Feature photo by SantaRosa OLD SKOOL / Photo above by Rodrigo Solon
Going to Brazil? Here are some Portuguese phrases to memorize before you arrive.
1. Tudo bem?
Photo by Rodrigo Solon
“How’s it going?” (lit. “Everything good?”)
A super-common informal greeting. The correct response is also “tudo bem”.
2. Oí, árbitro! Cadê o penalty?
“Hey, ref! Where’s the penalty?”
A useful phrase to know when traveling to any football-loving country. Shout as needed at the television, radio, or, when possible, the referee himself.
3. Não, não posso faze-lo.
“No, I can’t do it”
Photo by SFMission.com
As my Portuguese professor once explained to me, Brazilians tend to avoid saying no. When they do say no, however, they say it as emphatically as possible. If you really want to be clear, tack on another não to the end of the sentence.
4. Legal
“Cool.”
One of the most useful slang words in the Portuguese language, you can use legal to describe a whole host of things. People can be legal, as can clothes, places, and, ironically, gangster rap.
5. Como? Não falo português europeu.
“Come again? I don’t speak European Portuguese.”
Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese are two very, very different dialects. So different, in fact, that Brazilian TV shows are frequently translated and broadcast with subtitles in Portugal.
Even if you already speak Brazilian Portuguese, you’ll probably need some practice before you can understand speakers from Europe or Africa.
Photo by Peter Fuchs
6. Dirige mais rápido, estamos num bairro perigoso.
“Drive faster, we’re in a dangerous neighborhood.”
It’s unfortunate, but Brazil is one of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of income distribution, and most major Brazilian cities have several favelas, or shantytowns.
While the favelas and their residents have made many important contributions to Brazilian society and popular culture, they can also be very dangerous places, especially for visitors.
7. Como vai, gatinha?
“How’s it going, baby?” (lit. “kitten”)
A pretty simple pickup line. I take no responsibility for what happens if you actually try to use it.
8. Que diabo…quem projetou esta cidade? Não faz sentido!
“What the hell…who designed this city? It makes no sense!” (for trips to Brasilia)
Photo by malias
In 1954, Brazil’s government decided that the country needed a new capital. So, they did the logical thing and built a giant, airplane-shaped city called Brasilia in the middle of nowhere.
Oscar Niemeyer was hired to fill Brasilia with unusually-shaped buildings.
9. O Brasil é lindo maravilhoso!
“Brazil is magnificent!”
Lindo maravilhoso is a Brazilian idiom which literally translates to “beautiful marvelous”. You can use this phrase to smooth things over with any Brazilian friends who may have just heard you publicly mocking their capital.
10. É o jeitinho brasileiro.
“It’s the Brazilian way.”
How can Brazil be the world’s largest Catholic country, the world’s party capital, and an industrial giant to boot?
Why did Brazil lay out its capital in the shape of an airplane and stick it in the middle of nowhere?
The answer is simple: É o jeitinho brasileiro.
Destinations
Attention, Brazilians!
What do you think of the phrases above? How’s the grammar? The author is not a native speaker, so if you notice any mistakes or have other suggestions, please leave a comment below!
Going to Brazil?
Be sure to check out Ernesto Machado’s excellent article 10 Tips to Improve Any Trip to Brazil.
Finally, for the tragic story of the Brazilian boy whose smiling face illustrates our Community Connection to Brazil graphic, click over to Beija Flor’s Brazilian street kid gallery on Matador.
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thanks for the correction, Luiz!
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Excellent post!!
I’ll add a couple of my favourites:
* Que droga!! (What a shame/annoyance, also “What the hell..” NOT talking about drugs)
* Que saudades! Hard to translate; “I miss him/it/her/them so much” sometimes works. I hear this AAAAALL the time from Brazilians in Europe talking about their homeland
* Cara – Dude (not so much “face” in Brazil, as Spanish learners would think; for that say “rosto”)
* O meu coração é tão feliz! – My heart is so happy! I love this one. If you’re so happy (usually from love), then your heart is actually what is happy.
* Nossa!! – Wow!! (short for “nossa senhora” – our lady, but used literally just to say “our!” for amazment at anything)
* Cadê – this one was mentioned in the post, but is good to know for those who think that Spanish and Portuguese are so similar. “Onde está” (where is), is more informally rendered as cadê (this includes the verb). Cadê você? Where are you, etc.↵ -
Thanks for the additions, Benny!
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Hi,
I’m from portugal and obviously i speak the European Portuguese. Point number 5 is completely false. I agree that the construction of the phrases are a little different and the accent too, but any portuguese understand Brazilian portuguese. The Brazilian TV shows in Portugal, never had to be translated, much less subtitled. I do not know where you get or who say to you such a thing.
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Good to know, thanks for commenting.
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I have to agree here, I don’t know where the writer got the idea that Brazilian Portuguese would ever need subtitles or even be translated to European Portuguese. The very idea is ridiculous
On the other hand, the reverse is not so clear. Brazilians have a hard time understanding the Portuguese; I have Brazilian friends who were finding it so hard to understand the locals that they had to use ENGLISH when travelling through Portugal… the Portuguese accent and different words is quite tricky to understand for Brazilians.
People travelling to Portugal should note that many things in this post (and in my comment above) just won’t work there. (It’s like me suggesting someone say “Dude” in Ireland)↵ -
I agree. The Brazilians really have some difficulty in understanding the European Portuguese.
In part, this is because there are very few or none European Portuguese TV shows in Brazil, while in Portugal there were always Brazilians TV shows, at least since I remember. Due to this factor we have some advantage over the Brazilians.↵ -
I’m sure it depends on where you are. I tend to think of it as UK/US English differences. Sure, it’s all the same language, but I’ll admit when I was in Scotland I didn’t totally understand everyone- and my family’s Scottish!
I love this article.
A few to add…“Que porra!” What the f***? The crowd at the football game I went to in Salvador taught me this one well.
Sometimes “abacaxi” is used to describe a tough problem. Which is funny, because abacaxi is pineapple. Maybe it’s like the idiom “what a pickle…”
My personal favorite (this is unique to Salvador):
“O pai, o!” (Oh pah-ee oh!)
The ultimate slang, so famous they’ve named a movie after it…it’s actually “olha para isso, ohla”, (”look at this, look”), but seriously slurred and shortened. It’s often used to say “told you so.” Yell “O pai, o!” in Salvador and you’ll crack people up!
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I like the pineapple phrase.
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Thanks for the comments, all! As for the subtitles thing, I know that the reverse is true (European tv shows being brought to Brazil. I must have assumed that it worked both ways…appreciate the correction, though.
I remember the first time I heard a Portuguese speaker stick their pronoun in the middle of their verb (”ir-me-ei encontrar com ele”). Confused the hell out of me.
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“Você manda bem!” – “You did well!” For emphasis, “Você manda bem pra caraca!”
“Porra” is a gem. So is “viado” which is another word you’ll hear at a football game. It means ‘homosexual’ but between friends it can be a term of endearment.
“Fique tranquilo” – Relax! No worries.
My girlfriends and I use “safadinha” to tease each other (it means “naughty little girl”).
“Fala!” – Speak! A way to say hi, too.
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