Portuguese Idioms
A curated set of 66 idioms in Portuguese — literal translations, real meanings, and where each one comes from.
- Engolir sapos — To put up with unpleasant things without complaining. Literally: To swallow toads.
- Pagar o pato — To take the blame for something you didn't do. Literally: To pay the duck.
- Descascar o abacaxi — To solve a very difficult, thorny problem. Literally: To peel the pineapple.
- Empurrar com a barriga — To procrastinate; to keep delaying something. Literally: To push with the belly.
- Matar a cobra e mostrar o pau — To prove you actually did what you claim. Literally: To kill the snake and show the stick.
- dar um jeito — Find a creative solution or workaround, often bending rules pragmatically. Literally: To give a way/trick.
- estar com a corda no pescoço — Be in serious financial or personal trouble with no easy escape. Literally: To be with the rope around the neck.
- meter os pés pelas mãos — Make a clumsy mistake or bungle something badly through carelessness. Literally: To put the feet through the hands.
- estar com água na boca — Feel eager anticipation or desire, especially for food or something pleasant. Literally: To have water in the mouth.
- Viajar na maionese — To talk nonsense or drift off into your own dream world. Literally: To travel in the mayonnaise.
- Chutar o balde — To stop caring and let everything go — unlike the English, nobody dies. Literally: To kick the bucket.
- Enfiar o pé na jaca — To overdo it wildly, especially with food or drink. Literally: To stick your foot in the jackfruit.
- Pisar na bola — To mess up or let someone down. Literally: To step on the ball.
- Encher linguiça — To pad something out with filler to take up space or time. Literally: To stuff sausage.
- Nem que a vaca tussa — No way; under no circumstances. Literally: Not even if the cow coughs.
- Tirar o cavalo da chuva — To give up on an expectation. Literally: To take the horse out of the rain.
- Pagar mico — To embarrass yourself publicly. Literally: To pay monkey.
- Procurar pelo em ovo — To nitpick over nothing. Literally: To look for hair on an egg.
- Ficar a ver navios — To be left disappointed and empty-handed. Literally: To be left watching ships.
- Onde Judas perdeu as botas — In the middle of nowhere; the back of beyond. Literally: Where Judas lost his boots.
- Acertar na mosca — To be exactly right; to hit the bullseye. Literally: To hit the fly.
- Dar com os burros n'água — To fail despite all your effort. Literally: To end up with the donkeys in the water.
- Tirar o pai da forca — Said of something done in frantic urgency. Literally: To take your father off the gallows.
- Chorar de barriga cheia — To complain when you have nothing to complain about. Literally: To cry on a full belly.
- volta e meia — Occasionally or now and then. Literally: A turn and a half.
- sair do armário — To reveal a secret identity or hidden truth, especially regarding sexual orientation or personal circumstances one has concealed. Literally: Out of the closet.
- virar bicho — To become extremely angry or enraged. Literally: To turn animal.
- unha e carne — Extremely close or inseparable; bound together in an intimate connection. Literally: Fingernail and flesh.
- morde e assopra — To hurt someone and then soothe them; to alternate harshness and kindness. Literally: Bites and blows.
- fugir como o diabo foge da cruz — To avoid something or someone at all costs. Literally: To flee like the devil flees from the cross.
- falar com as paredes — To speak to someone who does not listen or respond; to waste one's words. Literally: To speak with the walls.
- carta branca — complete freedom to act without restrictions or needing approval. Literally: White letter.
- de vez em nunca — very rarely; almost never. Literally: From time to never.
- cuspir no prato que comeu — to betray or show ingratitude toward someone who has helped you. Literally: To spit in the plate that one ate from.
- arrastar pela lama — to publicly humiliate or damage someone's reputation. Literally: To drag through the mud.
- comprar briga — to intentionally provoke a quarrel or confrontation with someone. Literally: To buy a fight.
- há algo de podre no reino da Dinamarca — something is deeply wrong or suspicious, though the truth may be hidden. Literally: There is something rotten in the kingdom of Denmark.
- nascer em berço de ouro — to be born into wealth and privilege; to come from a rich family. Literally: To be born in a cradle of gold.
- colocar o carro à frente dos bois — To have the wrong priorities or do things in the wrong order. Literally: To put the cart in front of the oxen.
- do dia para a noite — Very suddenly or extremely quickly. Literally: From the day to the night.
- vaca sagrada — Something so valued or protected that it cannot be criticized, changed, or harmed. Literally: Sacred cow.
- morrer de rir — To laugh very hard or uproariously. Literally: To die of laughing.
- descer a lenha — To harshly criticize or scold someone severely. Literally: To come down with firewood.
- a essa altura do campeonato — At this late stage; now that things have gone this far. Literally: At this point in the championship.
- pegar o jeito — to learn how to do something; to acquire skill or proficiency. Literally: To grab the knack.
- botar defeito — to criticize something excessively or find fault where none reasonably exists. Literally: To place a defect.
- forçar a barra — to push beyond reasonable limits; to insist or persist too aggressively. Literally: To force the bar.
- a cereja do bolo — the crowning touch; something wonderful that completes something already good. Literally: The cherry of the cake.
- brincar com fogo — to engage in a risky or dangerous behavior; to put oneself in harm's way. Literally: To play with fire.
- nu e cru — To speak with brutal, unvarnished honesty, holding nothing back. Literally: Naked and raw.
- à toa — To drift aimlessly or act without purpose or direction. Literally: On the towrope.
- nem carne nem peixe — Something or someone that does not fit into any clear category and remains ambiguous or undefined. Literally: Neither meat nor fish.
- homem dos sete ofícios — A person who can do many different jobs or possesses many different skills, though often without mastery in any one. Literally: Man of the seven trades.
- olho da tempestade — The center of a crisis or controversy; the thick of it. Literally: Eye of the storm.
- cair em saco roto — Words or advice that fail to reach their intended audience; to be ignored or dismissed. Literally: To fall into a torn sack.
- ás na manga — A hidden advantage or resource held in reserve to be revealed when needed. Literally: Ace in the sleeve.
- matar cachorro a grito — To be extremely poor or destitute. Literally: To kill a dog by shouting.
- mandar bala — To pursue something with enthusiasm and vigor. Literally: To send a bullet.
- na ponta da língua — Known by heart and ready to say; also, almost but not quite remembered. Literally: On the tip of the tongue.
- ao fim e ao cabo — After everything is considered; ultimately; in the final analysis. Literally: At the end and at the tip.
- fazer uma tempestade num copo de água — To make an excessive fuss over something trivial. Literally: To make a storm in a glass of water.
- dar um tiro no pé — To harm oneself through one's own actions; to undermine one's own interests. Literally: To give a shot in the foot.
- sujo falando do mal lavado — Hypocritical criticism from someone guilty of the same fault being criticized. Literally: Dirty speaking of the badly washed.
- pôr os pontos nos is — To clarify a matter by spelling out details explicitly. Literally: To put the dots on the i's.
- Matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada só — To get two benefits from a single effort. Literally: To kill two rabbits with one blow of the stick.
- Diz o roto ao nu: porque não te vestes tu? — Said when someone criticizes another for a fault they share. Literally: Says the ragged man to the naked one: why don't you get dressed?.
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