Portuguese Sayings, Proverbs and Idioms with English Meanings
Portuguese has a rich stock of proverbs (provérbios or ditados populares) and idioms (expressões idiomáticas). Translated word for word they sound strange — nobody in English “pays the duck” — which is exactly why machine translation often gets them wrong. Each entry below gives the literal translation and the closest natural English equivalent.
Common Portuguese proverbs
| Portuguese | Literal translation | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Quem não arrisca não petisca | Who doesn't risk doesn't get a snack | Nothing ventured, nothing gained |
| Devagar se vai ao longe | Slowly you go far | Slow and steady wins the race |
| Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura | Soft water on hard stone hits until it bores a hole | Persistence pays off |
| Quem espera sempre alcança | Whoever waits always gets there | Good things come to those who wait |
| Mais vale um pássaro na mão do que dois a voar | A bird in the hand is worth more than two flying | A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (BR: dois voando) |
| Cão que ladra não morde | A dog that barks doesn't bite | His bark is worse than his bite |
| Em boca fechada não entra mosca | No fly gets into a closed mouth | Least said, soonest mended |
| Quem vê cara não vê coração | Who sees a face doesn't see the heart | Don't judge a book by its cover |
| De grão em grão, a galinha enche o papo | Grain by grain the hen fills her crop | Every little helps; little by little |
| Filho de peixe, peixinho é | The son of a fish is a little fish | Like father, like son |
| A cavalo dado não se olha o dente | You don't look at the teeth of a gift horse | Don't look a gift horse in the mouth |
| Mais vale tarde do que nunca | Better late than never | Better late than never |
| Diz-me com quem andas, dir-te-ei quem és | Tell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are | A man is known by the company he keeps (BR: Diga-me com quem andas e te direi quem és) |
| Quem tem boca vai a Roma | Whoever has a mouth gets to Rome | If you ask, you'll find the way |
| Gato escaldado tem medo de água fria | A scalded cat is afraid of cold water | Once bitten, twice shy |
| Casa de ferreiro, espeto de pau | In the blacksmith's house, a wooden skewer | The shoemaker's children go barefoot |
| O hábito não faz o monge | The habit doesn't make the monk | Clothes don't make the man |
| Depois da tempestade vem a bonança | After the storm comes the calm | Every cloud has a silver lining |
| Não há bela sem senão | There's no beauty without a flaw | Nothing is perfect; every rose has its thorn |
| Cada macaco no seu galho | Each monkey on its own branch | Mind your own business; stick to what you know |
Everyday idioms
The last column shows where the idiom is mainly used: Portugal (PT), Brazil (BR) or both.
| Portuguese | Literally | Meaning | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pagar o pato | Pay the duck | To take the blame for something you didn't do | Both |
| Engolir sapos | Swallow toads | To put up with things without complaining | Both |
| Custar os olhos da cara | Cost the eyes of the face | To cost an arm and a leg | Both |
| Estar com a pulga atrás da orelha | Have a flea behind the ear | To be suspicious | Both |
| Dar com os burros na água | Drive the donkeys into the water | To fail, to come to nothing | Both |
| Tirar o cavalinho da chuva | Take the little horse out of the rain | To give up on an idea (“forget it”) | Both |
| Meter o nariz onde não é chamado | Put your nose where it isn't called | To stick your nose into other people's business | Both |
| Cair a ficha | The token drops | The penny drops; to finally realise | BR |
| Pisar na bola | Step on the ball | To mess up, to let someone down | BR |
| Chutar o balde | Kick the bucket | To give up or lose your temper — not “to die” | BR |
| Enfiar o pé na jaca | Stick your foot in the jackfruit | To overdo it (often drinking) | BR |
| Fazer uma vaquinha | Make a little cow | To chip in money as a group | BR |
| Ir pentear macacos | Go comb monkeys | Get lost! / Go away! | PT |
| Ter macaquinhos no sótão | Have little monkeys in the attic | To be a bit crazy | PT |
| Encher chouriços | Stuff sausages | To pad something out with filler | PT |
| Estar com os azeites | Be with the olive oils | To be in a bad mood | PT |
Saudade: the word without a translation
Saudade is a feeling of longing for someone or something absent — a person, a place, a time — often mixed with affection and a little sadness. English has no single word for it; depending on context it can be “I miss you”, “nostalgia” or “longing”.
- Tenho saudades tuas (PT) / Estou com saudade de você (BR) — I miss you.
- Que saudade do verão! — I really miss summer!
- Matar saudades — literally “kill the longing”: to catch up with someone you missed.
Translating sayings: a practical tip
When a sentence in a machine translation reads oddly literal (“he paid the duck”), there is probably an idiom in the source. Look it up separately, then replace it with the English equivalent rather than the literal words. The guide to machine translation mistakes covers this and other common failure points.