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Soccer Vocabulary in Portuguese Posted by on Mar 15, 2010 in Learning, Sports, Vocabulary

With about 3 months (ahem, 87 days to be precise) till the 2010 World Cup games, and with soccer/football tournaments going on such as the Copa Libertadores, the UEFA Champions League, and the CAF Women’s Championship all taking place and all with Portuguese speaking teams, it wouldn’t hurt to learn some soccer vocabulary, would it?

soccer/football = futebol

artilheiro = player who scores the most goals in a game or tournament

gol = goal

atacante = forward/attack

goleiro = goalkeeper

volante = central mid-fielder

zagueiro = central defenseperson

placar = scoreboard

campo de futebol = soccer field

estádio de futebol = soccer stadium

escanteio (br) / pontapé de canto (pt) = corner kick

Even more fun to learn are common expressions in Portuguese that come from soccer.  In Brazil, some of these expressions are:

bater o escanteio e cabecear a bola = to take a corner kick = to be selfish about smth.

pendurar as chuteiras = hang one’s cleats = to give up

vestir a camisa = to wear a jersey = to represent someone/thing/organization

tirar o time de campo = to forfeit = to give up when all hope’s lost

botar para escanteio = to kick the ball out of bounds and take it to corner kick = to ignore or stop talking to someone

In Portugual, a few expressions are:

apanhar um cartão amarelo = to get a yellow card in a game = to be condemned by someone

meia bola e força! = ball in midfield & strength = to wing something and hope all goes well

balizar qualquer coisa = the baliza is the physical goal/post = to set limits on something

Can you all think of any other soccer vocabulary words you’d like to learn or know?  Do you know of any other popular expressions or idioms that come from popular sports?

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Comments:

  1. Troy Bartlett:

    pisar na bola = to step on the ball = to error

    On Sundays, Globo’s Fantastico has a segment titled “Bola cheia”/”Bola murcha” where they show Soccer highlights and fails, respectively. Are those terms also used as common expressions?

  2. polyana:

    hi troy!

    good question, i hadn’t thought about those!!

    a bola cheia, literally means a ball that’s filled and firm, ready to play, etc. a bola murcha, literally means that the ball is flat.

    the expression can be used for the highlights and fails, but ALSO

    you can use bola cheia when you have any reason to gloat! hence the highlights. “ganhou uma promoção, é? você está com a bola cheia!”

    you can use bola murcha when you’re too lazy to do something or just aren’t up to anything. “eu queria sair, mas todo mundo está com a bola murcha!”

    understandable? 🙂

    beijoss!

  3. Deonna Markette:

    the same question AGAIN – – – the same answer NO