At Porto Secreto, our mission is to write about the city and its surroundings, covering a wide range of aspects, from the best restaurants to transport news. In a unique environment, which only those who live here recognize, it’s normal for there to be expressions that only those who are from Porto and/or the North understand.
The people of Porto havetheir own way of being in life and this is also clear in the way they speak. It’s part of our identity. Shall we (re)discover some of these more typical expressions?
Table Of Contents
Expressions that only those from Porto understand
These, then, are some (among many others) expressions that only those from Porto and/or the Northern region will understand.
Expressions for everyday life
- Laurear a pevide: go for a walk, take a stroll
- Briol: cold (very cold)
- Dia de picó boi: working day
- Having a rocket: hole in the socks (tights)
- Not understanding a thing: not understanding the subject at all
- Laugh your ass off: laugh and show your teeth
- Smash: to fall
- Aloquete: padlock
- Alapar: to sit well
- Mandar bitaites: to make guesses
- Amarfanhar: strongly squeeze something
- (B)Vergar a mola: to work hard, to give hard time
- Dar de frosques: to leave (bazar)
- Bicha: a queue (for example)
- Estar com o tocco: to be in a bad mood
- Breca: a cramp
- Jeco: a dog
- Carago: an interjection that can be used in most situations (surprise, joy, annoyance, you name it!)
- Advancing a bulk: It’s not even worth it
- Riding with a shaky ass: riding in a car
- Bolinha pinchona: down there they say “bolinha saltitona” (little bouncy ball)
- Lapada: a slap, a slap
- To call Gregório: to vomit
- Comer o caco: to confuse
Affectionate ‘insults’ and ‘mouths’
- (B)Vais toda lampeira: to describe someone who is very vain
- (B)Vai no Batalha: You’re telling me “stories”; you’re “winding me up”; it’s tape; it’s a lie
- Playing the trickster: trying to be clever without actually being clever.
- (Ó) (b)vai-me à loja: don’t bother me, go away
- Brat : someone with no manners, rude
- Wake up with your ass in the air: wake up in a bad mood
- Arrotar postas de pescada: to brag, to speak without knowledge
- Andor (b)violeta: get out, get lost!
Expressions about eating and drinking
- Estrugido: The first step in any Portuguese cooking. In other regions they say “refogado”.
- Enchar a mula: to eat (and well)
- Quero um fino: the same as an imperial more to the south
- Pneu (drink): rock water with ice and lemon and a packet of sugar, which comes with it for those who want it
- Surbia: a beer
- Molete: a normal loaf of bread
Expressions about death
- Go sailing: something that is over, lost and/or finished
- Stretched his leg: died
- Hit the nail on the head: die
- Went to make bricks: died
These are just a few of the many expressions that only those from Porto and the northern region understand! ♥️