engolir sapos
Literally to swallow frogs
Means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining
Example No trabalho, às vezes é preciso engolir sapos.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Portuguese idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Portuguese idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, engolir sapos literally means "to swallow frogs" but is used to mean to put up with unpleasant things without complaining. This free tool lists 15 real Portuguese idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Portuguese idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
engolir sapos
Literally to swallow frogs
Means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining
Example No trabalho, às vezes é preciso engolir sapos.
pagar o pato
Literally to pay for the duck
Means to take the blame for something
Example No final, quem pagou o pato fui eu.
custar os olhos da cara
Literally to cost the eyes of the face
Means to be very expensive
Example Esse celular custa os olhos da cara.
ficar de olho
Literally to stay with an eye
Means to keep an eye on, to watch closely
Example Fica de olho nas crianças, por favor.
descascar o abacaxi
Literally to peel the pineapple
Means to sort out a difficult problem
Example Sobrou para mim descascar esse abacaxi.
tirar o cavalinho da chuva
Literally to take the little horse out of the rain
Means to give up on an expectation, to forget it
Example Se você acha que vou ajudar, pode tirar o cavalinho da chuva.
não ter papas na língua
Literally to not have pap on the tongue
Means to speak frankly, without mincing words
Example Ela não tem papas na língua, fala o que pensa.
fazer tempestade em copo d'água
Literally to make a storm in a glass of water
Means to make a big deal out of nothing
Example Calma, você está fazendo tempestade em copo d'água.
dar com a língua nos dentes
Literally to hit one's teeth with the tongue
Means to let a secret slip
Example Não conte a ele, ele sempre dá com a língua nos dentes.
pisar em ovos
Literally to step on eggs
Means to handle something very carefully
Example Com esse assunto delicado, é melhor pisar em ovos.
quebrar um galho
Literally to break a branch
Means to do someone a favour, to improvise a solution
Example Você pode quebrar um galho e me emprestar dez reais?
encher linguiça
Literally to stuff sausage
Means to pad something out with filler, to waste time
Example Para de encher linguiça e vai direto ao ponto.
chover a cântaros
Literally to rain in pitchers
Means to rain very heavily
Example Leva o guarda-chuva, está chovendo a cântaros.
meter os pés pelas mãos
Literally to put one's feet through one's hands
Means to get muddled and mess things up
Example Fiquei nervoso e meti os pés pelas mãos na entrevista.
ficar a ver navios
Literally to be left watching ships
Means to be left empty-handed and disappointed
Example Esperava o aumento, mas fiquei a ver navios.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Portuguese books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
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: Engolir sapos comes out as "to swallow frogs", which makes no sense until you know it means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining.
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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Some of the most common Portuguese idioms are engolir sapos, pagar o pato, custar os olhos da cara, ficar de olho. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Portuguese, "engolir sapos" translates literally as "to swallow frogs", but it actually means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining. You would use it like this: No trabalho, às vezes é preciso engolir sapos.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Engolir sapos translates literally as "to swallow frogs", yet it means to put up with unpleasant things without complaining. 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.