Cabeça de alho chocho

Meaning: A forgetful scatterbrain whose thoughts won't stay put.

Literally: Head of withered garlic

Origin: Portuguese expression; the shrivelled garlic bulb pictures an empty, addled head.

More Portuguese compliments & insults

Você é um amor You're a sweetheart — warm, caring, and impossible not to like.
Você tem muita garra You have fierce, relentless determination — you claw your way through any obstacle.
És uma joia You're a gem — a precious, lovely person.

Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.

A aranha arranha a rã. A rã arranha a aranha. Contrasts the soft single r of aranha against the hard rolled rr of arranha — one letter…
O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma; a rainha com raiva roeu o resto. An unstoppable 'r' trill drill — every key word begins or ends with the Portuguese r.
Um tigre, dois tigres, três tigres tristes triscam trigo num trigal. A 'tr' cluster drill that adds a sad adjective to make the alliteration worse.

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