Idiomatic expressions are a great way to enrich your study of a language and help you sound more like a native speaker. So what’s an idiomatic expression? It’s a combination of words that when said in a particular context take on a meaning of it’s own. The meaning is always figurative and not literal. Examples in the English language include “beating around the bush” or “letting the cat out of the bag”. In today’s post we’re looking at 17 idiomatic expressions in Portuguese.
1. “descobrir a careca”
Literally: “to discover someone’s bald head”, but the meaning is similar to “skeletons in the closet”.
“descobri-lhe a careca” (I found out his (embarrassing) secret.)
2. “meter água”
Literally: “putting water”, but the meaning is similar to “screwing up”, making a mistake (usually in a bad way too!). For example:
“Estás a meter água!” (you’re making a mess of things.)
3. “vergar a mola”
Literally: “to bend the spring”, but the meaning is “to get to work” as in start work or “to work hard”. It’s similar to “nose to the grindstone”. “Tenho de vergar a mola este fim de semana.” (I have to work hard/a lot this weekend.)
4. “fazer panelinha” (Local: Algarve)
This one is in line with another expression which is “arranjar tachos” (which I’ll explain after. So literally, fazer panelinhas” means “to make pans”, but the meaning is “to plot with someone”. This comes from the idea that cooking and, by implication, eating together, implies great intimacy. This expression is similar to “brew a plot”:
“Eles fizeram panelinha.” (They brew a plot.)
“arranjar tachos”
This expression is infamously used to refer to government jobs, in which tacho (a cooking pot) means a well-paid job with little to no work and/or obtained through suspicious means, such as nepotism or cronyism.
“Ela arranjou um below tacho desde que conheceu o presidente do partido.” (She’s got a “nice little job” since she met the party president.
5. “fugir a sete pés”
Literally: “to run away on seven feet”, but the meaning is similar to “run for the hills”.
“Se ele ouvir falar disto, foge a sete pés.” (If he hears about his, he’ll run for the hills.)
6. “fechar a sete chaves”
Literally: “to close at seven keys”, but the meaning is “to keep something very safe”. It is similar to the English expression “to keep under lock and key.” Variations of this expression include: “trancar a sete chaves” and “guardar a sete chaves” (“to lock at seven keys” and “to keep at seven keys”)
“Ela fechou a prenda a sete chaves.” (She kept the gift under lock and key.)
7. “pentear Macacos”
Literally: “to comb monkeys”. This expressions is used as a polite way to tell someone to “F*** off” or “Kiss my a***”
“Vai pentear macacos!” (Piss off!)
Note: “vai” is informal. The formal command is “vá“
8. “queimar as pestanas”
Literally: “to burn the eyelashes”, but the meaning is to study/read too much in one sitting. This is similar to says “burning the midnight oil”.
“Ontem queimei as pestanas.” (I burnt the midnight oil yesterday.)
What do you think so far of these 17 idiomatic expressions in Portuguese?
9. “ter o rei na barriga”
Literally: “to have the king in the belly”. This one means that someone is self-important, prideful and/or “full of themselves”.
Ela pensa que tem o rei na barriga! (She’s full of herself!)
10. “um bicho de sete cabeças”
Literally: “A bug of seven heads”. The meaning of this expression is for saying that something or a certain situation is extremely difficult or complicated.
“Aquela situação é um bicho de sete cabeças.” (That situation is extremely complex.)
11. “entre a espada e a parede”
Literally: “between the sword and the wall”, this one is for saying you’re in a complicated situation, all choices ran out. Similar to saying “between a rock and a hard place.” or “having your hands tied.”
“Estou entre a espada e a parede.” (I’m between a rock and a hard place.)
12. “bater as botas”
Literally: “to hit/to bang the boots”. This is used sometimes to soften the news of someone’s death. It’s similar to the English “to kick the bucket.”
O meu avô bateu as botas. (my grand dad kicked the bucket)
13. “pôr a pata na poça”
Literally: “to put the duck in the puddle”, meaning, to make a huge mistake / a blunder.
“Pus a pata na poça.” (I made a huge mistake / I screwed up / I made a blunder)
14. “ir para o olho da rua”
Literally: “to go to the eye of the street”. This one means “to be fired” or “kicked out”.
Ele foi para o olho da rua. (He was fired)
15. “ficar a ver navios”
Literally: “to remain to see ships”, but the meaning is “to be disappointed or to have been swindled.
Fiquei a ver navios.. (I was swindled)
16. “feito em cima do joelho”
Literally: “to done on top of the knee” /”done on the knee”, but the meaning is “a poorly done job”/”work that was rushed” or “unprofessional work”.
“Eles fizeram isso em cima do joelho!” (They rushed that!)
17. “falar pelos cotovelos”
Literally: “to talk through the elbows” but the meaning is “someone who talks a lot” (or too much / a chatterbox).
“Ela fala pelos cotovelos.” (She’s a chatterbox)
And there you have 17 idiomatic expressions in Portuguese. Keep an “eye out” for the next ones 😉 In the meantime try to see how many of these you can remember by testing yourself with this quiz.
Here is a video I made with 7 popular idiomatic Expressions in Portuguese!
Number 12 – banging boots – this is actually a slang term for having sex in English 😀
lol! that would lead to a huge misundertanding no doubt hahaha