The feature of today’s podcast is to work on how to use girias, or slang, in a phone conversation.
The phone conversation in the podcast contains slang, most or all of which you will hear when a Brazilian man uses the phone to call a friend, especially in Rio de Janeiro.
“E ai” is a very common greeting amongst friends, which directly translates as “what’s up”? This is very slangy and isn’t used by older people, much like “what’s up.” “Cara” means dude, which how many Brazilian men refer to each other.
The definition of “beleza” is beauty, but in slang terms it means “how’s it going?” The fun thing about using beleza is that it is used as both the question and the answer, the answer meaning “everything’s fine.” Beleza? you ask. “Beleza,” I respond.
“Quer sair hoje” means “Do you want to go out today?”
“Ta” means OK, and is used much like we would use “yeah.”
“Vamos no samba hoje” means “We’re going to the samba show today,” but used in this context is an invitation, asking the other person if they want to go to the samba show. In Portuguese, “vamos” is used as a subjunctive but also as a way to ask someone to do something, given the intonation of one’s voice.
“Valeu” is thanks, and is a good closer to a conversation. Used with “então,” then, it means “ok then thanks.” This is also very slangy and is mostly used by younger people.
Finally we have “falou.” Falou means “ok”, or “got it” or “right.” Um abraço means “a hug,” and is a common way for friends or family to say goodbye to each other on the phone, and is less affectionate than saying “um beijo,” which is how many people would end a conversation with a woman or a family member.
Check out the Byki list for this Podcast on Byki Web, or download it for Windows or Mac.
