Thread: What are some common idioms in Portuguese?

What are some common idioms in Portuguese?

I found a great reference for Portuguese idioms. If you check out Portuguese idioms - literally translated they list a bunch! Very interesting stuff. Hope this helps you a little.

*He's like a racing mackerel.
[Armar-se em carapau de corrida] The mackerel is not exactly a noble fish. So a racing mackerel - a mackerel who's swimming faster than the others - is a person who thinks he's a big shot but, in fact, is a nobody.


*Women and sardines, you want them to be small.
[A mulher e a sardinha querem-se da mais pequenina]
Apparently, Portuguese men have an appetite for small women, as well as for small sardines.



*Head of rotten garlic.
[Cabeça d'alho xoxo]
A forgetful person. Silly!


*Past waters don't power mills.
[Àguas passadas não movem moínhos.]
Mills are usually located and powered by rivers. The water that has passed the mill will not make it work again. So this means that you shouldn't worry about things of the past.



*It's the color of a donkey on the run.
[É cor de burro quando foge]
You say this of a color you cannot easily describe. Like, your eyes have the color of a donkey on the run. Try not to say this to your loved one...

"De grão em grão, a galinha enche o papo"

Grain by grain, the hen fills her stomach...