You’re probably looking at the title saying, “What? Speaking like the Holy Spirit? This blogger has officially gone weird.”
For those of you more familiar with Brazilian geography, Espírito Santo is a small state on the coast, squished between Bahia & Rio de Janeiro and which makes Minas Gerais the inland state that it is! It’s a state a lot of people say has no accent really, because each part of the state borders another state with such strong cultural and linguistic traits that it makes it difficult to have it’s own identity (it makes me think of when I lived in Connecticut in the US…).
But after being here for a few days visiting some friends and family, I’ve learned the capixabas, those who are Espírito Santo natives, do have their own sayings and expressions and culture all their own! And since I haven’t done a get-to-know-your-local-expressions post in a while, here’s my ode to my hosts for the week!
As usual, it’ll be:
capixabês – português – English.
pocar – quebrar/estourar – to break, explode
pocar fora – sair correndo, picar a mula – run away, peace out
sentir gastura – estar agoniado/a – to feel weasy
iá – estar supreso/a com algo – to be surprised, receive interesting news.
pão de sal – pão francês (para os paulistas), cacetinho (para os sulistas) – small loaf of bread, popular all throughout Brazil, but with different names in different states!
esburrar – estar cheio – to be full of/filled with
chapoletada – acidente de carro – car accident
saltar – desembarcar, descer (do onibus) – to get off at, from a bus/train
se injuriar – se estressar – to become stressed/annoyed
BONUS:
Why are capixabas called something so different from the state’s name? Because I know you’re all dying to find out…
Capixaba is a word from the indigenous language, Tupi, which means clean land for growing, and the indians who lived in what is today Espírito Santo, called the land they planted their milho & mandioca on, capixaba. With this, the settlers to Vitória, the state’s capital, started to call these indians as such and the name passed on to those who live in the region today! And I had a pretty sweet source.
Happy reading, I’ll go back to the beach, thank you.
