IdiomDaily Life
Portuguese
Portuguesefalar com as paredes
Meaning: To speak to someone who does not listen or respond; to waste one's words.
Literally: To speak with the walls
Example: “Pedi dez vezes para arrumar o quarto; é como falar com as paredes.” — I've asked ten times for the room to be tidied; my words fall on deaf ears.
English equivalent: To fall on deaf ears
Other ways to say this
German: in den Wind sprechen Literally: To speak into the wind- Portuguese: cair em saco roto Literally: To fall into a torn sack
Dutch: voor dovemansoren Literally: For deaf men's ears
English: fall on deaf ears
Origin: Walls cannot hear, so talking to them is talking to someone who does not listen. The phrase is ordinary Portuguese, like Spanish hablar con la pared and English "talking to a brick wall," and has no particular story behind it.
More Portuguese idioms
- arrastar pela lama to publicly humiliate or damage someone's reputation.
- há algo de podre no reino da Dinamarca something is deeply wrong or suspicious, though the truth may be hidden.
- do dia para a noite Very suddenly or extremely quickly.
- vaca sagrada Something so valued or protected that it cannot be criticized, changed, or harmed.
- morrer de rir To laugh very hard or uproariously.
- descer a lenha To harshly criticize or scold someone severely.
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