Posts from August 2007

Expressing Annoyance

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Aug 24 2007


Sometimes we all get a little annoyed, no matter what language we speak. This post will show you how to express your frustration in the most succinct and culturally common manner.

Chatear is the first word you will need to know; it means to bother or annoy. If you are upset, you may say that you are chateado/a; this is a very common saying. Someone who is generally the cause of such feeling is said to be chato/a, or even a pentelho.

A synonym for chateado is saco cheio. Stronger still is the expression “p. da vida”. Likewise, the verb chatear can be substituted by encher o saco, which is clearly related to the phrase above.

And if you are looking for the right way to say a pain in the butt in Portuguese, look no further: “um pé no saco” works perfectly.

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Dia dos Namorados

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Aug 23 2007

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Valentine’s Day in Brazil

Yes, Brazilians celebrate Valentine’s Day… big time.

Brazil celebrates o Dia dos Namorados on the 12th of June, as opposed the the internationally common 14th of February. I guess there is enough to celebrate in Brazil in fevereiro, what with Carnaval and all. The 12th of June is véspera the day before the Dia de Santo Antônio, who is the Portuguese saint with a reputation for encouraging marriage.

The traditions surrounding this day in Brazil are quite similar to those in other countries. It is a bit of a ‘Hallmark Holiday,’ and a great excuse to shower your loved one, whether a spouse (esposo) or a girlfriend or boyfriend (namorado/a). It is generally a good idea to make some plans, perhaps a reservation at a nice restaurant followed by a walk on the praia. Though I don’t have any statistics to back this up, I would imagine that motel rentals skyrocket on this day, as many unmarried people live with their (often religious) parents and are not welcome to bring their namorado/a back home at the end of the night.

Useful vocabulary: namorar means to go out with; to date

Jazzafinado

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Aug 23 2007

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This talented band from Rio shows how deeply intertwined samba and jazz have become within the elite community of musicians in the Cidade Maravilhosa. To boot, the members of Jazzafinado are, I believe, all under 30.

The name is a play on words. Afinar means to tune as in ‘to tune an instrument. João Gilberto made the song Desafinado famous; it is a classic Bossa Nova masterpiece. Jazz + afinado would mean something like tuned for jazz.

When I was introduced to Rodrigo Scofield in Rio in 2003, the name jumped right out at me. John Scofield, the famous American jazz guitarist and alumnus of Miles Davis’ band, certainly does not have an identifiably Brazilian last name. Rodrigo and I spoke at length and eventually the topic of his name came up. It turns out he is in fact related to the jazz legend; apparently one of John’s relatives had disappeared into Brazil some time ago, carrying with him the Scofield family name. Rodrigo approach John at a concert in Rio years back and confirmed their relation! Small world.

Well, talent must run in their blood, and anyone who knows John Scofield’s work would be justifiably curious as to what this talent could yield if raised in a hotbed of world music influences such as Rio de Janeiro. Simply put, Rodrigo (who is in his twenties) is one of the most talented drummers I have ever seen, and I have experience working with some very heavyweight drummers in my other life as a music producer (including recording the original Bossa Nova band’s drummer Joe Hunt among others).

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Combinado?

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Aug 22 2007

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Making social plans in Brazil requires an extra step.
Without this step, one can expect to be invariably ‘stood up’ without explanation.

After coming up with an idea for, let’s say, nighttime plans with friends (um programa), it is imperative not to assume that you have all agreed on actually doing those plans.

The right thing to do is to ask: “Então, tá combinado?” If you receive a resounding “Combinado!” you can be relatively sure that everyone is on the same page. Once a plan is combinado, it is very poor etiquette to go back on it or to not show up.

To combinar your plans is kind of like an ‘Are you sure?’ button you have to click to confirm an action.

o Alienista: free audiobook

Posted by Transparent Language 1 Comment
Aug 22 2007


o Alienista is a classic piece of Brazilian literature, written by Machado de Assis and published in 1882 as part of the Papéis Avulsos.

The story is quite funny as Machado de Assis was adept at presenting social commentary through humor. Set in 18th century rural Brazil, the plot centers on an obsessive-compulsive doctor’s attempts to study mental illness and father children. In order to accomplish the first of these goals the doctor creates a sanitarium, the Casa Verde, and one-by-one commits the general public of the town to the facility. A hilarious aspect of the story is that in order to father children, the doctor, Simão Bacamarte, marries a homely woman simply because she has good hygiene which leads him to believe she ought to bear healthy children.

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