Idioms usually can’t be translated literally\u2014when they are, confusion ensues for language learners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you’re learning Portuguese<\/a>, knowing some of the most common Portuguese idioms can save you from a lot of confusion and help you communicate with natives. Whether you’re a beginner or almost fluent in Portuguese, learning Portuguese idioms<\/a> will give your speech that extra quality to impress the locals.<\/p>\n Check out 50 popular Portuguese idioms in this, and find what they mean and when to use them.\u00a0 Literal translation:<\/strong>\u00a0“wooden face”<\/p>\n This Portuguese idiom from Brazil is used to say that someone’s acting shamelessly. <\/strong><\/p>\n You know those cat videos where the cat is going to knock something off the table and the owner shouts for the cat to stop? Then the cat stares straight at its owner and promptly knocks the item off the table? That’s a perfect example of the cat being cara de pau <\/em>(shameless).<\/p>\n Literal translation:<\/strong>\u00a0“this is too much sand for my truck”<\/p>\n Maybe you’ve taken on too much. You’re working full-time, volunteering on the weekends, going to school at night, playing in a local sports league and you just can’t say no.<\/p>\n You might say it’s more than you can handle,<\/strong> which is what this idiom means. It’s close in meaning to the English “I’m in way over my head.”<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“Maria goes with the others”<\/p>\n If you want to call someone out for just following the crowd<\/strong> or being a follower of the pack, this is the idiom you’re looking for.<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“one swallow does not make a summer”<\/p>\n This idiom exists in English, too, but with a slightly different meaning. In English, you use it to mean that one occurrence of something doesn’t mean that it’s a trend.<\/p>\n In Portuguese, it means that working together is more beneficial than working alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:<\/strong>\u00a0“to drop the token”<\/p>\n Say your friend is trying to explain some physics concept, but it’s just not making sense. Then, finally, you understand! When that happens, you might say, “Caiu a\u00a0ficha!”<\/em> (“I get it!”)<\/p>\n In other words, use this Brazilian phrase<\/a> when you finally understand something.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to be soaking”<\/p>\n If you hate lying in bed all day, you might use this phrase. It’s used to describe waiting uncomfortably or having to rest despite not wanting to. <\/strong><\/p>\n If you get sick and have to stay home from work, you might say you have to f<\/em>icar de\u00a0molho.<\/i><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to buy a cat thinking it was a rabbit”<\/p>\n While this phrase means that you’ve been fooled,<\/strong> the Brazilian idiom is usually used when talking about someone being fooled in politics, specifically.<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“without land nor roof”<\/p>\n If someone is penniless, then they can be described as\u00a0sem eira\u00a0nem beira\u00a0<\/i>or, in other words,\u00a0destitute.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to go to the eye of the street”<\/p>\n This idiom means to be fired from a job.<\/strong> You can say someone’s mandado <\/em>(sent)\u00a0pro olho da rua.<\/em><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to put one’s tail between the legs”<\/p>\n We all know the image. When a dog is scared, its tail goes between its legs. But as an idiom in Portuguese, it means to leave feeling shameful.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to tweak one’s nose”<\/p>\n If you disagree with something,<\/strong> a quick way to say so is by using this idiom. It’s similar to saying that you “turn your nose up” at something in English.<\/p>\n Literal translation:<\/strong>\u00a0“to stay watching the ships”<\/p>\n Ficar a ver\u00a0navios<\/i>\u00a0is an idiom from Portugal that\u00a0refers to when someone waits for something to happen but it never does.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“all night, all cats are gray”<\/p>\n At night, you can’t see very well, so even a cat with the brightest orange fur will appear gray. The idiom is used to say that it’s easy to make mistakes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“the hat fits”<\/p>\n Literally, this Portuguese idiom means “the hat fits,” which is very similar to the English idiom of the same meaning: “if the shoe fits.” You use this ironically when someone accidentally outs themselves as guilty.<\/strong><\/p>\n So, if someone lies to you and then accidentally says something that outs them, you’d say “Serve-te carapu\u00e7a?”<\/em><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“heart of stone”<\/p>\n The mental image this phrase creates is pretty spot on with the meaning: It refers to a person with no empathy.\u00a0<\/strong>In English, we’d say that it’s a “heart of ice.”<\/p>\n Literal translation:<\/strong>\u00a0“those who see faces don’t see hearts”<\/p>\n If you want to know the Portuguese equivalent phrase to “don’t judge a book by its cover,”<\/strong> this is the phrase!<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“to break the coconut laughing”<\/p>\n If you like telling jokes, you might use this idiom to describe your audience. It describes a person laughing so hard that they lose control.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“a donkey is about to be born”<\/p>\n We all expect that the people we know will act a certain way. When they don’t, we’re shocked.<\/p>\n This idiom refers to someone doing something so out of the ordinary that it’s hard to believe.<\/strong><\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“dizzy cockroach”<\/p>\n If you’ve ever seen a cockroach run away because it knows you’re going to smash it, then you’ll understand this funny Portuguese expression.<\/p>\n It’s used to refer to someone who’s clumsy or disoriented<\/strong>\u2014much like a cockroach after the first time you smack it.<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“he went with the pigs”<\/p>\n This is another way to say that someone passed away or was eliminated,<\/strong> especially when it’s someone you don’t like, like a villain in a book. For instance, you can say “Ele foi com os porcos”<\/em> (“he went with the pigs”).<\/p>\n Literal translation:\u00a0<\/strong>“many years turning chickens”<\/p>\n The idea behind this Portuguese idiom is that someone’s an expert at something because they’ve spent so long doing it.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n1. Cara de pau<\/em><\/h2>\n
2. \u00c9 muita areia para o meu caminh\u00e3o<\/em><\/h2>\n
3. Maria vai com as outras<\/em><\/h2>\n
4. Uma andorinha n\u00e3o faz ver\u00e3o<\/em><\/h2>\n
5. Cair a ficha<\/em><\/h2>\n
6. Ficar de molho<\/em><\/h2>\n
7. Comprar gato por lebre<\/em><\/h2>\n
8. Sem eira nem beira<\/em><\/h2>\n
9. Ir para o olho da rua<\/em><\/h2>\n
10. P\u00f4r o rabo entre as pernas<\/em><\/h2>\n
11. Torcer o nariz<\/em><\/h2>\n
12. Ficar a ver navios<\/em><\/h2>\n
13. De noite todos os gatos s\u00e3o pardos<\/em><\/h2>\n
14. A\u00a0carapu\u00e7a serviu<\/em><\/h2>\n
15. Cora\u00e7\u00e3o de pedra<\/em><\/h2>\n
16. Quem v\u00ea cara, n\u00e3o v\u00ea cora\u00e7\u00e3o<\/em><\/h2>\n
17. Partir o c\u00f4co a rir<\/em><\/h2>\n
18. Est\u00e1 para nascer um burro<\/em><\/h2>\n
19. Barata tonta<\/em><\/h2>\n
20. Ir com os porcos<\/em><\/h2>\n
21. Muitos anos a virar frangos<\/em><\/h2>\n