Posts Tagged ‘brazilian portuguese’

Iemanja, Queen of the sea!

Posted By jhall_3rd on February 2nd, 2012

Iemanjá is the Queen of the Ocean, the patron deity of the fishermen and survivors of shipwrecks, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of moonlight.

Her number is 7 (a tie into the 7 seas).

She is the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children

“Dia 2 de fevereiro é dia de festa no Mar/Eu quero ser o primeiro a saudar Iemanjá!”

Hoje, milhares de pessoas vão até a praia para levar suas oferendas. (offerings)

Iemanjá é muito vaidosa, por isso recebe muitos presentes para se embelezar. Junto com os presentes, vão os pedidos. Se o presente retorna, é porque foi rejeitado e o pedido não será atendido, diz a lenda.

See Iemanja at Copacabana beach

Posted in Brazilian Culture

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Favela. A place to live.

Posted By jhall_3rd on January 30th, 2012

Onde você mora? Moro na comunidade.

Comunidade, Morro and Favela are all words for what we call the slums of Brasil.

And to be sure, it’s where you’ll find the areas of poverty and urban neglect. But take a closer look. In fact, go inside and get to know one of these hoods. What you find will always (always) surprise you.

Here is a link to one of the many favela revitalization projects underway.

A favela está mudando — está evoluindo e transformando!

Posted in Brazil in the news, Brazilian Culture

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Precisar de…

Posted By jhall_3rd on September 20th, 2011

From Series 2

Posted in Learn Portuguese

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When it comes to…

Posted By jhall_3rd on September 1st, 2011

In english, we say ‘When it comes to football, Brazil has some of the best players’. >> ‘when it comes to X, blah blah blah Y.’

To express this in Brazilian Portuguese, it’s like this:
Quando se trata de… EASY!

Examples,

> Quando se trata de amor vc sabe perder?

> Quando se trata de beleza natural, acho as ruivas as mais lindas!

Posted in Learn Portuguese, Portuguese grammar and vocab

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Rascunho.

Posted By jhall_3rd on July 22nd, 2011

Anything that is a rough draft or, a sketch of something can be called um RASCUNHO.

That includes a document, a work of art, something being made – really anything that’s not yet ready, can be referred to as a RASCUNHO.

Some examples,

> O relatório é um rascunho. A versão final vai sair só depois.

> Ele estava no terceiro rascunho do documento, mas ainda queria fazer algumas mudanças.

> Existe um rascunho do desenho do prédio que nós gostaríamos de fazer no futuro.

Here’s a slang example:

> Eu sou feio mas aquele maluco é o rascunho-do-diabo.

draft	n	(provisional written version)	rascunho sm
rough draft			rascunho
worksheet	n	(paper for preliminary notes)	rascunho
final draft	n	(finished version: of a text) versão final	rascunho final
sketch	n	(quick drawing)	rascunho
on draft			em rascunho
scratch pad			bloco de rascunho
scratch paper			papel de rascunho

Posted in Learn Portuguese, Portuguese grammar and vocab, Portuguese slang and expressions

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I regret nothing.

Posted By jhall_3rd on July 19th, 2011

Let’s get remorseful shall we?
A few of the best ways to regret whatever it is that, you did — or was it someone else, hein?

ARREPENDER = to regret. It’s a reflexive verb and thus, gets used like this:

> Me arrependo das coisas que eu disse ontem.

> A garota que fez sexo no Twitcam se arrependeu.

Faz sentido?

To say you’re sorry/regretful about something it’s:

> Eu fiquei arrependido de ter dito isto para ela ontem.

Posted in Learn Portuguese, Portuguese grammar and vocab

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Fica à Vontade

Posted By jhall_3rd on June 18th, 2011

‘Remain to your will‘ is the literal translation but, não pegar o pé da letra – you can’t take this one literally!

I first heard this from a stewardess on-route to Brazil: “fica à vontade” – she said after I had asked if I could see what newspapers they had.

Be my guest, make yourself at home, feel free to… > do what you need to do, don’t worry about me.

Can also mean “Relax, unwind” for example, after getting home from work you change into more comfortable clothes in order to “FICAR À VONTADE” .. entendeu?

> ‘Entra, senta e fica à vontade’ *as the saying goes.

Posted in Portuguese grammar and vocab, Portuguese slang and expressions

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I just finished…

Posted By jhall_3rd on March 2nd, 2011

Just is one of those really nice and flexible words in the english language that we all interperet easily depending on the context.

She just went home / I just want one / Just in case you don’t …

In Brazilian Portuguse it’s a little bit tricker (surprise!). But let’s look at one really nice and very common way to say for example “to have just done/finshed something.”

The verb ACABAR. Acabar by itself is usually means it’s over (done, finished…) as in “O show acabou às onze horas”.

But adding a “de” to acabar gives it a different meaning — that of “to have JUST done (finished) something”
Use it like this: ACABAR + DE + VERB IN THE INFINITIVE

> Eu acabei de comer = I just ate
> Ela acabou de sair = she just left
> Eu tinha acabado de fazer dezoito anos quando meu pai morreu. = I had just turned eighteen when my dad died.

Posted in Learn Portuguese, Portuguese grammar and vocab

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New Portuguese audio books! Machado de Assis

Posted By jhall_3rd on November 4th, 2010

Recent arrival: First issues in the new series of Machado de Assis Audio Books (mp3). This famous Brazilian writer’s themes and characters continue to be relevant today, over a century after his death. His characters encounter tricky situations such as romantic relationships and betrayal, poverty, and the search for identity.

Posted in Audio Books, Brazilian Culture, Learn Portuguese

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The vocabulary of PAIN: Dor, o vocábulario

Posted By jhall_3rd on August 28th, 2010

The experience of discomfort and pain has it’s very own, very specific and very weird vocabulary. If you’re studying Brazilian Portuguese via this site or podcasts or whatever, you may be having some perceived pain but, the real physical kind has it’s own language. I just realized this after getting fully taken apart at a diagnostic clinic. They asked me: “sua perna está formigando?” and, “o dor está radiando para o pê?”

I’m now learning the hard way the words of hurt.