Pip Lingoberry
B1 level

Everyday Portuguese idioms

Last updated 28 October 2026

Idioms are phrases whose meaning is not the sum of the words. Portuguese has many, and some of the most colourful differ between Portugal and Brazil. This page covers some you will hear often, marked as shared or regional.

Idioms used in both countries

  • Custar os olhos da cara. To cost an arm and a leg. (literally: to cost the eyes of the face)
  • Não ter papas na língua. To speak your mind. (literally: to have no porridge on the tongue)
  • Matar dois coelhos de uma cajadada. To kill two birds with one stone.
  • Dar o braço a torcer. To admit you were wrong. (literally: to let your arm be twisted)
  • Este telemóvel custou os olhos da cara. (This phone cost an arm and a leg.)
  • A minha avó não tem papas na língua. (My grandmother says exactly what she thinks.)

Rain, in two ways

The same heavy rain has a different idiom in each country.

Portugal

  • Está a chover a cântaros. It is pouring. (literally: it is raining jugs)

Brazil

  • Está chovendo canivetes. It is pouring. (literally: it is raining penknives)

Mostly European

  • Ficar a ver navios. To be left empty-handed. (literally: to be left watching ships)
  • Pagar o pato. To take the blame for something you did not do. (literally: to pay for the duck)
  • Estar na lua. To be absent-minded. (literally: to be on the moon)
  • Esperei o dia todo e fiquei a ver navios. (I waited all day and got nothing.)
  • Os outros fizeram asneira e eu paguei o pato. (The others made a mess and I took the blame.)

Mostly Brazilian

  • Pagar mico. To embarrass yourself in public. (literally: to pay a monkey)
  • Engolir sapos. To put up with something unpleasant without complaining. (literally: to swallow frogs)
  • Descascar o abacaxi. To solve a difficult problem. (literally: to peel the pineapple)
  • Estar no mundo da lua. To be daydreaming. (literally: to be in the world of the moon)
  • Ele pagou mico na festa. (He embarrassed himself at the party.)
  • Tive de engolir sapos no trabalho. (I had to put up with a lot at work.)

Reading idioms

Do not translate an idiom word for word. Learn it as one block and use it in a sentence. Idioms are the part of the language most likely to differ between countries, so if a speaker does not recognise one, it may simply belong to the other variety.

Practice

Quick Quiz
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You say Fiquei a ver navios. What happened?

Read the rule, then use it. Write your own sentences and get Pip's feedback on them.

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