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Queimar o Filme Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 13, 2007
A fantastic colloquialism, queimar o filme means to do something to hurt your reputation. Here are some examples: Meu amigo chamou a namorada dele pelo nome incorreto. Queimou o filme! My friend called his girlfriend by the wrong name. Queimou o filme! Usei uma palavrão na minha redação, e meu professor notou. Pode crer? Queimei…
Imperatives Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 11, 2007
The imperative form in Portuguese is pretty easy to use. To command action, as the form is most commonly used to do, you can simply use the Você or Vocês form of the (regular) verb. the reason for this is that it is common to use the Tu form of the subjunctive, which for regular…
Brazilian Independence Day Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 7, 2007
Sete de Setembro the 7th of September is Brazilian Independence Day. In another post I provided a brief synopsis of the events leading up to the 7th of September, 1822. On this historic day, Dom Pedro I declared Brazil an independent nation, allegedly tearing the Portuguese insignia from his uniform and swearing: “By my blood…
Jogo do Bicho Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 6, 2007
O jogo do bicho or animal game is an informal lottery run on the streets of Brazil. It is a numbers racket, essentially, that links the numbers in the game to different animal avatars. Though illegal, the game enjoys wide popularity and is considered even part of the national heritage. Each animal is represented by…
Fazer Questão Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 5, 2007
Fazer is a great phrasal verb (like ficar)that has many meanings based on the context and also the use of additional, modifying prepositions or adverbs. Today let’s discover another use of fazer that indicates insistence: fazer questão. Here’s an example from Guilherme: “Eu faço questão que você jante comigo.” “I insist that you dine with…
Conversation Partners Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 4, 2007
Get a Brazilian chat-pal for Skype, MSN, Yahoo, AIM If any of you loyal (thank you!) readers of the Portuguese Blog would like me to arrange a conversation partner, I would be happy to do so. I have an address book full of Brazilians who are enthusiastically learning English who would be happy to participate…
Pagar Mico Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 31, 2007
Pagar Mico means to be embarrassed. Specifically, pagar mico refers to whatever you did to embarrass yourself. An example would be: “Ele escorregou no tapete na casa da minha avó. Pagou mico!” He slipped on the rug at my grandmother’s house. Pagou mico. Other circumstances of pagando mico would be spilling a beer on your…