Portuguese · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 8 of 12

Idioms and everyday speech

Expressões do dia a dia

Sound natural in Brazilian Portuguese: idioms like dar branco and pagar mico, verb phrases like ficar + gerund, and spoken tá, tô, pra and né.

12 lines, with a translation of each

In this chapter you'll learn to

Understand and use everyday idioms: dar branco, pisar na bola, ser moleza, cair a ficha
Use verb phrases: acabar de, continuar, ficar and andar + gerund, parar de, estar prestes a
Recognise and use spoken forms: tá, tô, tava, pra, pro, né, cê
Use fillers like tipo, aí, pois é and quer dizer

Listen

In the flat they share in Rio, Matheus asks his flatmate Yasmin how her job interview went that morning. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.

Speed:

Hide translations (test yourself)

Matheus
E aí, Yasmin? Acabou de chegar? Como é que foi a entrevista?
Hey, Yasmin. Have you just got back? How did the interview go?
Yasmin
Acabei de chegar, sim. Ai, tô morta de cansaço. Não preguei o olho essa noite.
Yes, I've just got back. Oh, I'm dead tired. I didn't sleep a wink last night.
Matheus
Pois é, eu ouvi. Às três da manhã cê continuava andando pela sala e falando sozinha.
Yeah, I heard. At three in the morning you were still walking round the living room talking to yourself.
Yasmin
Eu tava treinando as respostas, né? E no começo foi tudo bem. Mas aí a chefe do setor me perguntou por que eu queria a vaga e… deu branco total.
I was practising my answers, you know? And at first it all went well. But then the head of the department asked me why I wanted the job and… my mind went completely blank.
Matheus
Sério? E o que cê fez?
Seriously? And what did you do?
Yasmin
Fiquei falando, falando, tipo, sem parar. E no final eu disse que queria trabalhar lá porque o escritório fica de frente pra praia. Quer dizer, paguei o maior mico, né?
I just kept talking and talking, like, non-stop. And in the end I said I wanted to work there because the office faces the beach. I mean, I totally embarrassed myself, didn't I?
Matheus
Olha, pisou um pouco na bola, sim. Mas também não é o fim do mundo. E aí?
Well, you did slip up a bit, yes. But it's not the end of the world. And then?
Yasmin
Aí a chefe começou a rir e falou que ela também tinha se mudado pro Rio por causa da praia. Na verdade, a partir daí foi moleza.
Then the boss started laughing and said she'd also moved to Rio because of the beach. Actually, from then on it was a piece of cake.
Matheus
Tá vendo? Cê anda se preocupando demais. Tem que parar de sofrer por antecipação. E quando é que eles vão te dar uma resposta?
See? You've been worrying too much lately. You have to stop suffering in advance. And when are they going to give you an answer?
Yasmin
Então, eu tava prestes a sair do prédio quando o telefone tocou: me contrataram. Começo segunda.
Well, I was about to leave the building when the phone rang: they've hired me. I start on Monday.
Matheus
Cê tá brincando! Parabéns! E aí, já caiu a ficha?
You're kidding! Congratulations! So, has it sunk in yet?
Yasmin
Ainda não caiu, não. Hoje à noite a gente comemora, tá? Mas antes me dá uma mão: preciso escolher uma roupa pra segunda.
It hasn't sunk in yet, no. We'll celebrate tonight, OK? But first give me a hand: I need to choose an outfit for Monday.

Understand

Verb phrases: acabar de, ficar + gerund…

Portuguese uses many verb + infinitive or gerund combinations to show exactly where an action is in time. You know (to have just), and already. The first verb is conjugated; the infinitive or gerund doesn't change.

+ gerund stresses that something went on for a while, often longer than it should: (I was left waiting an hour). + gerund is for what someone has been doing lately: .

Phrase	Meaning	Example
+ infinitive	to have just
+ gerund	to still be doing, to keep doing
+ gerund	to keep doing (for a while)
+ gerund	to have been doing lately
+ infinitive	to stop
+ infinitive	to do again
+ infinitive	to be about to

Everyday idioms

Idioms () are fixed: you can change the tense, but not the words. The ones below are used all over Brazil by people of all ages, and none of them is rude.

Portuguese	Literally	Meaning
	to be dead of tiredness	to be exhausted
	not to nail the eye	not to sleep a wink
	to give white	for your mind to go blank
	to pay the monkey	to embarrass yourself
	to step on the ball	to slip up, to let someone down
	to be softness	to be a piece of cake
	for the token to drop	for something to sink in
	to give a hand	to help

Spoken forms and fillers

In relaxed speech, Brazilians shorten some very common words. You'll also see them in text messages, but not in formal writing: (), (), (), (), (), (, “right?”), ().

Fillers give you time to think and link your ideas: (like), (then, and so), (so, well), (you know?), (yeah, exactly), (actually), (I mean). is very frequent among young people; use it lightly.

Tô cansado, né?I'm tired, you know?
Cê vai pro Rio amanhã?Are you going to Rio tomorrow?
Aí eu fiquei, tipo, sem saber o que falar.And then I was, like, lost for words.

More in the grammar: Estar + gerund and other verb phrases · Connectors and discourse markers

New words

a entrevistainterview · : job interview
estar morto de cansaçoto be dead tired, exhausted · for a woman; informal
não pregar o olhonot to sleep a wink
pois éyeah, exactly; that's right · agreeing or reacting
o chefe / a chefeboss, head
dar brancofor your mind to go blank · : my mind went blank
pagar micoto embarrass yourself · : I totally embarrassed myself
pisar na bolato slip up, to let someone down
ser molezato be a piece of cake, very easy · : it was easy
estar prestes a…to be about to do something · + infinitive: : I was about to leave
brincarto joke; to play (children) · : You're kidding!
Parabéns!Congratulations!
cair a fichafor something to sink in · : It hasn't sunk in yet.
dar uma mãoto give a hand, to help · : Can you give me a hand?

Practise

1.In an exam, you suddenly can't remember anything. What do you say afterwards?
2.Complete with a verb phrase: “I was about to leave.”
Eu estava a sair.
I was about to leave.
3.Complete with the gerund of : “I was left waiting for an hour.”
Fiquei uma hora.
I was left waiting for an hour.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.
It still hasn't sunk in.
5.Match the idioms with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.What is in full, careful Portuguese?

0 of 6 exercises done.

Say it out loud

Tô morto de cansaço: não preguei o olho.

I'm dead tired: I didn't sleep a wink.

Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.

Check

Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.

1.Why is Yasmin so tired?
2.What did Yasmin say when her mind went blank?
3.How did the boss react?
4.What does mean?
5.Which word is a filler meaning “I mean” or “in other words”?

0 of 5 answered.