ficar de olho
Literally to stay with an eye
Means to watch something closely and keep track of it
English idiom keep an eye on
Example Fica de olho nas crianças, por favor.
Keep an eye on the kids, please.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 25 most common Portuguese idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Portuguese idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, ficar de olho literally means "to stay with an eye" but is used to mean to watch something closely and keep track of it. This free page ranks the 25 most common Portuguese idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 25 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
ficar de olho
Literally to stay with an eye
Means to watch something closely and keep track of it
English idiom keep an eye on
Example Fica de olho nas crianças, por favor.
Keep an eye on the kids, please.
custar os olhos da cara
Literally to cost the eyes of the face
Means to be very expensive
English idiom cost an arm and a leg
Example Esse celular custa os olhos da cara.
That phone costs an arm and a leg.
dar um jeitinho
Literally to give a little way
Means to find an informal workaround so that something gets done
Example Relaxa, a gente dá um jeitinho de te colocar na lista.
Relax, we'll find a way to get you on the list.
Note Very Brazilian; the noun jeitinho names a whole national habit of bending the rules to solve a problem, so it can sound charming or shady depending on context.
engolir sapos
Literally to swallow frogs
Means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining
English idiom grin and bear it
Example No trabalho, às vezes é preciso engolir sapos.
At work you sometimes have to grin and bear it.
ficar com a pulga atrás da orelha
Literally to be left with a flea behind the ear
Means to grow suspicious that something is not right
English idiom smell a rat
Example Ele mudou de assunto na hora e eu fiquei com a pulga atrás da orelha.
He changed the subject right away and I smelled a rat.
pagar o pato
Literally to pay for the duck
Means to take the blame or bear the cost for someone else's mistake
English idiom take the rap
Example No final, quem pagou o pato fui eu.
In the end, I was the one who took the rap.
cair a ficha
Literally for the token to drop
Means to finally understand something, for it to sink in
English idiom the penny drops
Example Só depois de uma semana caiu a ficha de que ele estava falando sério.
Only after a week did it sink in that he was being serious.
Note The image is a token dropping into an old payphone, and the phrase is heard far more in Brazil than in Portugal.
quebrar um galho
Literally to break a branch
Means to help someone out, or to patch together a temporary solution
Example Você pode quebrar um galho e me emprestar dez reais?
Could you help me out and lend me ten reais?
Note Informal and Brazilian, and a solution described as a quebra-galho is understood to be a stopgap that will not last.
puxar o saco
Literally to pull the sack
Means to flatter someone in charge in order to get something out of it
English idiom suck up to someone
Example Ele vive puxando o saco do chefe.
He's always sucking up to the boss.
Note Brazilian, informal and slightly crude in its literal image; in Portugal the same idea is dar graxa a alguém.
fazer vista grossa
Literally to make a thick view
Means to ignore something wrong on purpose
English idiom turn a blind eye
Example O fiscal fez vista grossa e ninguém foi multado.
The inspector turned a blind eye and nobody was fined.
dar o braço a torcer
Literally to give one's arm to be twisted
Means to admit you were wrong and give in
English idiom back down
Example Ele sabe que errou, mas não dá o braço a torcer.
He knows he was wrong, but he won't back down.
Note Usually met in the negative, não dar o braço a torcer, about someone who refuses to admit a mistake.
não ter papas na língua
Literally to not have pap on the tongue
Means to say exactly what you think, without softening it
English idiom not mince words
Example Ela não tem papas na língua, fala o que pensa.
She doesn't mince words, she says what she thinks.
fazer tempestade em copo d'água
Literally to make a storm in a glass of water
Means to blow a small problem out of proportion
English idiom make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Calma, você está fazendo tempestade em copo d'água.
Calm down, you're making a mountain out of a molehill.
Note In Portugal the wording is usually fazer uma tempestade num copo de água.
tirar o cavalinho da chuva
Literally to take the little horse out of the rain
Means to drop an expectation because it is not going to happen
English idiom don't hold your breath
Example Se você acha que vou ajudar, pode tirar o cavalinho da chuva.
If you think I'm going to help, don't hold your breath.
matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada só
Literally to kill two rabbits with a single blow of the staff
Means to settle two things with a single action
English idiom kill two birds with one stone
Example Passo no banco na volta do trabalho e mato dois coelhos com uma cajadada só.
I'll stop by the bank on my way home from work and kill two birds with one stone.
Note In Portugal the usual wording is matar dois coelhos de uma cajadada só.
pisar em ovos
Literally to step on eggs
Means to handle something very carefully so as not to upset anyone
English idiom walk on eggshells
Example Com esse assunto delicado, é melhor pisar em ovos.
With such a delicate subject, it's better to walk on eggshells.
estar por um fio
Literally to be by a thread
Means to be on the verge of failing or ending
English idiom hang by a thread
Example O acordo está por um fio depois da última reunião.
The deal is hanging by a thread after the last meeting.
dar com a língua nos dentes
Literally to hit one's teeth with the tongue
Means to let a secret slip
English idiom spill the beans
Example Não conte a ele, ele sempre dá com a língua nos dentes.
Don't tell him, he always spills the beans.
não ter pé nem cabeça
Literally to have neither foot nor head
Means to make no sense at all
English idiom have neither rhyme nor reason
Example Essa história não tem pé nem cabeça.
That story makes no sense at all.
encher linguiça
Literally to stuff sausage
Means to fill space with pointless words or busywork
Example Para de encher linguiça e vai direto ao ponto.
Stop padding it out and get straight to the point.
Note Informal and Brazilian, said of long speeches, essays and meetings; the Portugal version is encher chouriços.
chover a cântaros
Literally to rain in pitchers
Means to rain very heavily
English idiom rain cats and dogs
Example Leva o guarda-chuva, está chovendo a cântaros.
Take an umbrella, it's raining cats and dogs.
descascar um abacaxi
Literally to peel a pineapple
Means to sort out a messy problem, often one someone else left behind
Example Sobrou para mim descascar esse abacaxi.
I was the one left to sort out this mess.
Note Brazilian, and on its own abacaxi (pineapple) already means a thorny problem.
meter os pés pelas mãos
Literally to put one's feet through one's hands
Means to get muddled and bungle what you are doing
English idiom make a hash of it
Example Fiquei nervoso e meti os pés pelas mãos na entrevista.
I got nervous and made a hash of the interview.
fazer das tripas coração
Literally to make a heart out of one's guts
Means to summon all your strength and push through something very hard
English idiom grit one's teeth
Example Fiz das tripas coração e terminei o trabalho a tempo.
I gritted my teeth and finished the work on time.
ficar a ver navios
Literally to be left watching ships
Means to end up with nothing after expecting something
English idiom be left high and dry
Example Esperava o aumento, mas fiquei a ver navios.
I was expecting the raise, but I was left high and dry.
Note Above all a Portugal expression; Brazilians understand it but usually say ficar na mão instead.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Ficar de olho comes out as "to stay with an eye", which makes no sense until you know it means to watch something closely and keep track of it.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Portuguese sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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The most common Portuguese idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with ficar de olho, custar os olhos da cara, dar um jeitinho, engolir sapos, ficar com a pulga atrás da orelha. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 25 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Portuguese, "ficar de olho" translates literally as "to stay with an eye", but it actually means to watch something closely and keep track of it. The closest English idiom is "keep an eye on". Example: Fica de olho nas crianças, por favor. ("Keep an eye on the kids, please.")
The Portuguese equivalent is "ficar de olho", literally "to stay with an eye". Example: Fica de olho nas crianças, por favor. ("Keep an eye on the kids, please.")
In Portuguese, an idiom is called expressão idiomática, and a proverb is provérbio. An expressão idiomática is a fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from its words and that slots into a sentence, while a provérbio (also called a ditado popular) is a complete saying that states a piece of folk wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Ficar de olho translates literally as "to stay with an eye", yet it means to watch something closely and keep track of it. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Portuguese with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.