Portuguese Language Blog
Menu
Search

05 Very Common Brazilian Idioms Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in Uncategorized

Hello, there!

Tudo bem com você?

We are going to kick this week off with five very interesting and common Brazilian idioms. Remember: whenever you come across this kind of idioms, write them down and review them regularly!

Let’s do this!

01. Bater perna – to stroll around; to walk around

Passe a manhã inteira batendo perna no centro da cidade. Eu precisava encontrar um presentinho para a minha afilhada.
I spent the whole morning strolling around downtown. I needed to find a little gift for my goddaughter.

Nossa, hoje eu tô muito cansado. Bati perna o dia inteiro resolvendo um monte de coisa.
Man, I’m so tired today. I walked around all day and ran a thousand errands.

02. Dar um pulo – to stop by/over, to come by/over; to run to a place quickly

Oi, Paulo! Você está ocupado? Posso dar um pulo aí pra gente conversar?
Hi, Paulo! Are you busy? Can I come by so we can chat?

Eu vou dar um pulo na padaria, mas eu volto rapidinho.
I’m going to run to the bakery, but I’ll be back in a heartbeat.

03. Quem me dera! – I wish!

Quem me dera poder tirar férias na época do Natal.
I wish I could go on vacation at Christmas.

Não tô namorando a Patricia não. Quem me dera, a gente só tá ficando.
I’m not going steady with Patricia, no. I wish, we’re just having a fling.

04. Tirar de letra – to sail through the experience, to do something very easily

Ele achou que não ia conseguir falar com os americanos. Mas tirou de letra.
He thought he wasn’t going to be able to talk to the Americans. But he sailed through the experience.

O Pedro estava super inseguro depois de ter feito sua apresentação, mas eu achei que ele tirou de letra.
Pedro was super insecure after giving his presentation, but I thought he sailed through the experience.

05. Abusar da sorte – to push one’s luck

Tá tudo bem agora, mas não abusa da sorte.
It’s alright now, but don’t push your luck.

Ele abusou da sorte e se encrencou muito.
He pushed his luck and got into a lot of trouble.

Want more free resources to learn Portuguese? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.

Tags:
Keep learning Brazilian Portuguese with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.


Comments:

  1. kourosh:

    Hi dear Adir , td bm? i wanna apreciate your efforts for teaching portugues to foreigners like me , thank u man , god bless u, deus abecoa sua vida . muito obrigado amigo