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When Frank Sinatra sang “I bit off more than I could chew” nobody thought he was motivated by greed!

When hearing for the first time the expression “It’s raining dogs and cats” everyone knows it is not the end of the world...

Likewise, in Portuguese it happens the same. You shouldn’t always take the words ‘ao pé da letra’ – which means ‘literally, by the book’.

To start your search for Portuguese Expressions, just click on the letter, or type in the Search Box the Portuguese Idiom you want to know the meaning of.

By practicing them a while, you will soon speak Portuguese backwards and forwards...

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a caminho de	on the way to
a caminho para / a caminho do	on the way to
a cavalo	on horse back
a coisa tá preta	things are looking bad
a dinheiro	in cash
a espera de	waiting for
a essas horas	by this time
a fim de que	so that
à mão	by hand
à medida que	as (followed by progressive idea)
a menos que	unless
a meu ver	in my opinion
à moda antiga	in the old-fashioned way
a não ser que	unless
a partir de	beginning on
a partir de (4 de março)	from (March 4th) on
a pé	on foot
a perder de vista	as far as eyes can see
a propósito	by the way
à prova d’água	water proof
à prova de bomba	bomb proof
a respeito de	regarding
a saber	namely
a tempo	on time, in time
à vontade	at ease; to feel at home
aborrecer-se com	to become annoyed at, bored with
abra o olho	keep your eye on it
acabar de: used in present tense	to have just done something
acabar de: used in the imperfect tense	had just done something
acabou-se	it’s all over
acertar o relógio	to set the clock, watch
achar graça	to enjoy, think something is funny
acho que não	I don’t think so
acho que sim	I think so
afinal de contas	after all, the long run
agora mesmo	right now
agüentar a mão	just a minute, hold on
ainda que	although
além disso	besides
além do mais	furthermore
algo de novo	something new
ali mesmo	right there
aliás	in fact, actually, in fact
amanhã de manhã	tomorrow morning
Amarelar	to be afraid
amigo da onça	a false friend
anda, vamos	come on, let’s go
andar de branco	to wear white
andar de mal a pior	go from bad to worse
ano bissexto	leap year
ao longo da	along the
ao passo que	while, whereas
ao pé da letra	literally, by the book
ao pé de	near, close to
Apareça!	come again (to visit us)
apertar as mãos de	to shake hands with
apertar o passo	to quicken your step
apesar de	in spite of
as aparências enganam	appearances are deceiving
às suas ordens	at your service
às vezes	at times, sometimes
assim como	as well as
assim que	as soon as
até amanhã	see you tomorrow
até breve	see you soon
até logo	see you later, so long
Até onde?	How far? (distance)
Até quando?	How long?
até que enfim	finally
atender a um pedido	to grant a request
atender ao telefone	to answer the telephone

bater o queixo	to shiver, chattering teeth
bater palmas	to clap hands
bater papo	to talk, to chat
bater uma foto	to snap a picture
bem direitinho	fairly well
bem educado	well-bred, having good manners
Bem feito!	Nice going! (sarcastic)
bem melhor	much better
botar a boca no mundo	to scream one’s head off
Botar no olho da rua	to throw someone out
botar os pingos nos i’s	to get things straightened out
botar os pingos nos i’s	to dot the i’s and cross the t’s

cabeça de vento	scatterbrain
caber a uma pessoa	to be up to a person
caber em	to fit in, to be room for
Cada macaco no seu galho.	Everyone should care for their own job.
cada qual	each one
cada vez mais	more and more
café da manhã	breakfast
cair em si	to suddenly realize
cair por terra	to fall flat
calar o bico	to be quiet, keep a secret
Calma que Brasil é nosso!	Take it easy!
Carona	ride
cerrar as cortinas	to draw the curtains
chamar a atenção	to attract the attention
Chega!	That’s enough!
chegar a ser	to become, get to be
chegar a	to amount to (of sums)
chegar-se a	to draw close to
cheio de si	proud
coisa alguma	nothing
com as mãos abanando	without achieving one’s purpose
com certeza	certainly, surely
com efeito	as a matter of fact
com licença	excuse me (permission to leave)
com respeito a	regarding
comer o pão que o diabo amassou	to go through great hardship
como o quê	immensely, very much, loads of
comprar a prestações	to buy on installments
conhecer de nome	to know by name
conhecer na ponta da língua	to know it backwards and forwards
consentir em	to allow (someone doing something)
contanto que	provided that
contar com alguém	to count on someone
contente da vida	very happy
convir em	to agree to
cor-de-rosa	pink
correr o mundo	to travel
correr perigo	to run a risk, danger
cortar o cabelo	to get a haircut
Cuidado!	Watch out! Be careful!

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