VOCAB: SET 11 Flashcards
(26 cards)
portar-se
(vs comportar-se)
to behave (oneself)
1. Porta-te bem ou ficas de castigo. → Behave yourself or you’ll be grounded. 2. Ele portou-se como um verdadeiro idiota. → He behaved like a real idiot.
Comportar-se (reflexive verb)
Meaning: to behave oneself
Register: more formal/neutral than portar-se
Less common in casual speech — people usually say portar-se in informal convos
Examples (fixed and natural):
1. As crianças comportaram-se muito bem durante a visita.
→ The children behaved very well during the visit.
2. Tens de te comportar como um adulto.
→ You have to behave like an adult.
servir (v)
(2 common meanings)
- To fit (clothing, shoes)
- To serve (food, people, etc.)
Register: Neutral, everyday use
Examples:
1. Esta camisola já não me serve.
→ This jumper doesn’t fit me anymore.
2. Ela serviu o jantar às oito.
→ She served dinner at eight.
sublinhar (v)
= “To underline” / “emphasize verbally or literally”
• Meaning: Used for both literal underlining (like in text) and stressing something in speech.
• Common in: Everyday speech, press conferences, emails, politics.
Example:
“O presidente sublinhou a importância da transparência.”
→ “The president emphasized the importance of transparency.”
In vibe terms: A bit more serious/formal than dar destaque, but still widely used even in casual speech.
“dar destaque”
= “To highlight” or “give visibility to” (used in formal or structured contexts)
• Meaning: You’re pointing out something as important or worth attention.
• Common in: News, casual speech, social media, presentations.
• Tone: Neutral, everyday.
Example:
“Queria dar destaque aos artistas locais.”
→ “I wanted to highlight local artists.”
In vibe terms: Not dramatic, just “hey, check this out — it matters.” vs ”dar ênfase” for “to give highlight” and is a bit more formal)
realçar (v)
= “To bring out / highlight / accentuate”
• Meaning: Focuses more on enhancing something’s importance or beauty.
• Common in: Speech, writing, fashion, even cooking but more polished choice.
• Tone: Slightly more elevated or elegant than the others.
Example:
“A luz realça os detalhes da pintura.”
→ “The light brings out the details in the painting.”
In vibe terms: Has a bit of a “showcase” feel. Like when you want to elevate something, not just mention it.
esmagar (v)
to crush, to squash (objects, bugs), to smash flat, etc
• Esmaguei a mosca com o chinelo. → I crushed the fly with the slipper. • Esmagaram-se todos no concerto. → They got crushed at the concert. • “Esmagaram os morangos para fazer doce.” (They crushed the strawberries to make jam.)
(relates to verb: Esmigalhar = to crumble, to break into tiny pieces)
espancar (v)
to beat up (violent, for people/animals), like repeated blows
(specific verb use: means what it means, often seen in news etc)
• O ladrão foi espancado pela polícia. → The thief was beaten up by the police. • Ele espancou o rival no parque. → He beat up the rival in the park.
cruzar (v)
to put one thing over another, or to cross one side to the other.(more about the act of overlapping, intersecting, crossing paths)
Examples:
• Cruza as pernas. 🦵 (Cross your legs.)
• As linhas cruzam-se no centro. ✏️ (The lines cross in the center.)
Important Note:
⚡ Always use cruzar-se when two things are crossing each other.
aceso/apagado
vs
ligado/desligado
ligado / desligado → Used for machines/devices being ON or OFF (phone, computer, TV, heater).
Ex: O computador está ligado. / O aquecedor está desligado.
aceso / apagado → Used for things that emit light or heat (lights, candles, ovens).
Ex: A luz está acesa. / O forno está apagado.
acender (specific verb) → verb to light or turn on lamps, candles, flames, etc.
Ex: Acende a vela! (Light the candle!)
“colheita de sangue”
blood test/labs
Vim fazer a colheita de sangue para análises.
(I came to have my blood collected for tests.)
If you want to sound even simpler (more casual):
Vim para fazer análises de sangue.
(I’m here for blood tests.)
bufar (v)
- To moan, rant, blow up (spoken, figurative)
- To snort/blow air out (like an angry animal) (literal but often used jokingly)
Examples:
• “Ela passou o jantar todo a bufar por causa do chefe.”
(She spent the whole dinner ranting about her boss.)
• “Ele bufou como um touro.”
(He snorted like a bull. – angry reaction)
👉 used a lot sarcastically:
• “Olha o menino a bufar outra vez…” (Look at him moaning again…)
cuspir (v)
- To spit (literal)
- To spew out words intensely (metaphorical – often poetic, ranty, or passionate)
Examples:
• “Cuspiste-me na cara, pá!”
(You spat in my face, man!)
• “O gajo cuspiu insultos como uma metralhadora.”
(He spat insults like a machine gun.)
bastar (v)
“to be enough / sufficient”
Examples (normal tense):
• Basta! – That’s enough! (very common)
• Isto não basta. – This isn’t enough.
• Basta-me um café. – One coffee is enough for me.
• Basta que me digas a verdade. – It’s enough that you tell me the truth. → subjunctive used after que
“Como se não bastasse”… – “As if that weren’t enough”… (C1 flair, used sarcastically or for emphasis)
“dar uma cabeçada”
Meaning: To bump/hit one’s head
Example: Dei uma cabeçada na porta do carro. (I banged my head on the car door.)
“Cuidado com a prateleira — já dei lá uma cabeçada ontem.
(Watch out for that shelf — I already bumped my head there yesterday.)
(cabeçada usually means “an accidental bump though can also mean a “headbutt”)
“estou-me a cagar”
vs
“caguei”
Estou-me a cagar
Meaning: I don’t give a shit
Example: Estou-me a cagar para o que ele pensa. (I don’t give a shit about what he thinks.)
Notes: vulgar and dismissive
Note: never use “não” - it’s already negative by def
Caguei
Meaning: I couldn’t care less
Example: Ele avisou-me, mas caguei. (He warned me, but I couldn’t care less.)
Notes: Very informal/vulgar. Less aggressive than estou-me a cagar, often used sarcastically. Common in casual speech.
“que se lixe”
Meaning: Screw it / To hell with it
Example: Perdi o autocarro? Que se lixe, vou a pé. (Missed the bus? Screw it, I’ll walk.)
Notes: Informal but milder. Less vulgar than caguei or estou-me a cagar. Widely used in casual convos.
ciumento/a (adj)
vs
invejoso/a (adj)
Ciumento/a – Jealous (in relationships, love, attention)
Ex: Ela é super ciumenta com o namorado.
(She’s super jealous about her boyfriend.)
Invejoso/a – Envious (of possessions, achievements, qualities)
Ex: Ele é invejoso do sucesso dos colegas.
(He’s envious of his colleagues’ success.)
Notes:
• Ciumento = Jealous over people, affection, or time — emotionally possessive.
• Invejoso = Wants what others have (money, looks, fame).
• Very different vibe in Portuguese, and both are natural, everyday words.
tentativa (n, f)
at attempt, a try
(from verb tentar)
Foi só uma tentativa de ajudar. → It was just an attempt to help.
• A tentativa de fuga falhou. → The escape attempt failed.
• Ela fez várias tentativas de explicar. → She made several attempts to explain
sabichão (n, m)
sabichona (n, f)
Ó sabichão, então e agora como é que se faz?
(Well then, Mr. Know-it-all, how do we do it now?)
Ó sabichona, já percebi, está bem!
(Alright, miss know-it-all, I get it!)
campeão (n, m)
campeã (n, f)
champion
often used sarcastically
Ó campeã, fizeste melhor que todos nós!
(Hey champ, you did better than all of us!)
Calma, campeão. Ninguém te pediu para salvar o mundo.
(Easy there, champ. No one asked you to save the world.)
desconhecer (v)
to be unaware of / to not know (something exists or is true)
More formal than “não saber”, but commonly used in speech
- I was unaware of that rule.
→ Eu desconhecia essa regra. - She completely ignored what was happening.
→ Ela desconhecia completamente o que se estava a passar. - Sorry, I didn’t know about that.
→ Desculpa, eu desconheci isso. - Many people are still unaware of the risks.
→ Muita gente ainda desconhece os riscos. - He pretended to be unaware of the whole thing.
→ Ele fingiu desconhecer tudo.
“à brava”
Meaning: intensely, excessively, or recklessly — doing something hard or without restraint.
Tone: informal, expressive, often heard in the north of Portugal.
Examples:
• Ela está a estudar à brava. (She’s studying like mad.)
• Comi à brava ontem. (I ate way too much yesterday.)
• Está a chover à brava. (It’s pouring like crazy.)
“dá jeito + infinitive”
and
“dá jeito que + subjunctive”
Dá jeito + infinitive – It’s helpful / convenient / comes in handy to…
• Colloquial and practical, used for routines or situations:
• Dá jeito chegar mais cedo.
(It’s handy to arrive earlier.)
• Dava jeito não chover amanhã.
(It’d help if it didn’t rain tomorrow.)
⸻
Dá jeito que + subjunctive – It helps that… / It would be great if…
• Polite, indirect, softens requests or suggestions.Triggers subjunctive.:
• Dá jeito que tragas o carro.
(It’d help if you brought the car.)
• Dava jeito que ele estivesse cá.
(It’d be great if he were here.)
meter (v) & meter-se
(revisited: 3 common meanings)
- To put / place
• Mete isso na mala.
→ “Put that in the bag.”
(compare to: pôr) - To get into (situations / physical positions) - reflexive
• Meteram-se num sarilho.
→ “They got themselves into trouble.”
• Mete-te na fila!
→ “Get in line!”
(compare to: envolver-se, pôr-se) - To provoke emotional reactions
• Já mete nojo.
→ “It’s disgusting already.”
(compare to: dar)
• Já mete medo. → “It’s getting scary now.”
• Já mete respeito. → “It’s starting to command respect.”
Note: This use often shows up as “já mete” to express that something has reached a point where it now causes a strong emotional reaction (disgust, fear, respect, etc.).
⸻
Idiomatic Expressions (C1 included)
• Não metas o bedelho.
→ “Don’t butt in.”
• Ela meteu os pés pelas mãos.
→ “She totally messed up.”
• A empresa meteu água no lançamento.
→ “The company screwed up the launch.”
• Estás a meter-te a jeito.
→ “You’re asking for it.”
