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Portuguese slang and idiom vocabulary: 448 words

Sound like a local — common colloquial words and idioms with their natural equivalents in each language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their Portuguese translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.

English to Portuguese: the first 40 words

EnglishPortugueseNotes
coolfixeImpressively good, stylish or admirable in casual praise. Not about low temperature.
awesomeespetacularExtremely good, said with enthusiasm about something you really like.
guy, dudegajoInformal for a person; friendly, not insulting in casual speech.
to hang outpassar o tempoTo spend unhurried free time somewhere, usually with friends.
to chill, relaxrelaxarTo let go of tension and rest calmly after effort or stress.
No way!Nem pensar!An emphatic refusal meaning absolutely not, under no circumstances.
Awesome, right?Fixe, não é?A casual tag inviting the listener to agree that something is great.
It's a piece of cakeé canjaIdiom: very easy to do, not about actual cake.
It's raining cats and dogsestá a chover a cântarosIdiom: heavy rain, not animals falling.
to cost an arm and a legcustar os olhos da caraIdiom: extremely expensive, not literal body parts.
to pull someone's leggozar com alguémIdiom: to tease or joke with someone, not physical.
to be brokeestar tesoHaving no money, not damaged or injured.
Speak of the devilfalar no diaboIdiom: person arrives just as you mention them.
not my cup of teanão é a minha praiaIdiom: not something you like or enjoy.
to hit the nail on the headacertar em cheioIdiom: to say or do exactly the right thing.
Good luck!boa sorte!Said before a performance or challenge.
little by littlepouco a poucoGradually, in small amounts or stages over time.
more or lessmais ou menosApproximately, roughly true but not exactly.
What a mess!Que confusão!An exclamation about a scene of great disorder or muddle.
Are you kidding?Estás a brincar?Said in disbelief, asking whether the speaker is joking.
no worriesnão faz malA casual reassurance that everything is fine and nobody should fret.
awesome timeuma curtiçãoA hugely enjoyable stretch of fun.
to be fed upestar fartoVery annoyed or tired of something; impatient.
on the dotem pontoExactly on time.
big deal, a lotum monteA very large amount or quantity of something.
to mess updar uma broncaTo blunder and spoil something through your own clumsiness.
step by steppasso a passoProceeding one stage at a time in careful order.
It's worth itvale a penaSaid when the effort or cost is repaid by the result.
so-somais ou menosNeither good nor bad, only middling.
to keep an eye onficar de olhoIdiom: to watch or monitor, not literal eye.
Get it?, Understood?Percebeste?A short question checking that the listener has grasped what you said.
Okay, alrightestá bemA word expressing agreement or consent to what was proposed.
to be worth nothingnão valer nadaTo have no value or usefulness whatsoever.
hurry up!despacha-te!A command telling someone to move or act faster right now.
to be in a hurryter pressaTo have too little time and need to act quickly.
for real, seriouslya sérioGenuinely and truly, without any joking.
That's lifeé a vidaA resigned remark that such unwelcome things simply happen.
Better late than nevermais vale tarde do que nuncaA saying that doing something behind time beats not doing it at all.
little by little the bird builds its nestdevagar se vai ao longeProverb: steady progress achieves goals over time.
to be on cloud nineestar nas nuvensIdiom: extremely happy, not literally in sky.

408 more words in the full “Slang & Idioms” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to Portuguese in one click.

What to watch out for in Portuguese

  • Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need á â ã à ç é ê í ó — LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type.
  • 448 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.

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