Portuguese Language Blog

Olá, pessoal! Finalmente é sexta-feira, TGIF!

Let’s finish this week by learning 05 very interesting and common Brazilian idioms. You will come across these idioms on TV shows, movies, talk radio shows and in colloquial conversations in Brazil, so let’s do this!

Estão prontos? Espero que sim!

01. Abrir mão de = to give up, to lose (something or doing something)

Quando ele perdeu seu emprego ele não voltou para a casa dos pais, pois não queria abrir mão da sua liberdade.
When he lost his job he didn’t go back to his parents’ house because he didn’t want to lose his freedom.

Quero muito trabalhar com eles, mas não vou abrir mão de algumas condições que estão no meu contrato.
I really want to work with them, but I won’t give up some of the conditions that are in my contract.

Ele abriu mão de todas as suas regalias para manter seu emprego.
He gave up all his fringe benefits to keep his job.

02. Acertar em cheio = to get something right, to hit the nail on the head

Ele disse que a inflação ia subir e acabou que ele acertou em cheio!
He said the inflation was going to rise and it turns out he got that right!

Ela começou a estudar francês quando começou a faculdade. No último ano ofereceram uma bolsa de estudos na França, então ela acertou em cheio ao saber falar francês.
She started studying French when she got into college. In the last year she was offered a scholarship in France, so she hit the nail on the head by knowing how to speak French.

“Você conseguiu a promoção?” [Did you get the promotion?]
“Sim! Acertou em cheio!” [You got that right!]

03. Agarrar com unhas e dentes = to make the most out of (an opportunity, chance, etc)

Eu lhe disse para agarrar essa oportunidade com unhas e dentes, pois coisas assim não acontecem sempre.
I told him to make the most out of that opportunity because thins like these don’t happen all the time.

Ambos agarraram com unhas e dentes a oportunidade de estudar fora do país.
Both of them made the most out of the opportunity to study abroad.

O técnico disse, “Vamos agarrar este jogo com unhas e dentes!”
The coach said, “Let’s make the most out of this game!”

04. Estar/ficar um bagaço = to be run-down, very tired, exhausted

Nossa, hoje não vou sair. Estou um bagaço.
Man, I’m not going out tonight. I’m a wreck.

Depois do treino pesado os jogadores estavam se sentindo um bagaço.
After the heavy training, the players were feeling run-down.

Fiquei um bagaço depois da academia.
I was a wreck after my workout.

05. O bicho vai pegar! = Things will get ugly! or This event/party will be awesome!

É melhor você começar a estudar porque o bicho vai pegar!
You’d better start studying because things will get ugly!

Me disseram que o bicho vai pegar na festa hoje!
I was told the party’s going to be awesome!

O bicho pegou quando o pai dele descobriu que ele tinha amassado o carro.
Hell broke loose when his dad found out he’d dented the car.

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Ha! I bet you think I’m angry at you, my dear reader, but this post title is only to catch your attention and teach you a very cool Brazilian idiom: cara-de-pau.

Cara-de-pau is one of those expressions that is hard to translate directly into English, like many others. OK, so let’s learn what a cara-de-pau (wood face) is.

A cara-de-pau is a jerk, basically. Someone who doesn’t care about somebody else’s feelings or someone who is bold to the extent of being inappropriate. Let’s check out some examples:

Ele teve a cara-de-pau de vir aqui depois de tudo que ele fez pra mim.
He had the nerve coming here after all he’s done to me.

Você é muito cara-de-pau em me pedir dinheiro. Me paga o que você me deve antes.
You have the nerve asking me for money. Pay me what you owe me.

Que cara-de-pau! Fiquei horas me arrumando e ele me disse que eu estava “bonitinha”.
What a jerk! I spend hours getting ready and he tells me I look “cute”.

Aquele cara de pau teve coragem de dar uma cantada na mulher casada.
That jerk had the nerve to hit on a married woman.

To be a cara-de-pau can also have a more positive meaning, like being bold and getting things done, when nobody else would risk doing it.

A palestra tá cheia… agora se você tiver a cara-de-pau de ir lá e tentar entrar, aí já é com você.
The lecture is full… now if you’re bold enough to go there and try to get in, it’s up to you.

Na vida você tem que ser cara-de-pau e ir atrás do que você quer.
In life you’ve got to be bold and go after what you want.

Cara-de-pau is an extremely common expression in Portuguese and you are very likely to come across it when you are watching a Brazilian TV show, like “Os Cara-de-Pau” or even a movie, “Os Irmãos Cara-de-Pau” (The Blues Brothers!!).

Now some cultural trivia: in Brazil we have something called “óleo de peroba”, which is oil to spread over furniture, especially wooden, to make it shinier or more beautiful. People usually say things like: “Vou dar um óleo de peroba pra aquele cara”, meaning that he is a cara-de-pau (wood face). By the way, peroba is a kind of tree!

Well, this is it for today. Have a great weekend and remember to share this post with your friends!

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E aí, pessoal? Tudo bem?

Let’s learn a very cool idiom in Portuguese today: cair a ficha. Cair a ficha is used when you finally understand something that you hadn’t been aware of, it finally hits you. It can also be used when someone takes a hit.

This expression in Portuguese from the time when pay phones had tokens so when the token, a ficha, dropped, caía, you got through. Here are some examples:

Só caiu minha ficha que eles eram casados quando eu os vi se abraçando carinhosamente.
I only realized they were married when I saw them hugging each other passionately.

Não caiu tua ficha ainda?
Haven’t you realized that yet?

Caiu a ficha?
Got it?

O professor explicou a matéria várias vezes em inglês, mas só caiu a minha ficha quando ele explicou em português.
The teacher explained the subject several times in English, but I just got it when he explained it in Portuguese.

Ele sempre me convida para sair e já dei várias desculpas. Será que a ficha dele não vai cair que eu não quero sair com ele?
He’s been asking me out and I’ve given several excuses. I wonder if he hasn’t taken a hint that I don’t want to go out with him.

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