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9 Expressões com COISA in Portuguese Posted by on Apr 26, 2016 in Vocabulary

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The word coisa is a very interesting one, since it can be used in many different contexts with different meanings. It is almost like the word “thing” in English, but it can also be used to refer to a person or action, and not only to objects. Take a look at these examples:

  • Alguma coisa acontece no meu coração / Que só quando cruzo a Ipiranga e a avenida São João. (Something happens in my heart / Only when I cross Ipiranga and São João avenue) – Song Sampa by Caetano Veloso
  • Olha que coisa mais linda mais cheia de graça / É ela menina que vem e que passa. (Look, what a beautiful thing, so graceful / it is her, the girl that comes and goes by) – Song Garota de Ipanema by Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim.

They are both very famous Brazilian songs, in the first one the work coisa is used to refer to a thing whereas in the second one it is used to refer to a person.

The word coisa is usually used in informal conversation and it is not common in academic writing.

There are many expressions with the word coisa, let’s take a look at some of them:

 

  1. A coisa tá (está) feia – the thing is ugly. This expression is used to mean the situation is bad.
  • A coisa tá feia no Brasil, muita corrupção e a economia está estagnada. – The situation is bad in Brazil, there is a lot of corruption and the economy is stagnant.

 

  1. Que coisa boa! – That is great!
  • – Minha irmã foi promovida. / – Que coisa boa!My sister got a promotion. / That’s great!

 

  1. O coisa-ruim – the devil
  • Nathalia acredita que se ela não for à Igreja o coisa-ruim vai pegar ela. – Nathalia believes that if she doesn’t go to church the devil will get her.

 

  1. Que coisa! – Similar to “Oh my!” Or “Oh wow!” In English. Used in tone of surprise.
  • O Ronaldo terminou com a Cássia. / Sério? Que coisa!Ronaldo broke up with Cássia. / Are you serious? Oh my!

 

  1. Uma coisa é uma coisa, outra coisa é outra coisa – the literal translation would be “one thing is one this, another thing is another thing” and it is used when you mean to say two things are completely unrelated.
  • Marcos não tem telefone celular pois não quer ser incomodado 24 horas por dia. Mas uma coisa é uma coisa, outra coisa é outra coisa. – Marcus doesn’t have a mobile phone because he doesn’t want to be disturbed 24 hours a day. But these facts are unrelated.

 

  1. E coisa e tal – and such, and so on, as you do. Used when telling a story.
  • Eu estava andando, tomando um açaí e coisa e tal, quando eu vi ele. – I was walking, having an açaí as you do, when I saw him.

 

  1. É outra coisa – it is something else. Used to refer to something nice.
  • Gente educada é outra coisa! – Polite people is something else.

 

  1. Coisa nenhuma! – No way!
  • Você não vai sair coisa nenhuma, termine seu para-casa antes. – No way you’re going out, finish your homework first.

 

  1. Uma coisa é falar, outra coisa é fazer – easier said than done
  • Meu chefe disse que é possível que eu termine o projeto semana que vem, uma coisa é falar, outra é fazer. – My boss said it is possible for me to finish the project next week, easier said than done.

 

Estudar Português é uma coisa muito boa! Continuem assim!

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