Expressions with food in Portuguese Posted by carol on Sep 16, 2018 in Brazilian Profile, Culture, Customs, Learning, Vocabulary
Ei, galera! Tudo beleza? Hey guys! Are you alright?
If you are feeling hungry right now, you had better head over to the kitchen right now and have a snack before you start reading this post, because today’s post is going to go over expressions and proverbs in Portuguese connected to food. There are a number of them, which goes to show that our day to day metaphors are closely tied to our eating habits. Come on, it will be a piece of cake!
But first, you might want to check out these previous posts to practice some words related to meals and cooking:
no frigir dos ovos
Literal translation: in the frying of the eggs
Meaning: “at the end of the day”, “when it comes down to it”
- Eles ficaram preocupados com o projeto, mas no frigir dos ovos tudo acabou dando certo | They were worried about the project, but at the end of the day, everything worked out just fine
a rapadura é doce mas não é mole
Literal translation: the panela is sweet, but it is not soft
Meaning: even though at a first glance things might seem great, achieving success was not an easy process
- -Vai viajar para a Europa nas férias de novo? Que vida boa você leva, ein? – Ah, a rapadura é doce mas não é mole não! | – Are you going to Europe on your vacation again? What an amazing life you have! – Oh, you don’t know how hard it was to get this far!
chorar as pitangas
Literal translation: to cry the Surinam cherries
Meaning: to feel upset about something, to complain a lot
- Ele passou o dia chorando as pitangas porque perdeu o emprego | He spent the whole day complaining because he lost his job
- Não adianta nada ficar aí chorando as pitangas e não agir | There is no point in moaning all day and not do anything about it
mandar às favas
Literal translation: to send everything to the beans
Meaning: to get rid of something that bothers you
- Mandei as boas maneiras às favas e fui embora sem me despedir | I got rid of my good manners and left without saying goodbye
de meia tigela
Literal translation: half-bowl
Meaning: something of little value, completely worthless
- Eu não confio naquele mecânico de meia-tigela, ele é incompetente demais | I don’t trust that crooked mechanic, he is too incompetent
o que não mata engorda
Literal translation: what doesn’t kill you makes you fatter
Meaning: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
- Vou comer mais uma fatia de bolo, afinal o que não mata, engorda! | I’m going to eat another slice of cake. After all, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Essa semana tem mais! There’s more to come this week!
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