Idiomatic Expressions

Many idiomatic expressions were formed not only from the mocking mind and sharp humor of mankind. Most of them were born in mistakes and difficult situations, and now they sound like advice and recommendations to better understand this life.

Sometimes you can easily understand what the Portuguese are talking about when they say idiomatic expressions, because the situations they describe appear so vividly in our imagination that nothing needs to be explained. And other expressions are so confusing and complex that they cannot be understood without deep analysis. We strained all our convolutions to tell their meaning and create some kind of invisible connection between the literal translation and their “secret” meaning.

You may also want to revisit the previous articles from this series Part I, Part II OR Part III

Sofrer para saber e trabalhar para ter

The perfect expression to describe our life in one sentence. We know that nothing in life comes easy. If someone is lucky and wealth falls on him, for example, often a person does not know how to manage it and spends it on nonsense. Sometimes a great success at first glance becomes a great grief in the end. To properly prepare for a good result, you need to make a lot of effort. This is evidenced by this idiomatic expression – “suffer in order to know, and work in order to have.”

Since any path begins with the acquisition of knowledge, this part seems to be the most difficult, because it is much more difficult to think and remember than to act physically. When knowledge is gained, we put it into practice and seize the result.

– Custa-me tanto estudar depois de um dia do trabalho! (It costs me dearly to study after a working day!)
– Sofre para saber e trabalha para ter! Sem esforço nada se consegue!(Suffer to know, and work to have! Without effort, nothing will come of it!)

Vir à luz

In the literal sense, “come out into the light” has much in common with the figurative meaning of the expression. Light always makes the picture clearer, the outlines clearer, the situation clearer. Therefore, in this case, “come into the light” means to appear, to become visible, but not in relation to people or objects, but in relation to information, for example.

A verdade acaba sempre por vir à luz. (The truth always gets out.)

In addition, this is a good truth of life that reminds us of an important thought: if you are going to deceive someone, prepare for the consequences, because in the end the truth will be revealed to everyone.

Vir tarde e a más horas

Pessimists believe that missing something important in life is a failure, it is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, it’s often enough to simply be on time so as not to “arrive too late at bad times.”

Este rapaz nunca chega a tempo. Vem sempre tarde e más horas! (This guy never shows up on time. Always late!)

Esfomeado como um cão

Some large dog breeds eat so much that they seem to be always hungry. This is where the phrase “hungry like a dog” comes from.

Estou à espera do início da festa. Estou esfomeado como um cão. (I’m waiting for the start of the holiday. I’m hungry as a dog.)

Perhaps some wilder animal, for example, a wolf, would come here, if only because it is more difficult for a wolf to get food and he is hungry more often than a dog. However, the Portuguese decided otherwise.

Com o coração na boca

Think about how you feel when you are afraid. It seems that your stomach is shrinking, tension is growing in your head, and your heart is jumping out of your chest and… into your mouth. Therefore, the meaning of the idiomatic expression is once again dictated by inner feelings.

Quando não vi o meu carro na garagem, fiquei com coração na boca. (When I didn’t see my car in the garage, I was very scared.)

Afogar-se em pouca água

Some people like to dramatize even the smallest failures. They say about such people “drowned in low water”. That is, from an empty place created a big problem.

Ele está em baixo. Afogou-se em pouca água. (He’s depressed. Made a big deal out of nothing.)

Comprar gato por lebre

It’s terrible, but when buying a rabbit for dinner, you can make a mistake and buy a cat. Their carcasses are very similar and unscrupulous sellers can make a substitution. To prove that the meat corresponds to the declared quality, a foot with a skin is left so that the rabbit can be identified by the fur.

This expression means that, blindly trusting someone, you can make a mistake in the same way as buying a cat instead of a rabbit.

Ele enganou-se. Сomprou gato por lebre. (He was wrong. Blindly trusted.)

Que bicho lhe mordeu?

We all know that insects transmit deadly diseases through a bite, and rabies can also be transmitted through the bite of a rabid dog. Moreover, in fantasy stories, vampires turn people into their own kind also through a bite. Therefore, when a person behaves strangely, they say about him that someone bit him.

Ele parece estranho. Que bicho lhe mordeu? (He looks strange. What creature bit him?)

Conclusion

There are very angry and arrogant idiomatic expressions. Their people use to humiliate another, but do not say unpleasant things in person. Today’s expressions can be interpreted both positively and negatively. The important thing is with what intonation to pronounce them. In any case, it is often easier to convey the hard truth to a person through a phrase with a figurative meaning, because associations arise in his head and emotions in his soul. The reaction to something unusual is always stronger. Take advantage of this!