Welcome to my blog/ Bem-vindos ao meu blog/ Bienvenidos a mi blog.

"Living´s not waiting until the storm ceases, but learning how to dance in the rain"....

"Cuándo el mundo te deprima, observa lo que te rodea com objetividad. Avanza de manera positiva y recuerda que eres tú quien lleva las riendas".

"Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena"

"Sigam-me os bons!"

terça-feira, 31 de julho de 2012

How do you say...? Interesting words Brazilian speakers should know in English







*Abacaxi/ pepino: a hot potato, a tough nut to crack, a big problem

Don´t buy that old car! In a few months you may have a hot potato in your hands.

*Abobrinha: baloney, nonsense, rubbish (UK), stupid ideas

Most of the things she says is baloney, don´t take her seriously.

*Amigo secreto: Secret Santa

I hope his Secret Santa is me because he always buys nice gifts.

*Antenado: well-informed, alert, plugged into something.

Anyone who´s plugged into new teachnologies is eager to have the most updated gadgets.

*Bambambã: bigshot, expert, a whiz

My Japanese friend is a math whiz.

His boss is a big shot: he owns most Latin American branches of the company.

*Bater na mesma tecla: to harp on the same thing, to repeat the same thing over and over

"Doctors never stop harping on about the importance of the regular check-up."

*(Da) Boca prá fora: to (just) say something

If she keeps saying she´s gonna do something about it, I think she means it. She´s not just saying it.

*(Ser) Cara-de-pau: (to have the) nerve (to do something)

I barely know the guy and he kept asking me personal questions! What a nerve!

*Comer o pão que o diabo amassou/passar por maus bocados: to suffer severe hardships, to go through a rough path

Anyone who´d been through a rough path/ suffered a severe hardship comes a bit humbler out of it.

*Cricri: nitpicker, picky

All employees complain about the new manager saying he´s a nitpicker.

*Engolir sapos: to swallow insults

I´m sick and tired of swallowing insults and I´ll not put up with them anymore!

*(Ser) Farinha do mesmo saco: (to be like) two peas in a pod

You and your brother are so alike! Actually you´re like two peas in a pod.

*Fechar com chave de ouro: to bring to a perfect end, to finish off or conclude something perfectly

The band finished off the concert perfectly when they played my favorite song.

*Folgado: freeloader (the annoying one), roomy (the one that takes up a lot of space), a slacker (Am) /a shirker (Br-one who doesn´t like to work)

Her husband is real shirker. He´s unemployed and he´s not making any effort to get a job.

*Fulano: what´s his/her name

What´s his name was here yesterday looking for you.

*Fulano, sicrano e beltrano: Tom, Dick and Harry

"He argued with Tom, Dick and Harry".

*Gota d´água: the last straw

Their relationship was already going bad, but when she found out about her boyfriend´s affair, that was the last straw.

*(Levar) jeito (com): to have a way with something

Babysitters need to have a way with kids.

*"Laranja": stooge (an intermediary who uses his name in corrupt transactions)

"The ex-governor is the real owner of the company and Ferreira is his stooge".

*Cada macaco no seu galho: each one to his trade

I don´t give you opinions in your job and you shouldn´t interfere in mine. Each one to his trade.

*Macaco velho: an old hand

My mechanic always knows exactly what´s wrong with my car. He´s an old hand who´s been in the business for over 20 years.

*Mão-de-vaca: tight-fisted, cheap(skate), a scrooge

I think it´s ok to save money, but being tight-fisted all the time is a real pain in the ass.

*"Marmelada": (to be) fixed (competitions and games that have been dishonestly arranged beforehand)

I believe some soccer games are fixed sometimes.

*Em maus lençóis: in a tight spot, in a fix, in deep trouble, in a jam

If the teacher finds out you cheated on the test, you´ll be in a real fix.

*Nhenhenhém: grumbling, whining, complaining

Don´t you ever get tired of listening to their whining all the freaking time?

*Nota preta: a pretty penny, a fortune, a bundle

He won a pretty penny in the lottery. That´s why he´s so happy.

*Nu e cru: plain and simple

All I need is the plain and simple truth.

*Ossos do ofício: all part of the job

One of the downsides of working as an English teacher is that you have to work in the evening and on Saturdays. All part of the job, though.

*Pai coruja: doting father

He´s a doting father and he´s always there for his kids.

*Panelinha: clique

Wherever she goes she hangs out with her clique: at school, in church, at the club, etc.


*Para Inglês ver: just for show, just for the sake of appearances

My neighbor ´s not that rich but he changes his car every year. I think he does that just for show.

*Perua: bimbo (a beautiful and rich woman that´s usually stupid)

Look at the way that woman dresses! Isn´t she a real bimbo?

*Pisar na bola: to screw up, to drop tha ball

Man, how could you forget your mom´s birthday? You dropped the ball big time!

*Puxar o saco: to kiss ass,  to suck up, to kiss up (Am), to brown-nose, to bootlick (Br)

I never need to kiss anybody´s ass to be successful. All I´ve got is due to my personal achievements.

*Queimar o filme: to lose prestige, to ruin your reputation

Once you lose your prestige, it´s hard to get people to trust you again.

*(De) Queixo caído: flabbergasted, astonished, amazed

I was flabbergasted when I learned how much money he makes.

*Ralar: to bust a gut. to bust your ass (informal), to slave, to work your fingers to the bone

We should get a raise, after all, we all bust a gut here.

*Rios de dinheiro: loads of money, a bundle, a mint

He´s a very successful man and he makes loads of money.

*Rodizio de carne: all-you-can eat barbecue restaurant

In this all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant, they have the best kinds of meat.

*São e salvo: safe and sound

We´ve arrived safe and sound from our trip.

*(A) sete chaves: under lock and key, locked up safely

I´ll tell you my secret provided that you keep ip under lock and key.

*Show de bola: cool, awesome, wicked

That party was simply awesome. Lots of food, beautiful peple and very good music too.

*Tintim por tintim: blow by blow, in minute detail, point by point, in full detail

I want you to tell me all the gossips, blow by blow!

*Tô nem aí: I couldn´t care less, I don´t give a rat´s ass (informal), I don´t give a damn

So she said she doesn´t like me? I couldn´t care less!

*(Aos) Trancos e barrancos: by/in fits and starts

I´s been taking me long to finish this post, but I´m almost through, in fits and starts.

*Vá plantar batata!: take a hike!

Take a hike! Can´t you see you´re annoying me?

*Vapt-vupt: wham-bam, wham-zap

I personally don´t believe there´s a wham-bam method for learning a language efficiently.

*Vir a calar: to come in handy, to come at the right time

A raise is coming in very handy now that she has a kid.

*Vestibular: university entrance examination

Lots of students try to enter a public university but many don´t manage to pass the entrance examination.

*Xará: namesake

Your name´s also Flavia? So we´re namesakes!

*O xis da questão: the crux of the matter

The crux of the matter here is that his mother spoils him too much.

(Main source: Jack Scholes´s "Break the Branch"?-Common, everyday words and phrases in Brazilian Portuguese by Disal)

4 comentários:

  1. Amei seu blog... Cheguei nele atraz de info sobre cabelo e acabei encontrando esse texto maravilhoso e enriquecedor. O que sei em Ingles é bem pouco. Eu leio, traduzo, mas na hora de falar nao sai com uma boa pronuncia. Estou assistindo series em Ingles e ajuda mto.. Agora vc ganhou mais uma seguidora. rs

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  2. Obaaaa!! Que bom que gostou do blog!! Como vc viu, tem de tudo por aqui!! Obrigada pelo elogio e por começar a me seguir!! Kisses!!

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  3. Hello! Quando faço buscas por tintas de cabelo, costumo ver seu rostinho aparecer para me ajudar nas minhas alquimias, um alivio ^-^ hehe... No momento estou a procura de uma tinta vermelha puxada para o laranja, eu passei a Evolution da Alfaparf na cor Rosso e ficou muito puxado para o rosa, não gostei muito, rosa nem de longe é minha cor favorita, eu quero um vermelho que quando desbota vai para o laranja... Alguma sugestão?? Parabens pelo Blog, beijos!!! Grata desde já!

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  4. Olá Dalmácia!! Obrigada pelo elogio!! Bom, vermelho puxado para o laranja pode qquer tinta boa (Alfaparf, como vc mesma sugeriu, mas não a Contrasti porque ela é vermelhona e pode sim puxar para o rosa, Color Perfect, Matrix, Color Touch e até mesmo a Koleston e a Imedia Lóreal) com reflexo .44 (que é acobreado intenso), .34 (reflexo primário dourado e secundário laranja) ou mesmo .46 (acobreado com reflexo secundário vermelho). O número da cor é geralmente 8 (mais claro) ou 7, mas nunca um 6, porque este é escuro e fecha o tom, o cobre é mais aberto. Tintas de caixinha alaranjadas assim são tipo Koleston (7.44) e Maxton, a mesma cor. Só para vc ter uma ideia da cor. Sugiro água oxigenada entre 30 e 40 para abrir bem o tom e também banhos de brilho com tintas fantasia laranjas (tipo Keraton Hard Colors, Candy Color, Exotic, etc) porque laranja desbota muito!. Tudo isso depende da cor que está seu cabelo (se já for tingido) e/ou da cor que ele é (raiz). Não adianta tacar tinta sem saber o que tem por baixo, ok? Pois elas interagem!! Talvez precise descolorir ou pré-pigmentar antes!! Bom, é isso, espero que tenha dado uma luz!! Qquer coisa volte a escrever e tentarei ajudar!! Bjão!

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