I love Mondays. Só que não, sua linda!

Smile! Today is Monday!

 

I know, i know…it’s not easy. Buuuut, we are here today to prove that you can start your week LEARNING something new, even if it’s Monday 🙂

There’s this new brazilian slang being spread on the internet: “Só que não”. You use it to be ironic about something you just said. It’s like “or not” in English. If you didn’t understand yet, let me explain you better: the idea is to say something and then immediately denied it by using the expression “só que não”. Look:

Eg:

Eu amo Segundas-feiras! Só que não. (I love Mondays. – not)

Eg 2:

__Você é um nerd? (Are you a nerd?)

__Sim, só que não!

 

 

Every day it seems there is a new expression on the internet and it doesn’t take much time until it is being used for everybody in conversations between friends.  We don’t know exactly where they first came from, their origin varies greatly and can come from videos, social networks, TV programs and photos. The expression “sua linda”, that means something like “you pretty girl”/ “you cutie”, for example, came from a profile on Twitter called “Pedreiro Online“. It is a fictional and humorous profile, where the character is a mason who writes phrases for flirting with girls and usually ends with the famous phrase “sua linda!” and it’s greatly used among brazilians.

 

Good morning for you who is so beautiful that you waking up as if you were starring a L’OREAL Paris commercial. You cutie! (Photo printed from Twitter)

Check here some other brazilian expressions common specially on the internet:

• #chatiado: to show that you are bored or disappointed
• “ri litros”: laughed a lot. Eg: Eu ri litros vendo essa foto. (I laughed a lot looking at this picture)
• VDD: abreviation for “verdade”(true)
• “Sou desses”: I’m one of those. Eg: Digo “estou saindo” quando na verdade ainda nao estou nem arrumado. Sou desses! (I say “I’m leaving” when I’m actually not even dressed up. I’m one of those)
• “Ui!”: It’s the brazilian version for “We got a badass over here!”

🙂 Now that you’ve learned how to be ironic and more in our brazilian way:

 

 

 

Brazilian Expressions You Should Learn

When we are learning a new language is common to be interested in how natives really speak, their common expressions, slangs and to learn them is always cool because make us feel a little bit less “gringos” and it also make brazilian people loves you even more 🙂 because we love when foreigners try to speak Portuguese ( <3)

When I was learning spanish in Colombia the popular slangs and expressions used to be my favorite words and I was trying to use them all the time, sometimes at the same time…hahaha (oops! =P). The truth is that by learning them I could understand easily what were people saying and it also helped me to interact. So today I brought you this small list of some popular brazilian expressions you should try to learn. 🙂 I bet you will be a much more popular gringo after you start to use them! 😉

 “Legal”

It means “Cool.” But sometimes it can sounds like “ok”.

You’re gonna hear it a lot! It is one of the most useful slang words in the Portuguese language and  you can use legal to describe almost everything you like.

Eg 1:

__Eu comprei um carro novo! (I’ve bought a new car!)

__ Sério? Que legal! (Really? That’s cool!)

Eg 2:

__O que você achou do meu amigo? (What did you think about my friend?)

__Ah, ele parece ser legal (Uh, he seems ok/nice)

Another slang to say something is “Muito legal”(really cool) is “SHOW DE BOLA“.

Eg 1:

__Esse lugar é show de bola!! (This place is really cool)

Eg 2:

__ Ontem nós nos divertimos muito. Foi show de bola! (Yesterday we had a lot of fun. It was really cool!)

We love soccer, so there are many slangs which came from this sport. So here we go with one more useful expression in case you are at a stadium:

Ei juiz! Cadê o penalty?

“Hey, ref! Where’s the penalty?”

When it happens to our soccer team, I think the ref is always blind. Don’t you agree with me? hehehe.  Say it out loud(actually you should scream..hehe), to the TV, radio or when possible to the referee himself 🙂

É mesmo?? or “Sério?”

 They mean “Really?” and it’s used in the same way we use “really” :), when you want to react to something unexpected or new fact or even, to be ironic.

Eg 1:

__Você sabia que a Português é Massa oferece aulas de Português via Skype? (Did you know that Português é Massa offers Portuguese lessons via Skype?)

__ É mesmo? Vou mandar um email para saber mais informaçoes. (Really? I’m gonna send an email to get more informations.)

Eg 2:

__Deus do céu! Esse vestido da Lady Gada está deslumbrante! (OMG! This Lady Gaga’s dress is gorgeous!)

__ Sério?! Eu nao acho. (Really? I don’t think so.)

Pra caramba!

Here’s a great expression to emphasize how off-the-charts something is. “Pra caramba” is most often used  when you don’t want to simply say “muito” (very) and it usually comes in the end of the sencentes.

Eg 1: Essa cerveja é boa pra caramba! (This beer is great/amazing)

Cerveja gelada PRA CARAMBA!!

Eg 2: Eu gosto dela pra caramba! (I like her very much)

Fala sério!

It means “You’re kidding!” or “No way! Brazilians also say “Não acredito!”(I can’t believe it!) or “Mentiiiiiiiiira!” (It’s a lie – btw, I love this one!) to express the same feeling.

Eg 1:

__Eu acho que o Justin Bieber é o novo Michael Jackson. (I think Justin Bieber is the new Michael Jackson.)

__O quê??? Fala sério!! (What??? No way!/You’re kidding!)

Eg 2:

__Eu vou pedir demissao amanha e depois vou viajar pelo mundo. (I’m gonna quit my job tomorrow and after that, I’m gonna travel the world.)

__Mentiiiiiira!!! =O

Imagina!

You probably have already heard that brazilians are very hospitable.  So when someone says “Obrigado” (you say it if you’re a man)  or  “Obrigada” (if you’re a woman), brazilians usually reply it saying “De nada” or “Imagina!”. It literally means “imagine!” but what we really want to say is “It’s no trouble at all!”, “It’s a pleasure for us to help you”.

Eg:

__Obrigada por nos ajudar. (Thank you for help us)

__Imagina! Foi um prazer. (It’s not trouble at all. It was a pleasure)

Com certeza!

This expression means “Definitly!” or more “Of course”. You cal also say it to agree with someone’s opinion.

Eg 1:

__Você vai pra festa mais tarde? (Are you going to the party, later?)

__Com certeza! (Definitly!)

Eg 2:

__Eu acho que as passagens de aviao deveriam ser mais baratas no Brasil (I think the flight tickets should be cheaper in Brasil.)

__Com certeza. Eles sao muito caros. (Definitly! They’re very expensive.)

Did you like it?? Sim or com certeza?? 🙂 🙂 So give us a “LIKE”,  spread the good news, leave us your comments! Your opinion is very important to help us make this space better and better for you!

Beijos e até a próxima!

Brazilian Portuguese vs. European Portuguese

After one of our posts on Facebook showing the a comparitive between few words in Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese, I received a lot of emails and ibox messages asking for more information about this topic. So here we are! 🙂 I found this very interesting text (the source is at the end of the text) that summarize everything you need to know about it.  I hope you enjoy it! 😉 – Lívia Almeida

(Translated by Luana Cavalcanti)

This is a comparison,which the main goal is to spot the differences Between Brazilian Portuguese and Continental Portuguese.
Portuguese people and Brazilians can understand each other very well, just like English people can understand Americans without the need of subtitles.
The main differences are predominantly in phonetics and vocabulary. Some Brazilians might find it difficult to understand the European Portuguese because the Portuguese from Portugal has a tendency to compress words to a greater extent than in Brazil – for example, tending to drop unstressed phoneme like /e/. The language syntax is remarkably the same, and in morphology the distinctions are not numerous. Finally, there is Portuguese language here and there. To prove it, if you are learning the Brazilian variant, simply open a book or read a news website published in European Portuguese, you will understand it perfectly.

Understanding the Differences
Portuguese language was established as the official language of Brazil in 1758, by this time the contact with indigenous people and African slaves had already changed the spoken language here. According to the linguist Rosa Matos and Virginia Silva from Federal University of Bahia.”The Africans who arrived as slaves did not attend school and learned the colloquial Portuguese, creating differences in the original language.” Later, in the late 19th century, European and Asian immigrants arrived in Brazil, and new changes in the Brazilian way of speaking where introduced.

Spelling differences: 
a) European Portuguese retains some consonants that are no longer pronounced in words like acto, excepto, óptimo. The Brazilian spelling has eliminated those consonants. Although with the new orthographic Agreement,those consonants in European Portuguese will be dismissed.
b) Some words that Brazilians pronounce with a closed vowel (written â, ê, ô) are pronounced with an open vowel in Portugal (written á, é, ó), and this is reflected in differing spellings
c) The Brazilian spelling distinguishes between a closed diphtong ei and an open diphtong éi. In Portugal, this distinction is not made, because both diphtongs are pronounced identically.

– Differences of vocabulary:
There are vast differences in vocabulary, and sometimes the same word may be employed differently in the two varieties
An example that is commonly used over the internet and in some books : The word for “pineapple” in European Portuguese is “ananás,” similar to other European languages, including the German “Ananas,” French “ananas” and even the Hungarian “ananasz.” In Brazil, however, the Portuguese word for pineapple is “abacaxi”. The Brazilian Portuguese in this case was heavily influenced by native Amerindian languages , in this particular case: tupi-guarani.
Some other examples:
1. comboio (EP) = trem (BP) (train)
2. autocarro (EP) = ônibus (BP) (bus)
3. hospedeira de bordo (EP) = aeromoça (BP) (stewardess)
4. bairro de lata (EP) = favela (BP) (slum)
5. desporto (EP) = esporte (BP) (sport)

– Grammatical differences :
a) Regarding the use of personal pronouns. The pronoun tu is replaced with você in most of Brazil, because você tends to be avoided in Portugal. A gente replaces nós much more often in colloquial Brazilian Portuguese than in Portugal .
b) Regarding the distinction between third person subject pronouns and object pronouns. In colloquial Brazilian Portuguese, the subject pronouns ele(s), ela(s), você(s)are often used as objects, where o(s), a(s), lhe(s) would be used in Portugal.
c) Regarding the placement of the clitic personal pronouns. In Portugal, the clitic personal pronouns can come after a verb under some circumstances (enclisis or mesoclisis): “Dê-me um cigarro”, “Desculpe-me“, “Pode dizer-me…?” They can also be placed before the auxiliary verb, in other circumstances: “Não me pode dizer…?”
In colloquial Brazilian Portuguese, the tendency is to always place the clitic pronoun before the main verb, and between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, in compound tenses: “Me dê um cigarro”, “Me desculpe”, “Pode me dizer…?”, “Não pode me dizer…?”
d) Compound verb tenses of the form “estar + gerund” tend to be replaced with “estar a + infinitive” in most of Portugal.This happens because in Brazil you use the gerund to describe something you are doing now, since in Portugal, you use the infinitive.
e) Regarding the use of prepositions. Brazilians sometimes replace the preposition a with em or para with verbs of motion. They occasionally eliminate prepositions or pronouns from verbs that are prepositional or pronominal (“reflexive”) in Portugal.

-Syntax:
the Portuguese use definite articles a lot.
Examples: o meu nome é (EP) = meu nome é (BP) (my name is, the Portuguese literally say “the my name is”)
Brazilians normally place the object pronoun before the verb (proclitic position), as in ele me viu (“he saw me”). In many such cases, the proclisis would be considered awkward or even grammatically incorrect in EP, in which the pronoun is generally placed after the verb (enclitic place), namely ele viu-me. However, formal BP still follows EP in avoiding starting a sentence with a proclitic pronoun; so both will write Deram-lhe o livro (“They gave him/her the book”) instead of Lhe deram o livro, though it will seldom be spoken in BP (but would be clearly understood).

The Orthographic Agreement
Portuguese speaking countries signed an orthographic agreement in 1990. More than unifying spellings, the agreement is oriented to accept one another’s spelling as correct. It will be mandatory in Brazil in 2016.

Source: Azevedo, Milton. 2005. Portuguese: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Governo brasileiro vai adiar obrigatoriedade do Acordo Ortográfico para 2016,Observatório da Língua Portuguesa

Português do Brasil é muito bonitinho – Diminutives in Portuguese

Check this a “Coca-Cola” advertisement in Ecuador. They are making fun of a really popular brazilian way of speaking: DIMINUTIVO! 😀

Ela é tao bonitinha! (She’s so cute!)

Você quer um cafezinho? (Do you want some coffee?)

Nós vivemos pertinho de você. (We live close to you.)

A diminutive (diminutivo in Portuguese) is a word formed by adding “-inho(a)” or “-zinho(a)” to the end of a word to show that something or somebody is smaller. Diminutives are also used to denote affection, intimacy, courtesy, and sometimes even a pejorative tone.

To form the diminutive, you need to pay attention to the end of the noun:

• If it ends in “s” or “sa”, we just add “inho” or “inha”: lápis – lapisinho; princesa – princesinha; casa – casinha

• If it ends in z, a consonant or stressed syllable, you keep the z and add “inho” or “inha” or in case it ends in consonant or stressed syllable just add “inho” or “inha”: nariz (nose) – narizinho; flor(flower) – florzinha; maçã (apple) – maçãzinha; café – cafezinho

Here are  just a few other examples :

• With adjectives:

“Grande” becomes “Grandinho” – Slightly big
“Verde” becomes “Verdinho” – Vivid green. –> A grama está tao verdinha. (The grass is so green.)
“Barato” becomes “Baratinho” – Cheap and affordable –> Está baratinho. Vou levar. (It’s very cheap. I’m gonna take it)

• Even with some adverbs like:

“Depressa” becomes “Depressinha” – to give the idea of very quickly
“Nunca” becomes “Nunquinha” – to give the idea of Never ever.

Now check these other examples:

• Oi, amorzinho! – Hi, honey! (For somebody you love.)
• Seu bebê é tão bonitinho. – Your baby is so cute. (Showing affection.)
• Vamos tomar uma cerveja bem geladinha? – Let’s have a really nice cold beer. (To emphasize the quality of the adjective, meaning ‘nice and …’)
• Nós temos um probleminha. – We have a little problem. (Actually, it’s probably a huge problem. :P)
• Vou fumar só um cigarrinho. – I’m going to smoke just one little cigarette. (Maybe trying to hide a vice.)
• Você pode esperar só um momentinho? – Can you wait just a moment? (probably you will wait more than “a moment”)
• Vou dar uma saidinha. – I’m just going to pop out. (Implying a quick return, which is not always the case.)

In fact, it’s very popular in Brazil. Another way to use “diminutivo” is to create brazilian nicknames. It seems at times that everyone in the country has some sort of nickname. For example, my name is Lívia, but my friends usually call me Livinha. It’s a way to show affection. I’m sure you have heard about the most famous diminutive on the planet :P: the soccer star Ronaldinho. hehehe.

Brazilians usually won’t say what they really think about something to do not sound “rude”, so the diminutive is often used for this pupose too, because it sounds “less agressive” For example, the word bonitinho I used in the begining of this post, depending on the intonation you give, could mean “cute” or “ugly”.

–> Português do Brasil é muito bonitinho (I mean, it’s really cute!)

–> A: Você acha a Lady Gaga bonita? B: Humm…ela é bonitiiiiinha. (Actually, I think she’s not that beautiful or I really think she’s ugly, but I don’t want to say it because I don’t want to be “rude” – maybe you like Lady Gaga :P)

Many people use the word “bonitinho”(cutie) to refer to someone “feio arrumadinho” (which means that you are an well dressed ugly). ^^ So, if you think someone is really cute, you better say: Você é lindo/linda! Você é muito bonito/bonita! 😉 hehe

All in all, you should start to try “brazilian diminutivo” 🙂 It’s definitly a brazilian mark!!

Um beijinho pra todos vocês! :*

Esse cara sou eu – New Roberto Carlos Hit

“Está na boca do povo!” it means that is everybody talking about it, in this case SINGING IT. New Roberto Carlos song, “Esse cara sou eu” is a hit in Brazil, the song has been played exhaustively on the radio, especially after after having appeared as theme of the main couple in a brazilian soap-opera (Salve Jorge).

According to Roberto Carlos, the song “Esse cara sou eu” (That guy is me/Este hombre soy yo) talks about the guy every woman would like to have. However not everyone seems to agree with his opinion. Some people have tried to analyse the lyrics saying that this guy doesn’t exist or if there is someone like him should be a very annoying man. 😛

Do you agree?? You have here the lyrics in Portuguese/English/Spanish. Listen to it and tell us what do you think about this guy..hehe 😉

 

Esse cara sou eu

O cara que pensa em você toda a hora
Que conta os segundos se você demora
Que está todo o tempo querendo te ver
Porque já não sabe ficar sem você

E no meio da noite te chama
Pra dizer que te ama
Esse cara sou eu

O cara que pega você pelo braço
Esbarra em quem for que interrompa seus passos
Que está do seu lado pro que der e vier
O herói esperado por toda mulher

Por você ele encara o perigo
Seu melhor amigo
Esse cara sou eu

O cara que ama você do seu jeito
Que depois do amor você se deita em seu peito
Te acaricia os cabelos, te fala de amor
Te fala outras coisas, te causa calor

De manhã você acorda feliz
Num sorriso que diz
Que esse cara sou eu
Esse cara sou eu

Eu sou o cara certo pra você
Que te faz feliz e que te adora
Que enxuga seu pranto quando você chora
Esse cara sou eu
Esse cara sou eu

O cara que sempre te espera sorrindo
Que abre a porta do carro quando você vem vindo
Te beija na boca, te abraça feliz
Apaixonado te olha e te diz
Que sentiu sua falta e reclama
Ele te ama
Esse cara sou eu…

That guy is me

The guy that thinks about you all the time
That counts every extra second when you’re late
That’s craving to see you all the time
Because he can’t be without you anymore

And calls (on) you in the middle of the night *
Just to say that he loves you
That guy is me

The guy that’ll grab you by your arm
And bump into whoever blocking your way
The guy that’s standing by your side whatever it takes
The hero that any woman’s wainting for

For you, he faces any danger
He’s your best friend
That guy is me

The guy that loves you as you are
The guy whose chest you lay on after love making
That strokes your hair, talks to you about love
And other things and warms you

In the morning, you wake up in bliss
Your smile saying that
That guy is me
That guy is me

I’m the right guy for you
(The guy) that makes you happy and adores you
That whips away your tears when you cry
That guy is me
That guy is me

The guy that’s waiting for you always with a smile on face
That kindly opens the car door for you
That kisses you on the mouth and hugs you with joy
That, with enamored eyes, looks at you and says
That he missed you and complains about it
He loves you
That guy is me…

Esse cara sou eu. (Ese hombre soy yo)

El tipo que piensa en ti todo el tiempo
Que cuenta los segundos si te demoras
Ese que todo el tiempo está deseando verte
Porque yo no sé estar sin ti

Y en la mitad de la noche te llama
Para decirte que te ama
Ese hombre soy yo

El chico que te toma por el brazo
El que sube a toda persona que interrumpe sus pasos
Que está de tu lado para lo que venga
El héroe esperado por cada mujer

Por ti él encara al peligro
Tu mejor amigo
Ese hombre soy yo

El tipo que tu amas a tu manera
Que después del amor te recuestas de pecho
Te acaricia el cabello, te habla de amor
Te dice otras cosas, te causa calor

Por la mañana tu despiertas feliz
Una sonrisa que dice
Yo soy ese tipo
Ese hombre soy yo

Yo soy el hombre adecuado para ti
Qué te hace feliz y te adora
Que limpia tus lágrimas cuando lloras
Ese hombre soy yo
Ese hombre soy yo

El chico que siempre te espera sonriente
Quien abre la puerta del coche cuando vienes llegando
Te besa en la boca, te mantiene feliz
Apasionado te mira y te dice
Que siente tu ausencia y se queja
Él te ama
Ese hombre soy yo

A gente x Agente – What’s the difference?

These two words have the same pronounciation but totally different meanings.

“A gente” is an informal way to say “Nós” (we). They mean the same but the verbs conjugation change depending on which one you use. For example:

• “NÓS”: If you use “nós” the verb will be in the plural form.

Nós podemos ir de ônibus? (Can we go by bus?)

Nós vamos para a praia amanhã. (Tomorrow we are going to the beach.)

Nós estamos juntos desde o mês passado.  (We’re together since last month.)

• ” A GENTE”: If you use the informal way, the verb should stay in the 3rd person of singular.

A gente pode ir de ônibus?

Amanhã a gente vai para a praia.

A gente está junto desde o mês passado.

REMEMBER! “A gente” is more informal, but it’s very common in spoken language.

By the other hand, “AGENTE” written alltogether means an OCCUPATION:

Eu sou uma agente da reservas. (I’m a booking agent)

Eu sou um agente do FBI. (I’m a FBI agent.)

Ela é uma agente imobiliária. (She’s an estate agent)

So, don’t get confused:

 

 

For MORE TIPS, watch our VIDEO in Portuguese (with subtitles):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCi-bVEdfz0

Até mais, pessoal!

 

Express your feelings in Portuguese

There’s nothing worse than think or feel something and can not express it into words, especially if these words are in other language. So today we are going to help you to express you feelings in Portuguese! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Are you happy? Are you excited? Are you pissed off? So say it out loud in Portuguese! hehe

AI QUE….

Let’s start with these common expression “AI QUE + xxxx”. When we want to say something about what we are looking at, listening to or just feeling that moment, we can use “AI QUE + adjective”

Eg: AI QUE NOJENTO! or AI QUE NOJO! (Something disgusting)

 

AI QUE SACO! or DROGA! To say that you’re boring or sick of something.

Ai que saco. Nao tem nada legal pra fazer hoje. (Damm it! There´s nothing cool to do today.)

AI QUE RAIVA!! Say it when you are really, really angry.

If you are excited about something or if you think there’s something really good,  you can use:

“AI QUE TUDO!”, “AI QUE IRADO!” or “AI QUE MASSA” (just like our blog!)

Eg:

Diego: Carla, eu consegui nossos ingressos pro show do Paul Mccartney!

Carla: Sério?! AI QUE TUDO! Obrigada, Diego!!

If you wanna sound even more natural, you can skip the “AI” and say only “QUE TUDO! QUE IRADO!” 😉

And if you have a friend who really gets you tickets(for free!) to go to your favorite singer/band concert I must to say to you:

CARAMBA! or NOSSA!(Noooooossa!) INCRÍVEL! Look at my face:

Now imagine that someone called you to say that your boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating on you, but you really trust him/her. Could you believe that? So you start to think about it and ask yourself:

SERÁ POSSÍVEL? (Is it possible?) 

Será possível? Or maybe the last picture(CARAMBA!) is more appropriate…hehe

If you are in doubt about something, use “SERÁ POSSÍVEL?” or “SERÁ?” to demonstrate that you’re not totally sure, but you’re thinking about it. 😉

I really hope nobody here will be cheated 😉 but if it happens, you will feel like: CHATEADA.

Actually, this expression to show you’re pissed off  about something. It’s an “internet hit” among brazilians specially after a famous soap-opera called AVENIDA BRASIL which was on TV last year. They made a meme of its protagonist using #xatiada (“X” instead of CH is not gramatically correct to write this word) and it is still famous on internet.

Eg. Sininhos está chateada.

#xatiada

Now let’s see some expressions using the verb “ESTAR” to show how are you feeling (click to conjugate the verb) .

ESTAR COM SONO

Eg: Eu estou com sono. (I’m sleepy)

Ele está com sono.

 

ESTAR APAIXONADO/APAIXONADA (to be in love)

Eg: Eu estou apaixonado por você. (I’m in love with you)

ESTAR CANSADO/CANSADA (To be tired)

Eg: Estou cansada de limpar tudo sozinha. (I’m tired of cleaning everything alone.)

Ela está cansada.

 

And I really hope you’re feeling GREAT(ótimo/ótima) after reading this post 😉

Até mais! See you!