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How to use the verb “virar” Posted by on Sep 19, 2012 in Vocabulary

Virar is a very common verb in Portuguese and in this post I will show you how its several uses. Are you ready? Estão prontos?

Virar means basically to turn, flip:

virar à esquerda = to turn left
virar à direita = to turn right
virar do avesso = to turn inside out
virar de cabeça para baixo = to turn upside down

Vire suas cartas para cima. = Turn your cards face up.
Vira de costas. = Turn around.
Vira o vaso para a parede. = Turn the vase so it faces the wall.
Vira as panquecas senão elas vão queimar. = Flip the pancakes or else they will burn.
Ele virou a jarra para encher os copos. = He tipped the pitcher to fill up the glasses.
A lagarta vai virar uma borboleta. = The caterpillar will turn into a butterfly.
O mau cheiro virou meu estômago. = The bad smell turned my stomach.
O bebê fica sempre virando na cama. = The baby is always turning in bed.

It can also be translated in some other ways:

Como você virou professor? = How did you come to be a teacher?
Ela vai virar uma fera quando vir o que você fez. = He’ll get very angry when he sees what you’ve done.
Assistir seriados americanos agora virou moda no Brasil. = Watching American series has now caught on in Brazil.
Por que ela virou a cara com você? = Why is she giving you the cold shoulder?
O barco virou. = The boat capsized.
Essa história não vai virar nada. = This story will come to nothing.
O escândalo do governador virou notícia. = The governor’s scandal hit the headlines.
Quando eu mais precisava ela virou as costas para mim. = When I needed her the most she turned her back on me.

As a reflexive verb, virar-se has several meanings too:

Minha família se virou contra mim. = My family turned against me.
Eu precisava de cinco cadeiras, mas vou ter que me virar com duas. = I needed five chairs, but I will have to make do with two.
Não quero saber a que horas você foi dormir, se vira e esteja lá às sete e meia. = I don’t care what time you went to bed, just manage to be there at seven-thirty.
Quando você se mudar para São Paulo você vai ter que se virar sozinho. = When you move to São Paulo you will have to fend for yourself.
Eles tinham que se virar com o que ganhavam. = They had to get by with that whey made.

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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. Steven:

    Obrigado! Now I understand better when a friend’s GPS says, “Vira à esquerda” and “Vira à direita”! I knew what it was saying, but I wasn’t sure of the first word it was saying!