PODER in Portuguese

Surely one of the most powerful verbs. Nothing happens without it. Why then you ask, does it have to be so tricky? It doesn’t have to be. Let’s de-construct the ways that PODER in Portuguese is really used. **PODER as a noun means: power. We’re talking just about the verb in this post. PODER in…

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Você sabe onde fica?

This was a seriously scary moment moment for me. I could_not mess up my 1st attempt at speaking a complete sentence – to an actual brazilian – that was not, oi tudo bem. in actual Brazil. A failure would bring trauma. It would set me back months if not all the way to zero. I…

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melhor and melhorar

Most verbs have various related incarnations as nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc. MELHOR and MELHORAR are super-used words/verbs but also causes big confusion – I think just because these are (1) hard to pronounce, and (2) have so many similar sounding variations. Melhor and melhorar can be used in different ways to express: improve, improvement, improving,…

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TO THINK in Portuguese

It’s confusing to say TO THINK in Portuguese. That’s mostly because there are two verbs for it: PENSAR & ACHAR. Let’s clear up the confusion with examples. ACHAR or PENSAR? :: TO THINK in Portuguese Most books will tell you that it’s Ok to use either. That may be grammatically correct, but it does not…

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de novo – in Portuguese

There are so many different ways to express again/another time that it can get confusing. Let’s focus on the four most common ways that Brazilians say one more time. In order: (1) de novo (2) mais uma vez (3) outra vez (4) novamente Can we just use any of these in all situations? Sim… quase….

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Não dá. Eu odeio!

Eduardo Não dá, não dá! Não entendo nada! Nem física, nem literatura e nem gramática. Eu odeio química! Química! Por que que eu preciso aprender isso? Ana Calma filho. Sei que não é fácil. Você tem que ter calmo e estudar muito. Não dá. This is a great way to start a sentence. Literally no…

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Tô chegando in Portuguese

We all have a specific vocabulary stack for setting up and managing our time. Scheduling our lives is a top priority, right? In Portuguese, it’s no different. They have a core of really common verbs & vocab that they use again and again. But there are a few tricks to staying within the standards. Encontros…

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Deixa para lá – in Portuguese

I’ve written about the expression pode deixar and, me deixa em paz ~ me deixa sozinho (leave me in peace ~ leave me alone)… but the one that keeps coming back is: deixa para lá. Por quê? Why does this one generate the most interest? Deixa para lá. Probably because deixar is one powerful verb….

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English words used in Brazil

This post is making me extremely hungry. Here’s the deal: once you know these you don’t have to bother to learn the Portuguese equivalents. No need to. They are already in use in the common vocabulary here. Just be sure to say these words with your best brazilian accent. We’ve gotten a native to record…

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Ficar

I’ve posted about FICAR before – Ficar Grammar & Portuguese Verb Ficar. FICAR is a big deal and using it correctly can be powerful. Italians have a big problem with this verb because apparently, it means to fuck in Italian. That’s their problem, not yours. Actually, Brazilians do use FICAR to talk about casual hook-ups…

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Portuguese prepositions & verbs

The Portuguese Gerund ✔︎ The Present Indicative ✔︎ The Subjunctive Mood ✔︎ Portuguese Prepositions ✔︎ You’re on a roll. Portuguese prepositions? No big deal. Then, you run into an everyday sentence like, Eu vou parar de fumar. Sem problema, right? I am going to stop of to smoke. Seems wrong. If you know your gerund…

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Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição.

If you’ve ever heard this and wondered what it really means, PARABÉNS – your Portuguese is pretty advanced. Let’s break this expression down. You will hear it in business situations, or whenever someone is trying to help you out. Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição basically means, Feel free to ask any questions or, I’m available…

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Como você anda?

Como você anda? Easily one the most common ways Brazilians express, How are you doing? / How have you been? » Como você anda? (also: Como tu andas?) Yet, you will not find it in any language book! Is it slang? Is it an idiomatic expression? Is it a very new phrase? Não, não &…

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Getting mad in Portuguese

Do Brazilians lose their cool? Sure they do. They mostly try to maintain an I’m so relaxed appearance, that often gives way to the I don’t give a damn look. But when they lose it, things can turn ugly quickly. Let’s look at the most common ways Brazilians talk about anger. I’m not going to…

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Hurry up in Portuguese

You’ve heard it said: Brazil is a slow-paced world. Everything happens according to some tropical relógio (clock). And that’s true – mais ou menos. But being in a hurry still happens here. There is always more to do than there is time to do it. Even in Brasil. How to say hurry up in Portuguese…

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Where’s the AT in Portuguese?

at the store in the restaurant on the subway For some reason I just can’t stop thinking about prepositions of place: in, on & at Right in the middle of a hike. In the middle of my friend telling some crazy story about getting arrested on New Year’s eve here (Rio de Janeiro). O quê?…

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Vem cá!

I began my quest for fluency using the Pimsleur Portuguese audio program and had committed to memory this useful phrase: » Come here! Not just useful but this was helping me remember how the Imperative Mood works. So why is this post about Vem cá!? Because you will never hear, Venha aqui in Brazil: everyone…

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PARECER in Portuguese

How would you say something like, You seem to be doing great or, You look tired -? How about, looking good or, seems like a good option -? I remember always getting stuck when trying to express – to seem, to appear. Then I discovered two things: 1- You don’t have to be so literal…

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Queria in portuguese

In english we say, I wanted to this and that… all_the_time. To say the same thing in portuguese it’s tempting to say something like, Eu estava querendo x & y…. But this is very clunky, isn’t it? Brazilians will use the imperfect past form of QUERER to express this. Like this: Eu queria fazer uma…

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MACHUCAR in Portuguese : injured in Brazil

Sometimes, Brazilian Portuguese hurts so bad! There are several ways to talk about being hurt, injured or wounded. The most confusing thing I get questions about is the difference between MACHUCAR and MAGOAR. These two are the most important, most used verbs to say to hurt. MACHUCAR is used to talk about a physical injury….

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Deu mole!

Moleza! Deu Mole! If you’re starting to have real conversations with real Brazilians, DEU MOLE! is one of the first girias (slangs) that you will hear. To understand this one let’s look at where it comes from. Maria Mole. *Some people just want to know what this means, but I love to know the origins….

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Asking Directions in Portuguese

One sure way to quickly improve your Portuguese is to get lost… in Brazil. Even if just for a few hours. All of your speaking inhibitions will immediately disappear and you’ll be compelled to do the single best thing for improving your skills: speak to a real Brazilian! Brazilians are a helpful bunch. I’ve made…

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Portuguese verb HAVER

The Portuguese verb HAVER causes a lot of confusion. If you look at the definition it’s: haver = to be/to have (exist) But listening in on its actual use, you’ll find that it’s used just like the verb, TER. And then there’s the fact that it appears to be yet another verb to express TO…

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Para in Portuguese

PARA can mean either to (some place), or for (in order for). This harmless preposition confuses people all the time because there exist also the preposition a, which also means to. Everyone asks which is correct: Eu vou à praia, or Eu vou para a praia-? Both are correct. Some will say that you should…

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Hacking Portuguese Participles

Many Portuguese learners get tripped-up with the past tense. But there are some hacks that can get you speaking quickly. One of them is learning to use Portuguese participles. The past participle is just a verb conjugation that describes something that is over and done: written, said, cooked, closed etc. Learning the Portuguese participles is…

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Cadê in Portuguese

Is this really Portuguese? Sim, é. You will hear it every day in Brazil. And for some reason, it’s not presented in any of the Brazilian Portuguese grammar books or other learning materials! Probably because it’s relatively recently become part of the common (conversational) vernacular. But it’s omnipresent. In conversational Portuguese, Brazilians will use CADÊ in…

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