone that you really trust.
- JosΓ© me ajuda em tudo. Ele Γ© o meu braΓ§o direito.
- JosΓ© helps me with everything. He is my best friend.
Falar pelos cotovelosΒ – Someone who talks too much.
- Ela fala pelos cotovelos! NΓ£o para!
- She talks a lot! She never stops!
NΓ£o ter pΓ© nem cabeΓ§aΒ – Something that doesn’t make sense.
- Essa escultura nΓ£o tem pΓ© nem cabeΓ§a. NΓ£o entendi nada.
- This sculpture doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand anything.
Estar com dor de cotoveloΒ – When someone is sad because of the end of a relationship or someone who is jealous.
- Ela perdeu o namorado. EstΓ‘ com muita dor de cotoveloΒ porque viu o ex namorado com outra pessoa.
- She broke up with her boyfriend. She is jealous because she saw her ex-boyfriend with another person.
Estar de cara amarradaΒ – When someone has a serious face.
- NΓ£o sei o que aconteceu. Mario estΓ‘ com essa cara amarrada desde ontem. Acho que ele brigou com a namorada.
- I don’t know what happened. Mario has hadΒ this seriousΒ face since yesterday. I think he had an argument with his girlfriend.
PΓ΄r os pingos nos iiiΒ – Make things clear.
- Precisamos colocar os pingos nos iii. Esta situaΓ§Γ£o nΓ£o estΓ‘ muito clara.
- We need to make everything clear. This situation is not very clear.
Ir por Γ‘gua abaixoΒ – When someone has a negative result.
- Todos os nossos planos de viajar no fim de semana foram por Γ‘gua abaixo por causa da chuva.
- All of our plans to travel on the weekend went to naughtΒ because of the rain.
Bater papoΒ – Talk to someone, chatting.
- Gosto muito de bater papo com meus pais. Eles sempre me dΓ£o bons conselhos.
- I like to chat with my parents. They always give me good pieces of advice.
Um βabacaxiβΒ – A big problem.
- NΓ£o sei o que fazer com esse abacaxi. NΓ£o sei como resolver. Acho que preciso de ajuda.
- I don’t know what to do with this problem. I don’t know how to resolve it. I think I need some help.
Andar na linha – to do things correctly in order to avoid problems.
- Depois que ela descobriu tudo Γ© melhor eu andar na linha.
- After she found out everything I better walk the line.
Cara de pau – a shameless person.
- Mas esse Carlos Γ© um cara de pau. Usou meu telefone sem me avisar.
- Carlos has no shame at all. He used my phone without telling me.
Encher linguiΓ§a – to put unnecessary information into something to make it longer.
- Essa palestra Γ© muito chata. O palestrante fica enchendo linguiΓ§a.
- This lecture is so boring. The speaker keeps padding out.
Nariz empinado – snob person, that gives the impression of superiority towards others.
- A Marina tem o nariz empinado. JΓ‘ viu como ela estΓ‘ sempre se exibindo?
- Marina is stuck-up. Have you seen how she is always showing off?
Molhar o biscoito – to have sex.
- Se tudo der certo, hoje a noite eu vou molhar o biscoito.
- If everything goes right, tonight I’m having sex.
Tomar um chΓ‘ de cadeira – to wait for a long time.
- Hoje fui ao banco e tomei um chΓ‘ de cadeira.
- I went to the bank today and waited for a long time.
Barata tonta – a disoriented person that walks aimlessly.
- Claudia deve estar perdida. Parece uma barata tonta.
- Claudia must be lost. She looks like a headless chicken.
That’s it, guys!
We saw here more expressions of the Portuguese language.Β Have you heard any of these? Which one?
See ya on our next Dica!
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Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Idiomatic Expressions in Portuguese
Portuguese Informal Phrases
Classroom expressions in Portuguese
Phrases for discussion in Portuguese
Chutar o balde in Portuguese
Portuguese Word Caralho
Falar pelos cotovelos in Portuguese