{"id":5098,"date":"2014-01-23T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2014-01-23T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/?p=5098"},"modified":"2014-01-03T00:49:05","modified_gmt":"2014-01-03T00:49:05","slug":"using-vague-language-in-portuguese-with-audio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/using-vague-language-in-portuguese-with-audio\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Vague Language in Portuguese (with audio!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

E a\u00ed, pessoal? Tudo em ordem?<\/p>\n

In spoken Portuguese, it’s very common to use vague language. In this post I’m going to show you some examples.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with quantities and qualities. Instead of boring you with rules, let me give you some real-life examples.<\/p>\n

Isso custa uns<\/strong> mil reais. [around]<\/em>
\nIsso custa aproximadamente<\/strong> mil reais. [approximately]<\/em>
\nIsso deve custar uns<\/strong> mil reais. [dever is used as “must”]<\/em>
\nAndamos uns<\/strong> 50 quil\u00f4metros de carro. [around]<\/em>
\nPassamos por umas<\/strong> cinco cidades. [around]<\/em>
\nEla tem uns 40 anos<\/strong>. [around forty]<\/em>
\nEla est\u00e1 beirando<\/strong> os 40 anos<\/strong>. [late thirties, almost forty]<\/em>
\nEla tem 40 e poucos anos<\/strong>. [early forties]<\/em><\/p>\n

Comprei umas<\/strong> camisetas hoje de tarde. [a couple of, some, a bunch of]<\/em>
\nColoca um pouco de\/um pouquinho de<\/strong> sal na comida. [some, a pinch of, a dash of]<\/em><\/p>\n

When it’s a large quantity, say:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/01\/vague-02.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Coloquei um monte de<\/strong> queijo ralado no macarr\u00e3o. [a lot of]<\/em>
\nN\u00e3o se preocupe. Tem muita<\/strong> bebida ainda. [a lot of]<\/em>
\nTinha bastante<\/strong> gente na festa? [a lot of]<\/em>
\nAh, tinha trocentas<\/strong> pessoas na festa. [a jillion]<\/em>
\nComprei uma porrada de<\/strong> coisa na loja hoje. [a jillion – slightly vulgar]<\/em><\/p>\n

-Ish?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To express the suffix -ish<\/strong><\/em> we can say:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/01\/vague-03.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Te pego l\u00e1 pelas \/ umas<\/strong> seis. [six-ish]<\/em>
\nTe pego umas seis e pouquinho<\/strong>. [six-ish]<\/em>
\nEla tem o cabelo meio<\/strong> avermelhado<\/strong>. [reddish]<\/em>
\nO olho dele \u00e9 meio<\/strong> azulado<\/strong>. [blueish]<\/em><\/p>\n

Kinda?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we cant to say “kind of\/kinda” or “sort of\/sorta” we say “meio” or “meio que”.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/01\/vague-04.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

T\u00f4 meio<\/strong> cansado. [sort of tired]<\/em>
\nEstes sapatos s\u00e3o meio<\/strong> feios. [sort of ugly]<\/em>
\nEle meio que<\/strong> era nerd, mas… [kind of was]<\/em><\/p>\n

What’s that Thingy Called?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In general situations we can say as coisas<\/em> or o neg\u00f3cio<\/em>.\u00a0For objects we say\u00a0coisa(s), tro\u00e7o(s)*<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0neg\u00f3cio(s)<\/em>.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/01\/vague-05.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Como est\u00e3o as coisas<\/strong> no trabalho? [things]<\/em>
\nO neg\u00f3cio<\/strong> l\u00e1 t\u00e1 feio! [things]<\/em><\/p>\n

Que que \u00e9 esse neg\u00f3cio<\/strong> a\u00ed na mesa?
\nTira esse tro\u00e7o<\/strong> daqui! \u00c9 nojento!
\nPega aquelas coisas<\/strong> ali e joga no lixo.<\/p>\n

*Make sure you pronounce the first o<\/em> as an open vowel. Otherwise it will sound offensive.<\/p>\n

Vague Phrases<\/strong><\/p>\n

We sometimes start sentences that use vague phrases. Check out some examples:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/01\/vague-06.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Eu acho que… [I think that…]<\/em>
\n(\u00c9) dif\u00edcil dizer, mas eu acho que… [It’s hard to say, but I think that…]<\/em>
\nEu diria… [I’d say…]<\/em>
\nOlha, acho que \u00e9… [Look, I think it’s…]<\/em>
\nN\u00e3o tenho muita certeza, mas acho que… [I’m sure really sure, but I think that…]<\/em>
\nDe cabe\u00e7a eu diria que… [Off the top of my head, I’d say that…]<\/em><\/p>\n

…e esse tipo de coisa […and that kind of thing]<\/em>
\n…ou algo do tipo […or something like that]<\/em>
\n…ou coisas do tipo. […or things like that]<\/em>
\n…aproximadamente. […or so.]<\/em><\/p>\n

You will most likely find expressions like the ones above in everyday conversation, just like they happen in English or your native language. You don’t need to use them if you’re not ready yet. However, make sure you understand how they are used and when you’re ready, go to town!<\/p>\n

Want more free resources to\u00a0learn Portuguese<\/a>? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

E a\u00ed, pessoal? Tudo em ordem? In spoken Portuguese, it’s very common to use vague language. In this post I’m going to show you some examples. Let’s start with quantities and qualities. Instead of boring you with rules, let me give you some real-life examples. Isso custa uns mil reais. [around] Isso custa aproximadamente mil…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1851,1,13],"tags":[379370,379357],"class_list":["post-5098","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-learning","category-uncategorized","category-vocabulary","tag-learning","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t