Posts under "Slang"

As you’re reading this, I’ll probably be in Salvador, Bahia!  My friend and I are in Salvador and Morro de São Paulo in Brazil’s northeast state of Bahia this week.

I have always wanted to go to Bahia because of the state’s rich culture, music, and food.  Salvador is the state’s capital and it supposedly has a little bit of everything the great state (second largest in Brazil!) has to offer including friendlysoteropolitanos, Salvador natives.

And what better way to train oneself than to learn to speak baianês? If you’re learning Portuguese, you’ve probably already realized that not only every country, but many states in lusophonic countries have distinct accents and sayings.  Baianos have a great African influence in their culture and their sayings tend to look like a Brazilian-esquecreole.

The order goes baianês, português, English, got it?

E aê meu rei! - Oi amigo! - Hey buddy!

Venha, painho - Vem aqui - Come over here [friend, relative]

Colé de mermo? - O que é que você quer mesmo? - What was it you wanted again?

Vou cumê água - Vou beber [álcool] - I’m going to get a drink [usu. alcohol]

Lá ele! - Eu não! Sai fora! - Not me, get out of here!

Ó Pai, ó! - Olhe para aí, olhe! - Look out! Look over there!

Bó batê o baba! - Vamos bater uma bola! - Let’s go kick a ball around (play pick up soccer)

Oxe! - Baianos use this for everything.  It’s like the Mineiro, “uai,” the Paulistano, “meu,” and the Carioca’s, “cara,” – Usually only natives know how to use it, but I’m going to go on a limb here and use an example, “Oxe! Tô atrasada!” – “Oxe! I’m late!” :-)

Now that you can speak baianês you’re ready to go to Bahia!

Today we’re going to learn a useful little phrase that’s very slangy and will help you sound more like a native.

Pronto falei literally means there, I said it, as a follow up to some sort of controversial comment. Let’s look at how it’s used in conversation:

Ele ficou muito gordo. Pronto, falei. He got really fat. There, I said it.

Na verdade, ela não gosta muito de você. Pronto, falei. Actually, she doesn’t really like you. There, I said it.

A casa da sua tia tem um cheiro esquisito. Pronto, falei. Your aunt’s house smells funny. There, I said it.

Seu irmão não joga muito bem. Pronto, falei. Your brother doesn’t play that well. There, I said it.

Can you give an example?

The funny thing about idioms is that sometimes its literal meaning is totally absurd and non-sense. That is visible in “Pequeno dicionário ilustrado de expressões idiomáticas” – “The little idioms illustrated dictionary”. Below you can see a couple of the images:

Sem pé nem cabeça                 Pagando o pato

Pagando o pato

To check more images visit http://imasters.uol.com.br/artigo/3220

Check the meaning of the idioms in the article:
Can you tell me what their literal meaning are? (Check the images)

Quebrando o pau: To get into a fight, to get very angry and aggressive.

(Estar) Com a faca e o queijo na mão: To have power and/or resources necessary to solve a problem/situation.

Trocando as bolas: To get confused and probably mistake something or someone for another.

Segurando vela: To be the only person accompanying a romantic couple. To be the third wheel.

Uma mão lava a outra: You do me a favor, I’ll do you a favor. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

Mala sem alça: A very annoying person.

Tirando água do joelho: To pee.

Sem pés nem cabeça: Totally absurd or non-sense.

Pagando o pato: To take the guilt on something, or to get humiliated.

Na mosca: Bullseye!

Batendo as botas: To pass away. To kick the bucket.

Com a corda no pescoço: Under a lot of pressure.

Enchendo lingüiça: To write or say things that are not relevant, just to fill space or time.

Chá de cadeira: To have to wait sitting for a long time.

Mão na roda: To be helpful.

Entrando pelo cano: To get into trouble.

Pendurando as chuteiras: To quit doing something, to retire.

Engolindo sapo: To get scold with no reaction.

Today we’re going to learn slang phrases to talk about having a good time.

1. bombar

This means something is successful, in the sense that it is fun or great.

A festa vai bombar! The party is going to be awesome!

O filme bombou no Brasil. The movie was a hit in Brazil.

2. show de bola

This means something that is very fun or enjoyable.

Nos vamos casar em Las Vegas. Nosso casamento vai ser show de bola! We’re getting married in Las Vegas. Our wedding is going to be a great time!

O show de Iron Maiden foi show de bola! The Iron Maiden show was so much fun!

3. ser show

This is similar to the previous expression, which also means, to be great, awesome, or fun.

Ele foi para a China e o Japão. Sua viagem foi show! He went to China and Japan. His trip was great!

Vai ter muita cerveja e música boa. A tua festa de aniversário vai ser show! There’s going to be a lot of beer and good music. Your birthday party is going to be awesome!

4. maneiro

This means cool or “sweet” in American slang.

Vamos sair na sexta-feira? Maneiro! We’re going out on Friday? Sweet!

O desfile foi maneiro, cara. The parade was so cool, dude.

5. sinistro

Although in other contexts this word means evil or creepy, it can also mean something very cool.

O Carnaval foi sinistro. Curti muito! Carnival was so cool! I had a really good time.

O jogo vai ser sinistro! Vamos ganhar. The game is going to be awesome! We’re going to win.

Today we’re going to look at some slangy phrases you can use in everyday conversation with friends.

1. Até parece

This means “yeah, right.”

Vou na festa da Camila amanhã. O Tom Cruise também vai! I’m going to Camila’s party tomorrow. Tom Cruise is going too!

Até parece! Yeah, right!

2. Pois é

This literally means, “well, yeah,” but is used in a negative context, so can also mean “yes, unfortunately.”

Sua mãe disse que você tem que fazer o vestibular de novo. Your mom told me you have to take the college entrance exam again.

Pois é. Yeah, unfortunately.

3. E dai?

This means both “so what?” and “what’s up?”

Essa pizza deve ter muitas calorias. That pizza must have a lot of calories.

E dai? So what?

4. Ainda bem

This means “just as well,” or “well, thank goodness!”

O furacão não vai passar perto daqui. The hurricane isn’t going to come close to here.

Ainda bem! “Well, thank goodness!”

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