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7 Slang Expressions in Portuguese Posted by on Jan 15, 2013 in Learning

Olá, pessoal! Tudo bem?

Brazilian Portuguese is full of informal language and slang words so I am going to teach you seven very useful and cool slang words in Portuguese. Estão prontos?

01. Tá ligado?

Literally this means “Are you on?”, like an electronic device. Tá ligado? means “Do you what I mean?” or “Do you know what I’m talking about?” or even if someone is “hip to something”. Older people don’t usually use this expression and you will find lots of young people using it.

Ela disse que vinha, mas não veio, tá ligado? [She said she was going to come, but she didn’t, know what I mean?]
Tá ligado que ele não vai te pagar, né? [You know he’s not going to pay you back, right?]

02. Ferrado

If you’re ferrado, you’re screwed. It’s a milder way to say you’re fodido [f$%&d!]. You can also use the verb ferrar [to screw up, to screw someone over].

Nossa, ainda não fiz o trabalho de inglês. Tô ferrado! [Man, I still haven’t written my English paper. I’m screwed!]
Ele sempre quis me ferrar no trabalho. [He’s always wanted to screw me over at work.]

03. Pra caramba

We use pra caramba to emphasize an idea. Here are some examples.

Tinha gente pra caramba na festa. [There were oodles of people at the party.]
“Você se divertiu na sua viagem?” “Pra caramba!” [“Did you have fun on your vacation?” “A lot!”]
Estava frio pra caramba ontem à noite. [It was frickin’ cold last night.]

There are curse word versions pra caralho and pra cacete (better not use them, ok?)

04. Não tô nem aí!

This means “I don’t care”, “I don’t give a damn”.

Não tô nem aí com o que vai acontecer. [I don’t care what’s going to happen.]
Ela não tava nem aí que o namorado largou dela. [She couldn’t care less her boyfriend dumped her.]

05. Tô fora!

Literally it means “I’m out” and it means “I’m out of it” or “Don’t count on me”.

Ir te buscar no aeroporto tarde da noite? Tô fora! [Picking you up at the airport late at night? Don’t count on me!]
Trabalhar sem ganhar dinheiro? Tô fora! [Working without getting paid? I’m out of it!]

06. Valeu!

This is a very informal and common way to say “Thank you”. It’s used mainly by men and young people.

Cara, valeu por ter me emprestado seu carro. [Man, thanks for letting me borrow your car.]
“Valeu!” “Quê isso!” [“Thanks!” “No problem!”]

07. Já era!

This expression is used to show that something is gone, it doesn’t exist anymore, it’s history.

Sabe aquela minha moto velha? Já era! Vendi ontem! [Know my old motorcycle? It’s history! I sold it yesterday!]
Você queria aquele livro? Já era, já joguei fora. [You wanted that book? It’s gone, I threw it out.]

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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:

    Hello dear friend, how r u? I do appreciate realy, because your posts helps me a lot, I live in Brasil now, I AM NOT BRAZILIAN, but i know myself Brasileiro de coracao!, and you helped me to know Brazil and lovely people here better, GOD BLESS YOU ADIR , GOD BLESS YOU