Vira e mexe
'Vira e mexe' is a Brazilian expression which is used referring to something we often do. 'Vira e mexe' I listen to classic music, or 'vira e mexe' I must solve some problem at work. But the funny thing is: it doesn’t make any sense in English. I think it doesn’t make any sense in any language. Literally translated it means 'turn and mix'. For example, turn and mix I cook pasta. Maybe 'turn and change', 'turn and shake' or 'twist and shout' (ok, not this last one).
posted by Leonardo
we've got
Brothers and cousins
Have you ever thought about similarities between languages? It is a funny topic. Many times when I talk with someone who has a different mother language from mine I’m took by surprise and suddenly find some identical or quite similar word.
Have you ever heard about Language Family? Language Family is a kind of genealogy of a language. My language, Portuguese, comes from the French/Iberian group in the Indo-European family.
As you can see in this map, Portuguese has the same origin, or proto-language, as French and Spanish and such languages are pretty close to Italian as well. If you go further I your investigation, you will realize that English, German and Dutch are “cousins”. And Russian, Polish, Czech are relatives somehow. We say “e-mail” – from English, “toilette” – from French, “alcohol” from Arabic and many other words with Latin or Greek origin. Beside this fact, this phenomenon called globalization (can I say phenomenon?) makes our languages even closer. Gazeta, piano, global, orthography, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words, though the irony), are common words in many languages.
But I wonder there is something beyond language families and globalization. How Chinese people have been saying “mama” and “papa” since ages ago at the same time we have been saying it here, on the other side of the world? Here is a reasonable question and an impossible answer.
posted by Leonardo
we've got
Need help in Brazil?
Here are some useful phrases sorted by topic.
Use text-to-speech in order to hear the pronunciation.
Meeting People (Conhecendo Pessoas)
English | Portuguese |
| Hi | Oi |
| How are you? | Tudo bem? |
| I am fine. | Eu estou bem / Tudo bem! |
| My name is … | Meu nome é …. |
| What is your name? | Como você se chama? Qual é o seu nome? |
| I am from the United States/Germany/Latvia/Zimbabwe | Sou dos Estados Unidos/Alemanha/Letônia/Zimbabue |
| Do you speak English? | Você fala inglês? |
| Good morning | Bom dia |
| Good afternoon | Boa tarde |
| Good evening/night | Boa noite |
| It is nice to meet you. | Prazer em conhecê-lo / Muito prazer |
| Do you understand me? | Você me entende? |
| Could you speak more slowly? | Você pode falar mais devagar |
| Are you from here? | Você é daqui? |
| Bye | Tchau! |
Courtesy (Cortesia)
English | Portuguese |
| Thank you | Obrigado (a) |
| No thank you. | Não, obrigado (a) |
| You are welcome | De nada |
| Please | Por favor |
| Excuse me | Com licença |
| I am sorry. | Desculpe |
| Forgive me. | Desculpe-me |
| You are very nice. | Você é legal |
| Thank you for your help | Obrigado(a) pela a ajuda |
Help (Ajuda)
English | Portuguese |
| Can you help me, please? | Você pode me ajudar? |
| Help! | Socorro |
| Please call a doctor! | Me chame um médico, por favor |
| Where is the police station? | Onde é a delegacia? |
| I am lost. | Estou perdido (a) |
| Where is the embassy? | Onde é a embaixada? |
| I need a doctor! | Preciso de um médico |
| Where is the pharmacy? | Onde é a farmácia? |
| Someone stole my belongings. | Alguém me roubou. |
| I lost my passport! | Perdi meu passaporte |
Ask/Answer Questions (Perguntar/Responder)
English | Portuguese |
| What time is it? | Que horas são? |
| Who? | Quem? |
| What? | O que? |
| Where? | Onde / Cadê? |
| When? | Quando? |
| Why? | Por que? |
| Which one? | Qual? |
| How much? | Quanto? |
| How many? | Quantos? |
| Yes | Sim |
| No | Não |
| Please repeat. | Repita, por favor |
| I understand | Entendo |
| Sorry, I don't have any money | Desculpe, não tenho dinheiro |
| I don't understand. | Não entendo |
| I don't know. | Não sei |
| Okay | Está bem |
Shopping/Paying (Comprando/Pagando)
English | Portuguese |
| How much does this cost? | Quanto custa? |
| Can I pay with a credit card? | Posso pagar com cartão? |
| I don't want it anymore. | Não quero mais |
| Can you lower the price? | Você pode baixar o preço? |
| I am not interested. | Não estou interessado |
| The bill, please. | A conta, por favor |
Give/Get Directions (Dar/Receber Direções)
English | Portuguese |
| Stop | Pare! |
| Go straight | Vá em frente |
| Turn left | Vire à esquerda |
| Turn right | Vire à direita |
| Where is … ? | Onde é? Cadê? |
| Where is the exit? | Onde é a saída? |
| Where is the entrance? | Onde é a entrada? |
| Keep going | Siga / Continue |
| I am looking for a hotel. | Estou procurando um hotel |
| Where is the bathroom? | Onde é o banheiro |
| Is it far from here? | Está longe daqui? |
Numbers (Números)
English | Portuguese |
| zero | zero |
| one | um |
| two | dois |
| three | três |
| four | quatro |
| five | cinco |
| six | seis |
| seven | sete |
| eight | oito |
| nine | nove |
| ten | dez |
| eleven | onze |
| twelve | doze |
| thirteen | treze |
| fourteen | quatorze |
| fifteen | quinze |
| sixteen | dezesseis |
| seventeen | dezessete |
| eighteen | dezoito |
| nineteen | dezenove |
| twenty | vinte |
| twenty one | vinte e um |
| twenty two | vinte e dois |
| thirty | trinta |
| fourty | quarenta |
| fifty | cinquenta |
| sixty | sessenta |
| seventy | setenta |
| eighty | oitenta |
| ninety | noventa |
| one hundred | cem |
Here are some pronouns. The pronoun "it" deserves special attention. There is nothing
equivalent in portuguese. Objects, feelings, tangible and intangible things are either
masculine or feminine, so we say "ele" about a friend, dog or computer, "ela" about
our mom, table or the moon. I know it is not easy to a native english speaker, but my
polish friends can tell you about their five genders if you want. Two genders will be
a piece of cake bofore this conversation.
English | Portuguese |
| I, We | Eu, Nós |
| You, You (all) | Você/Tu, Vocês/Vós |
| He, They, (it) | Ele, Eles |
| She, They, (it) | Ela, Elas |
| There is, There are | Há, Há |
| This, These | Este, Estes |
| That, Those | Aquele, Aqueles |
| There | Lá |
| Here | Aqui |
thanks to speakabroad.com
Marcadores: Language
