Posts from June 2008

100 Years of the Japanese in Brazil: Part II

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Jun 16 2008

Today, we’re going to look at the second half of the list of Japanese influences in Brazilian culture, since this year is the centennial of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in Brazil. There are now 1.3 million people of Japanese descent all over the country, with the largest concentration in São Paulo.

Let’s take a look at some of the things the Japanese brought to Brazil:

  • Pastel de feira, a type of meat or cheese pastry popular all over Brazil, invented by the Chinese and popularized by the Japanese 
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  • Radish
  • Ramen noodles (known as miojo in Portuguese)
  • Rock, paper, scissors game, which is called jan-ken-pon in Japanese
  • Soy, which was used by small farmers in Brazil until the Japanese introduced large-scale production and consumption; soy is now a major Brazilian export
  • Soy sauce, known as shoyu in Brazil, used with both sushi and Brazilian foods
  • Sushi, which is considered to be a “food of the elite,” like French food in the U.S.
  • Sweet caqui (persimmon), since before Brazilians only ate a bitter type of the fruit
  • Yakult, a type of yogurt popular in Brazil, invented by a Japanese doctor
  • Yakisoba, a fried noodle dish eaten all over Brazil, created by the Chinese and popularized by the Japanese
  • Zen, a word used by Buddhists to describe calm, it has become a Portuguese word (Você está muito zen — you’re very chill/relaxed)

The New Bondinho

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Jun 15 2008

Last week, the city government unveiled the new bondinhos (cable cars) at Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. The new cable cars are part of a city-wide face lift in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. The bondinho system was constructed in 1913, and has undergone several major renovations since then. The latest one cost 3 million euros, in order to install the ultra-modern, Swiss-made cable cars. To read more (in Portuguese), click here.

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Brazilian Profile: Zé Carioca

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Jun 12 2008

This year, Zé Carioca turns sixty five, but he hasn’t aged a bit. That’s because he’s a Disney cartoon who was wildly popular in Brazil for years.

During World War II, Walt Disney and his team traveled to South America with the official purpose of finding new cartoon characters, and with the real purpose being to find ways to increase trade with the region and to prevent German influence on Latin American governments. The team decided the best way to do this was by swaying the continent’s children, and Zé Carioca was born.

He was actually first created by a Brazilian artist J. Carlos, who was inspired by Doutor Jacarandá, a bohemian dandy notorious in Rio’s nightlife at the time. Zé acquired a dapper hat, dress jacket and bow tie, and umbrella based on this real Carioca. Though Zé was obviously supposed to be from Rio, Disney chose a musician from São Paulo, José do Patrocínio de Oliveira, to do his voice, so Zé has a very un-Carioca accent.

Zé’s first film premiered in 1942 in Rio de Janeiro, and was released in the U.S. a year later. In the movie, he travels with Donald Duck and Goofy throughout Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, along with some local characters from each country, though these characters never made it big like Zé. Later, Zé went on to star in several other films, and later was incorporated into print cartoons in Brazil.

You can check out Zé in action here:

Translating Idiomatic Expressions: Part III

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Jun 11 2008

We’re going to continue our discussion of idiomatic expressions, using this humor site as a source. The idea is to show the dangers of translating word for word instead of understanding the actual meaning behind the expressions.

1. Ela é cheia de nove horas. She’s full of nine o’clock.
This expression means a person is always giving excuses for everything. For example:

Eu fico pedindo ela para sair comigo, mas ela sempre tem uma desculpa. Ela é cheia de nova horas.
I keep asking her out, but she always has an excuse. 

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2. Tá pensando que isso é a casa da mãe Joana? Do you think this is mother Joann’s house?
This means, do you think you can do whatever you want? You ask this to a person who seems to think they can have their way with everything. For example:

Pai, vou jantar com meus amigos e depois vamos para o bar. Dad, I’m going to have dinner with my friends and after that we’re going to the bar.
Tá pensando que isso é a casa da mãe Joana?


The next two expressions have the same meaning.

3. A vaca foi para o brejo. The cow went to the swamp.

4. Já era. It already was.

These expressions mean “it’s over” or “it’s too late now.” For example:

Ele precisa falar com a professora, mas ela já saiu de férias. He needs to talk to the teacher, but she already went on vacation.
A vaca foi para o brejo.

Queria pular de asa-delta no Rio, mas vou embora amanhã. I wanted to go hang gliding in Rio, but I’m leaving tomorrow.
Já era.

I Messed Up

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Jun 10 2008

There are a few ways to say “I messed up” or “I made a mistake.” Here they are:

1. Pisei na bola. [Pee-zay nah boh-lah]

This expression literally means “I stepped on the ball.” In reality, it means “I made a big mistake.” 

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Eu esqueci meu passaporte em casa, mas só reparei agora no aeroporto. Pisei na bola!
I forgot my passport at home, but I only noticed that now, in the airport! I made a big mistake.

2. Fiz besteira. [Feez best-ae-rah]

This expression means “I messed up.”

Eu bati o carro do meu pai. Fiz besteira.
I crashed my dad’s car. I really messed up.

3. Fiz mal. [Feez maw]

This means “I made a mistake,” but could also be translated as “my bad.”

Eu perdi a minha câmera. Fiz mal.
I lost my camera. I made a mistake.

4. Dei mole. [Day moh-lee]

This expression means “I messed up.”

Eu colei na prova e a professora me viu. Dei mole!
I cheated on the test and the teacher saw me. I messed up!

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