This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.
You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.
After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.
If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.
Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?
Portuguese idioms are at the heart of the colloquial register and everyday life language. What’s special with such idiomatic expressions is that they transcend the literal meanings of their word constituents.
Unquestionably, becoming fluent in Portuguese entails acknowledging and learning what these expressions actually mean.
Now, there are hundreds of Portuguese idioms, if not thousands. Here below, I will walk you through a selection of fifty common ones that will sooner or later come your way.
Let’s get started.
Speaking of colloquial Portuguese! Here’s a read for you in case you want to learn some basics of Portuguese strong language. Portuguese Swear Words: An Unashamed Journey through Portuguese Strong Language
| IDIOMS | USAGE EXAMPLES | |
| 1 | Até dar com um pau A lot | Ele trabalha até dar com um pau. He works a lot. |
| 2 | Encher chouriços Doing nothing | Passei o dia a encher chouriços. I spent the day doing nothing |
| 3 | Meter o pé na argola Screw up | Meteste outra vez o pé na argola? Did you screw up again? |
| 4 | Deixar-se de cantigas Cut to the chase | Deixa-te de cantigas. O que queres? Cut it to the chase. What do you want? |
| 5 | Águas de bacalhau Unresolved, no progress | Ficou tudo em águas de bacalhau! Everything remains like before. |
| 6 | Chutar para canto Ignore | Chuta isso para canto! Just ignore it! |
| 7 | Passar das marcas Go too far | Desta vez ela passou das marcas. This time around she went too far. |
| 8 | Ficar em pulgas Getting excited | Ele ficou em pulgas com as notícias. He got excited with the news. |
| 9 | Ter lata To have the nerve | É preciso ter lata! You’ve got some nerve! |
| 10 | Sem papas na língua Outspoken | Eu não tenho papas na língua. I speak my mind. |
| 11 | Troca-tintas Two-faced | Não confio em ti. Tu és um troca-tintas. I don’t trust you. You’re not reliable. |
| 12 | Ir aos arames Become irascible | Ela vai aos arames por tudo e por nada. He gets cross for no reason. |
| 13 | Pelo sim pelo não Just in case | Leva o guarda-chuva pelo sim pelo não. Take the umbrella just in case. |
| 14 | Não bater certo When something doesn’t add up | Esta história está mal contada. Algo não bate certo. This story stinks. Something is wrong. |
| 15 | Meter uma cunha Put in a word | Não me podes ajudar e meter-me uma cunha? Can’t you help me and put in a word for me? |
| 16 | Que remédio! There’s no other way! | Estava a ficar tão pesado que tive que mudar os meus hábitos alimentares. Que remédio! I was getting so overweight that I had to change the way I ate. What else could I do? |
| 17 | Às três pancadas Carelessly, sloppy | Ele fez o trabalho às três pancadas. He did a sloppy job. |
| 18 | Vai não vai State of irresolution, stand-still | Isto é um vai não vai! Alguém para tomar uma decisão? We’ve gotten stuck here! Can someone do something? |
| 19 | A torto e a direito Left and right | Ele endividou-se a torto e a direito. Agora está em apuros. He borrowed money left and right. Now he’s in trouble. |
| 20 | Não aquece nem arrefece Indifference | Isso não me aquece nem me arrefece. I couldn’t care less about it. |
| 21 | Deixar-se de coisas Stop the excuses | Deixa-te de coisas e faz mas é lá isso. Stop coming up with excuses and just get on with it. |
| 22 | Por um triz That close | Foi por um triz que não fui atropelado por um carro. I was very close to getting run over by a car. |
| 23 | Sem mais nem menos Out of the blue | Ele começou a chorar assim sem mais nem menos. He started crying without any apparent reason. |
| 24 | Dar com os pés Dump/reject someone. | Ela deu-me com os pés e eu tive que o aceitar e seguir em frente. She dumped me and I had to accept it and move on. |
| 25 | Ter pinta Be stylish | Aquele gajo tem muita pinta. That guy is really stylish. |
| 26 | Por tudo e por nada For no reason | Ela irrita-se por tudo e por nada. She gets easily annoyed. |
| 27 | Favas contadas Sure thing | Isso são favas contadas. You can count on that. |
| 28 | Bico-de-obra Difficult situation | Meti-me num bico-de-obra. I got into trouble. |
| 29 | Sem espinhas Easy, without any major obstacles | Ganhamos o jogo – 4-0. Sem espinhas! We won the match – 4-0. It was a piece of cake. |
| 30 | Ter dor de cotovelo To be jealous | Tu tens é dor de cotovelo. You’re just jealous, that’s all. |
| 31 | Em cheio Spot on | Acertei em cheio, não foi? I just nailed it, didn’t I? |
| 32 | Sem pés nem cabeça Nonsense | O que dizes não tem pés nem cabeça. You just talk nonsense. |
| 33 | Dar a mão à palmatória Concede | Tenho que dar a mão à palmatória. Tu tinhas razão. I have to admit. You were right. |
| 34 | Dar um jeito Help, give a hand | Será que me podes dar um jeito? Could you help me here, please? |
| 35 | Que seca! So boring! | Ontem fui ao cinema, que seca de filme! Yesterday I went to the cinema. The movie was rather boring. |
| 36 | Ser pão-pão, queijo-queijo Be plain-spoken | Com ele é pão-pão, queijo-queijo. He doesn’t beat around the bush. |
| 37 | Agora é que são elas Ultimate reckoning | Foste apanhado em flagrante. Agora é que são elas! You were caught in the act. I guess this is it. |
| 38 | Dê por onde der Whatever it takes | Vou terminar este projeto, dê por onde der. One way or the other, I’ll finish this project. |
| 39 | Pano para mangas Overflow | Este assunto dá pano para mangas. I could go on forever and talk your ear off. |
| 40 | Paninhos quentes Tiptoeing around someone | Escusas de vir agora com paninhos quentes! Don’t come now tiptoeing around me. |
| 41 | Aqui há gato! There’s something fishy! | Aqui há gato, Joana. There’s something very wrong here, Joana. |
| 42 | Nem mas nem meio mas! No buts | Já te disse, não há mas nem meio mas! I told you, there’re no buts! |
| 43 | Passar a pente fino Scrutinize | Ele passou o meu quarto a pente fino à procura de vestígios. He went through my room with a fine-tooth comb looking for traces. |
| 44 | Dar à sola Run away | Ele teve de dar à sola antes que fosse tarde. He had to run away before it was too late. |
| 45 | De mão beijada For free, effortless | Tu tiveste tudo de mão beijada. You’ve got everything handed to you. |
| 46 | De mãos a abanar Empty-handed | Não posso voltar de mãos a abanar. I cannot come back empty-handed. |
| 47 | Estar à rasca Be in trouble/afflicted | Estou à rasca. I am in trouble. |
| 48 | Mandar bocas Take a potshot | Porque é que estás sempre a mandar-lhe bocas? Why are you continually taking potshots at him? |
| 49 | Ao sabor da maré Taking it easy, going with the flow | Ele é uma pessoa calma. Faz as coisas ao sabor da maré. He’s a calm person. He goes with the flow. |
| 50 | Era só o que faltava That’s all I needed (ironic) | Tu outra vez? Era só o que me faltava. You again? You’re the last person I wanted to see. |
Related reads. Both verbs fazer and dar are multi-faceted and often used in colloquial expressions. Here’re a couple of reads for you:
• The Portuguese Verb “Fazer” and All the Things You Say with It
• The Portuguese Verb “Dar”: Usage and Idiomatic Expressions
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.