Olá, pessoal!

Something you are not likely to find in coursebooks is real life words and expressions related to driving. So here are some very, but very useful expressions about driving that you won’t find in textbooks!

Manobras – Maneuvers

Encostar / parar – to pull over
Vou encostar aqui. – I’m going to pull over here.
Preciso encostar/parar por um minuto. – I need to pull over for a second.
Atravessar o sinal vermelho – to run a red light
Eu atravessei o sinal vermelho. – I ran a red light.
Me pegaram correndo. – I got caught for speeding.
Ser multado – to get a ticket
Fui multado. – I got a ticket.
Ele me cortou. – He cut me off.
Tenho a prefencial. – I have the right of way.
Ele está colado. – He’s right on me.
Tive um acidente. – I got into an accident.
Ele entrou na minha traseira. – He rear-ended me.
Entrar de ré – to back into
Ele entrou de ré no meu carro. – He backed into me.
Entrei de ré num poste. – I backed right into a pole.
Ele bateu na minha lateral. – He hit me from the side.

Ele apareceu do nada. – He came out of nowhere.
Conheço um jeito de cortar caminho. – I know a shortcut.
Faça o retorno. – Make a U-turn.
Entre à esquerda / direita. – Turn left / right.
Fazer uma conversão proibida à esquerda / direita. – to make an illegal left / right turn.
Acelerar – to speed up
Diminuir – to slow down
Costurar – to weave in and out of traffic
Ficar preso no trânsito – to get stuck in traffic
Dirigir feito louco – to drive like a maniac
Parar para abastecer. – to stop for gas
Meu carro quebrou. – My car broke down.
Furar um pneu – to get a flat tire.
Se perder – to get lost
Pegar uma autoestrada – to take the freeway
Pegar uma estradinha – to take a side road
Mudar de faixa – to change lanes
Dar seta – to signal

Perder o controle da direção – to lose control of the wheel
Frear – to brake
Pisar fundo no freio – to slam on the brakes
Dar a ré – to back up
Parar em fila dupla – to double park
Engatar a marcha – to put it in gear
Deixar engatado – to leave it in gear
Puxar o freio de mão – to pull the parking/emergency brake
Acender os faróis – to turn on your headlights
Pisca-alerta – flashers
Farol alto – highbeams
Fazer uma ligação direta / “uma chupeta” – to give a jumpstart
Pegar no tranco – to push-start the car

Over to You!

Do you have any funny or interesting traffic-related story to share with us? It can be in English or Portuguese!

Want more free resources to learn Portuguese? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.