If you spend time in Brazil, you’ll learn about the jeitinho brasileiro. It’s hard to translate, but it it’s a cultural phenomenon that allows one to get around a rule or a law, essentially a loophole, to gain a personal advantage. The jeitinho is used in order to maneuver through bureaucracy, to make a time-consuming task quicker,  or to simply avoid doing something undesirable. The term “dar um jeitinho” is the act of using this method of doing things.

The jeitinho can have a negative connotation, associated with malandragem (cheating or being dishonest). But it’s so common and sometimes necessary in order to get things done, particularly in a country with a lots of bureaucratic hurdles. The jeitinho ranges from talking your way out of speeding ticket to avoiding having to take a test because of an inside connection. It varies greatly from a day-to-day negotiation to get something done to breaking the law. In many cases, it involves sweet-talking your way into something. Here are a couple examples, particularly ones that involve talking one’s way to the front of a line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Sy576RIf8

On the other hand, the jeitinho can also be a good thing, a result of Brazilian creativity and flexibility, depending on how it’s used.

Have you ever had to use the jeitinho? What did you do?