Sunday 30 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #61

Vô num pé e volto n’outro - I will go/am going on one foot and coming back on the other


A way of saying “I’ll be right back/be back in a jiffy/etc.”


in this case is a colloquial shortening of eu vou (I will).


It can also be a shortening of avô (grandpa/grandfather), but due to context it’s pretty easy to tell which word is being shortened.


Vou ali e volto já (vô comprá maracujá) - i’m going over there and will be right back (I’m going to buy [some] passion fruit)


A way of saying “I’ll be right back/be back in a jiffy/etc.”


The part about the passion fruit is rhyming slang (sort of - ‘cause it’s being used due to it rhyming but it’s not actually slang…)


Comprá is a shortening of the verb comprar (to buy/purchase).


Brazilians (and I would guess Lusophones in general) tend to remove the R at the end of the verb when speaking informally.


Wednesday 26 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #58

Fazendo uma tempestade d’um copo d’água - Making a storm out of a glass of water


To be making a big deal out of nothing; to make a problem seem bigger than it is. The Brazilian equivalent of “making a mountain out of a molehill.”


Tuesday 25 November 2014

Monday 24 November 2014

Brazilian Pop Culture: Protesting #27

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I don’t want my change in [the form of] bullets


This is a cultural reference with a play on words.


Bala can mean “bullet” or “hard candy.”


NOTE: In Portuguese troco is not a play on “change of the way things are done” vs “money-related change.” Troco specifically refers to the money you receive when you pay for something and receive some money back.


In Brazil it’s been a tradition in small businesses to sometimes give you hard candy instead of change if the change would come to a small amount (say, 15¢ or something). It’s become a cultural ongoing joke, especially since most people find the tradition really irritating.


Sunday 23 November 2014

Saturday 22 November 2014

Brazilian Portuguese: Loanwords #5

Filme - Film, movie


Filmar - To shoot a film or video


Flash - Flash from a camera


Esnobe - Snob


Drinque - Alcolhoolic beverage (from “drink”)


Thursday 20 November 2014

Brazilian Portuguese: Loanwords #4

Bife - Beef


Rosbife - Roast beef


Sanduíche - Sandwich


Lanche - A light snack (comes from lunch)


Monday 17 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #56

Dar zebra - To end in zebra


Literally, “to give zebra.”


When something ends in an unexpected outcome


i.e. Team A is renown for being good, Team B is renowned for being bad, but Team B wins a game against Team A.


Sunday 16 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #55

Uma vez na vida, outra vez na morte - Once in life, once in death


The Brazilian equivalent of “once in a blue moon/once in a while.”


Literally “one time in life, another time in death.”


Saturday 15 November 2014

Brazilian Portuguese: Loanwords #3

Portuguese words hardly ever end in consonants.


The only exceptions are L, R, S, M, X, and Z (and the occasional stray N).


So when a loanword ends in a consonant other than those mentioned you can assume that the pronunciation will have a consonant sound at the end (usually an “ee”), even if the original spelling was retained.


ie. King Kong is spelled the same as in English, but in Brazil we pronounce it King-ee Kong-ee.


Thursday 13 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #54

Eu devo ter jogado pedra na cruz (numa outra vida, só pode ser)… - I must’ve thrown rock[s] at the cross (in a [past] life, I must have)…


The more-or-less equivalent of “what did I do in a past life to deserve this?”


The idea is “my karma’s just so bad that in order for me to desrve this I must have thrown stones at Jesus’ cross.” Which is pretty ironic, if you think about it. I mean, Christianity’s supposed to be a “you only get one Earthly life” type of religion. Brazilian logic, I guess. ;P


Numa is the colloquially shortened version of em uma (the female form of in one/in a/in another depending on the context)


Monday 10 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #53

Nunca vi mais gordo - I’ve never seen fatter


A way of saying “i’ve never heard of her/him before in my life” or “i’ve no idea who that is.”


It’s not meant as an insult in any way - it’s just how the turn of phrase is.


Sunday 9 November 2014

Brazilian Pop Culture: Jokes #1

A one-liner parenting joke that always makes my mom giggle:


Eu gosto de crianças - especialmente as japonesas; elas estão no outro lado do mundo e quando eu estou acordada(o) elas estão dormindo.


I like kids - especially Japanese [ones]; they’re on the other side of the world and when I’m awake they’re asleep.


Monday 3 November 2014

Brazilian Pop Culture: Protesting #24

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Get off xvideos and #come to the street


Note: “come to the street” is understood to mean “join us out here in demanding change”


Saturday 1 November 2014

Brazilian Colloquialisms, Sayings, and Slang #50

Chorando de barriga cheia - Crying on a full tummy


When someone’s said to be “crying on a full tummy” they’re complaining/getting upset without having a good reason.