I was just about to write about the phrase “dar um branco” in Portuguese, but I seem to have forgot what I was going to write… ;)
Kidding. It means to go blank, to temporarily forget something.
Ex. Eu ia fazer alguma coisa agora mas deu um branco.
Ex. I was just about to do something but I (my mind) just went blank.
A few years ago, I heard a random phrase that I hadn’t heard before and hadn’t heard since, until just the other day. It has to do with ordering things, mainly food or drinks and it translates literally to ‘see me…’ as in ‘see me a sandwich’, for example. Apparently, it isn’t an odd construction in Portuguese…
I’d like/Give me – Me vê…
Ex. Me vê um copo de leite.
Ex. Give me a cup of milk.
Keep an open mind with this phrase as it’s possible to be used for ordering anything. A good way of thinking about it is to picture a final product that hasn’t been put together yet so by saying this phrase, you are in effect asking for the final product to be made (ex, a sandwich needs bread, tomatoes, lettuce, etc) or in the least, to be fetched from somewhere the customer isn’t allowed to go.
There are a few ways to say you discovered or perhaps just realized something in Portuguese. One, is actually to use the verb descobrir (to discover) but there are also three phrases that combine two verbs each, which express a similar meaning. Another, perhaps more accurate, way to look at this lesson is by keeping the phrase ‘to come to one’s knowledge’ in mind, although all three examples below are used to convey the same thing.
Tomar Conhecimento (de) – lit. to take knowledge of…
Ex. Ele tomou conhecimento do que tinha acontecido só depois de uma hora.
Ex. He found out what had happened only an hour afterwards.
Ficar Sabendo (de/que) – lit. to remain knowing about…
Ex. Eu fiquei sabendo que você não presta.
Ex. I found out that you are useless.
Vir a Saber – lit. to come to know
Ex. Vim a saber que me ligou ontem.
Ex. I came to know that you called me yesterday.
Keep in mind you may also see ‘chegar a saber‘ (to arrive to know) which can mean to find out about something but it can also be used to convey a sense of something you used to know, or knew at one moment in time (ex. Eu já cheguei a saber, mas entretanto me esqueci)
There are 4 basic ways to tell someone to ‘drop by sometime’ in Portuguese. I’ll offer a more or less literal translation into English for each one so you have an understanding of each phrase, although keep in mind, they are all just different ways to say “drop by sometime”.
Aparece lá em casa (qualquer dia) – Show up there at my house (one day)
Vê se aparece lá em casa (um dia desses) – See if you show up there at my house (one of these days)
Dá um pulo lá em casa (quando puder) – Hop on over there to my house (when you can)
Pode ir lá em casa (quando quiser) – You can go there to my house (when you wish)
Simply replace lá with aqui if you are already at home when you say the phrase.
I was perusing the site Proz, which I mentioned in the last post, when I came across these words/phrases as a way to say “all easy street”, or as I would rather put it, easy as pie (or even ‘piece of cake’). One of the words, you should already know! ; )
moleza (weakening) / sopa no mel (soup in the honey*) / mamão com açúcar (papaya with sugar)
