Expressing That You Don’t Care

Lack of Concern

How do you express the idea that you don’t care, or that something doesn’t matter to you in Brazilian Portuguese? Here are some common expressions:

“Eu não ligo com essa coisas.” [Insert hand gesture here] I don’t care about that stuff.

“Não me importa.” – “i don’t care”

“Não tô nem aí.” – “i don’t give a s***,” “i don’t care”

“Tanto faz.” – “whatever”

“E eu com isso?” – “I don’t care,”

 

 

How To Write Emails in Portuguese

How To Write Formal And Informal Emails In Brazilian Portuguese

Thanks to posts by Transparent :)… here are some suggestions for writing both formal and informal emails in Brazilian Portuguese:

gmail in portuguese

How To Write Formal Emails in Portuguese

For those who need to learn Portuguese for work, this will come in handy…

1. Salutation / Greeting

A formal salutation to use is “Prezado Senhor” or “Prezada Senhora”, depending on the gender (senhor is male, senhora is female). You can also use Senhores, if you’re writing to more than one person.

If you don’t know who the e-mail is going to, you could just say “Bom dia,” or “Boa tarde,” or “Boa noite,”

2. Body of the e-mail

Here are some key phrases you might need:

-Quero agradecer (I’d like to thank you…)

-Encaminho em anexo (I’m sending you an attachment)

-Solicito essa oportunidade (I’m seeking this opportunity)

-Venho enviar a documentação (I’m sending you the documentation)

3. Ending

The most common way to sign off a formal email is with “Atenciosamente” (sincerely). Here are some other ones you can use:

Sem mais, agradeço desde já,  (And with that, I thank you in advance)

Com meus cumprimentos, (Best regards)

Atentamente, Sinceramente (Sincerely)

So let’s look at a full example e-mail.

Prezado Senhor,

Somos uma empresa de representações em vendas e temos em nosso quadro funcional apenas vendedores altamente capacitados e profissionalizados.

Anexamos nesta oportunidade nosso portfolio para análise e manifestamos nossa intenção de representar sua empresa em municípios da região. Caso haja interesse por parte de sua empresa, nos colocamos à disposição para novos contatos.

Agradecemos a atenção.

Atenciosamente,

Sérgio Fernandes

How to Write Informal Emails in Portuguese

These are the types of messages you’d send to co-workers, friends, or acquaintances.

1. Salutation / Greeting

First, look at This Post on informal greetings in Portuguese. And also, Here is a list of words for informally addressing your friends in Portuguese.

You can use “Querido” or “Querida” for dear, if it’s a loved one or a friend. The simplest salutation is just Olá or more commonly Oi (hello, hi). For co-workers who you may not know well, you could use “Prezado colega…” or “Estimado colega…” (Dear colleague) and these would be more formal salutations.

2. Body of the E-mail

Some key phrases for the body of the email:

–Tudo bem? or Tudo bom? (How’s it going?)

–Como estão as coisas? (How are things?)

–Tentei ligar para você (I tried to call you)

–Queria saber se (I wanted to know if)

–Bom final de semana! (Have a good weekend)

3. Ending

In an informal email, end by saying:

Um abraço (a hug)
Um beijo (a kiss)
Abraços (hugs)
Beijos (kisses)
Abs! (short for abraços) or Bjs! (short for beijos)
Até mais! (until later! / talk to you later!)

For co-workers and slightly more formal recipients, you can use:

Saudações (salutations)
Obrigado/a (thank you)
Aguardo sua resposta (I look forward to hearing from you)

Here’s an example of an informal email.

Oi Maria!

Tudo bem? Como estão as coisas em São Paulo? Aqui está fazendo muito calor, não aguento mais.

Liguei para você ontem para ver se recebeu os documentos que enviei por Sedex. Já chegaram? Posso te passar o número de rastreamento se quiser. O pacote era para chegar na segunda-feira, por isso queria saber.

Aguardo sua resposta. Até mais!

Saudações,

João

Popular Brazilian Portuguese Common & Colloquial Phrases II

The Following is a vocab list of some popular Brazilian Portuguese expressions that you will hear all the time in Brazil:

 

“na verdade” – actually, in truth

 

Example: “Na verdade, eu não gosto de massa.” – Actually, I don’t like pasta.”

 

“daqui a pouco” – in a little while, in a bit

 

Example: “Nós vamos sair daqui a pouco.” –  “We’re going out in a little while.”

 

“por mim” – as far as I’m concerned

 

Example: “Por mim, está tudo bem.” – “As far as I’m concerned everything is fine.”

 

“nem um pouco” – not even a little bit, at all

 

Example: “Eu não gostei nem um pouco.” – “I didn’t like it at all.”

 

“pelo menos” – at least

 

Example: “Eu não gostei da peça, mas pelo menos o ingresso foi barato.” – “I didn’t like the play but at least the ticket was cheap.”

 

“por acaso” – randomly, by chance

 

Example: “Nada é por acaso.” – “Nothing is random.”

 

* “por algum acaso” means “by any chance.” For example: “Você viu meus óculos por algum acaso?” – “Have you seen my glasses by any chance?”

 

“será que”  – could it be that…?, do you think…? (always a question)

 

Example: “Será que vai chover?” – “Do you think it’s going to rain?”

 

“chega!” – enough! stop! (although many Portuguese students learn to say “basta!” for “that’s enough!” this is said much more frequently, in my opinion.)

 

Example: “Chega! Eu não quero mais ouvir as suas reclamações.” – “Enough! I don’t want to hear your complaints anymore.”

 

*This may be confusing for some, because the word “chega,” (from the verb “chegar”) actually means to arrive, but if you think of it as if you are exasperated, saying “alright already!” “get there already” “stop already” it kind of still makes sense in a way. The word “chega” can take on different meanings in other expressions too. For example, “chega pra lá” means “scoot over” or “move over.” So “chega” is used as a command, even though if you have read my post on forming the imperative, the correct form should be “chegue.” Sometimes in Portuguese, verbs that should be imperative are just conjugated normally in the present, but are still imperative, don’t ask me why.  

 

“tomara que” – hopefully, i hope that…

 

Example: “Tomara que faça sol no domingo.” – “Hopefully it will be sunny on Sunday.”

 

*”tomara que” is followed by a verb in the subjunctive tense, like most phrases with “que”

 

“já volto” – “I’ll be right back”

 

Example: “Só vou ao banheiro e já volto.” – I’m just going to toilet and I’ll be right back.”

 

“dar um branco” – to draw a blank, blank out, when your mind goes blank and you temporarily can’t remember something

Example: “Eu ia fazer alguma coisa agora mas deu um branco.” – “I was just about to do something but my mind just went blank.”

And here are some other terms that i’ve had on a list for a long time and didn’t know where else to put:

“caprichar” – sort of means “to embellish”, “to elaborate on”, “to put extra effort in,” “to be detailed in doing something”

*this can be made into a noun (caprichada – for example, “dar aquela caprichada” – “to make that extra effort”) or an adjective, for example: “foi tão caprichada!” – “it was so well done!”

“cadê?” – that wonderful word which doesn’t need to be conjugated which means – Where is/are..?

“chulé” – bad foot odor, or smelly feet! (I love how speciffic this word is)

How To Say You Are Having Fun In Portuguese

If you are trying to say that you are having fun, or having a good time in Brazilian Portuguese, there are several ways to express this:

1. Curtir

This verb is slang for “to have fun” or “to enjoy.” It’s frequently used by young people to talk about going out and having a good time.

Curtimos muito a festa ontem. We had a lot of fun at the party yesterday.

Vou curtir muito o feriado. I’m going to enjoy the holiday.

*”curtir” is also the word that Facebook in Brazil has used for the “like” button

2. Aproveitar

This verb literally means “to take advantage of” but can also be used to mean “have a good time” or “have fun.”

Aproveitaram muito a viagem. They had a lot of fun on their trip.

Você aproveitou o passeio no barco? Did you have fun on the boat ride?

3. Divertir-se

This verb is the standard verb used to mean “to have fun.”

Me diverti muito no Rio. I had a lot of fun in Rio.

Ele se divertiu no jogo. He had fun at the game.

Expressions With “Poder”

First of all, let’s differentiate that the Brazilian word for power is poder when referring to authority or force (poder is also the verb for “to be able to”). When referring to electrical power, Brazilians say energia elétrica. Here are some expressions using the word poder:

sede de poder – lust for power (literally: “thirst for power”)

abuso de poder – abuse of power

falta de energia, apagão – power outage, blackout

“milhares de casas ficaram sem energia elétrica.” – “thousands of homes were left without power.”

Expressions with the Verb “Dar”

The use of the verb Dar to give with the alternate meaning to be possibleis ubiquitous in Brazil.

Using dar in this manner is different from using poder; dar indicates possibility and likelihood of an occurrence in an impersonal way. Poder serves to specify literal ability: he can complete the task, it is believable, ‘I can get from here to there by bike’ and so forth. Dar is better used to say it will work, it will be possible, ‘this will work with my plans’, ‘there will be enough time’ etc.

 

Examples:

Vai dar pra você reunir um pouquinho mais tarde? Can you meet a little later?
Dá para ele comprar mais duas? Can he buy two more?

 

Here’s some further clarification; let’s look at the following sentences both translating as Can you let me know this afternoon?

Pode me avisar hoje na tarde?
Dá pra você me avisar hoje na tarde?

In the first, using poder the meaning is just like the English translation and informally has the subtext Hey, do you mind letting me know this afternoon? I’d appreciate it as opposed to the second sentence, which implies that there is some doubt as to the possibility of letting the person know. It would therefore mean either Is it going to be possible for you to get this information today by the close of business? or Will you have time to give me a call with this information later?

 

The verb dar is extremely useful, as you can see, and as I stated earlier is used with overwhelming frequency in everyday life. Some forms of the verb are irregular, so let me list a couple here for your clarity of use:

 

Eu dou. I give (1st person singular, present tense)
Ele dá . He gives (3rd person singular, present tense)
The subjunctive of is highly irregular and I plan on doing another post about those forms.

 

The past participle of dar, ‘dado’ is quite common and when simply used as an adjective means given, as in os fatos dados the given facts.

 

dar para – referring to having (or not having talent for something (ter talento).
Example: “eu não dou para matemática.” – “I don’t have talent for math.”

dar para – when referring to a location that “overlooks” something (localização).

Example: “a janela do quarto dá para o mar.” – “the bedroom window overlooks the sea.”

 

dar para – when referring to whether something is possible or not (ser possível)

Example: “não dá para comprar este carro. É muito caro.” – “i can’t buy this car (it’s not possible to buy this car). It’s too expensive.”

 

dar bom-dia/boa noite/boa tarde/tchau – in Portuguese, while you can say goodbye (falar tchau) you can also give goodbye (dar tchau) etc. and it means the same thing…

Example: “ele me deu boa-tarde quando me viu.” – “he said good-afternoon when he saw me.”

 

dar certo/errado – referring to whether or  not a situation or a plan worked out or not (ter um determinado resultado)

Example: “A receita não deu certo.” – “the recipe didn’t work out.”

 

dar um susto/tapa/beijo etc. – to scare or frighten someone, to hit someone, or to kiss someone:

Examples: “ele me deu um susto!” – literally: “he gave me a scare!” means: “he scared me!”

“ela me deu um beijo.” – “she kissed me.”

“ele me deu um tapa!” – “he hit me!”

 

dar-se bem/mal com – to get along with (or not get along with) someone:

Example: “eu me dou bem com o meu irmão.” – “i get allong well with my brother.”

 

Other Expressions:

a menina deu gritos – the girl cried out. 

dá na mesma – it’s all the same.  

dar alta – to discharge (from a hospital).

dar a mão à palmatória – to admit of being wrong.

dar as boas-vindas a – to welcome, extend a welcome to.

dar as caras – to show up.

dar cabo de – to kill.

dar com a língua nos dentes – to blab, tattle, spill the beans.

dar de cara com – to bump into.

dar de ombros – to shrug.

dar duro – to work hard.

dar em alguém – to beat, thrash someone.

dar em nada – to come to nothing.

dar margens a dúvidas – to admit of a doubt.

dar murro em ponta de faca – to commit oneself to a difficult and dangerous task.

dar na vista – to strike the eye.

dar no pé, dar o fora – to take off.

dar pancadas – to lay blows.

dar passagem – to step aside, make way for.

dar por falta de – to miss.

dar-se conta de – to awaken to, realize.

dar-se por vencido – to give in, yield.

dar-se pressa – to make haste.

dar tento de – to see, notice.

dar uma de doente – to feign illness.

dar uma volta – to take a stroll.

dar um fora – to dump, get rid of someone.

dar um jeito – to manage, find a way to do something.

dar um passeio – to take a walk.

dar vantagens a – to give points to.

dar voltas – to walk around, or to beat around the bush.

dê o fora! – get out of here!

deram parte à polícia – they informed the police.

deu-me na cabeça escrever – I took it into my head to write.

ele dá a impressão de estar envergonhado – he has an air of being ashamed of himself.

ele foi dar um passeio – he went for a walk.

eles lhe deram uma lição – they taught him better.

eles não deram ouvidos à mulher – they paid no attention to the woman.

isto dá uma idéia – it gives an idea.

isto lhe dá muito trabalho – it gives him a lot trouble.

não darei o braço a torcer – I will not yield.

não se dar por achado – to feign ignorance, play dumb.

o crime deu o que falar – the crime was much talked about.

o navio deu contra o recife – the ship struck the reef.

o relógio deu cinco horas – the clock struck five.

para dar e vender – plenty of.

para o que der e vier – through thick and thin.

vamos dar um fim nisso – let’s put an end to it.

Por mais incrível que pareça / Pelo incrível que pareça

Por mais incrível que pareça / Pelo incrível que pareça

This expression roughly translates as, “As hard as it is to believe,” or “It’s hard to believe, but…” You would use this expression to preface something unexpected or contrary to what you would believe. Both of the phrases mean the same thing. Let’s look at some examples:

“por mais incrível que pareça, meu marido não gosta de futebol.” – “as hard as it is to believe, my husband doesn’t like soccer.”

“pelo incrível que pareça, elas querem ficar em casa em vez de viajar.” – “as hard as it is to believe, they want to stay home instead of going away.”

“meu time vai ser campeão, por mais incrível que pareça.” – “my team is going to win, as hard as it is to believe.”

Expressing Hope

Portuguese Lesson: Expressing Hope.

How do you say “I hope that….,” “If only…” or “Hopefully” in Brazilian Portuguese? Let’s take a look at these various expressions and learn how!

1. Tomara (que) {followed by a subjunctive verb}

“tomara que ela goste” – “let’s hope she likes it”

“tomara que não chova amanhã.” – “hopefully it won’t rain tomorrow.”

“tomara que o projeto fique pronto em breve.” – “hopefully the project will be finished soon.”

“vocês vão mudar?” “tomara que sim!” – “are you guys going to move?” “hopefully!”

2. Se Deus quiser

This expression litterally means: “if God wishes” but also translaties to “hopefully”

“ela vem nos visitar a semana que vem?” “se Deus quiser.” – “is she coming to visit us next week?” “hopefully.”

“irei comprar uma casa um dia, se Deus quiser.” – “hopefully i’m going to buy a house someday.”

“tiraremos boas notas, se Deus quiser.” – “hopefully we’ll get good grades.”

3.Espero (que)…” {followed by a subjunctive verb}

“esperar que…” – to hope for (something) is followed by a subjunctive verb.

“eu esperava que você chegasse mais cedo.” – “i was hoping you’d arrive earlier.”

“ela esperave que eles tivessem esquecido” – “she was hoping that they had forgotten.”

“acho que ele esqueceu.” “espero que não!” – “i think that he forgot.” “i hope not!”

4. Quem dera {followed by a subjunctive verb}

“quem dera…” means “if only….!” i wish….!” and it is used as an expression to introduce a deep wish.

“quem dera eu tivesse dinheiro! tirava toda a familia da miséria!” – “if only i had money! i would take the whole family out of poverty!”

“quem dera!” – wouldn’t that be great!