Meaning of sombra de dúvida, salvo engano and buraco do dente in Portuguese
Learn the meaning of sombra de dúvida, salvo engano and buraco do dente in Portuguese
Hello there and welcome to our Portuguese Basic Tips number 71 (in English) in which we’re going to explain the meaning of sombra de dúvida, salvo engano and buraco do dente
On today’s podcast, we are going to learn 3 more new expressions in Portuguese. This time we’re going to learn the meaning of sombra de dúvida, salvo engano and buraco do dente. This way you can keep improving your informal vocabulary in our language.
Let’s get started!
Visit our previous episode called Meaning of honrar a camisa, sair vazado and colírio para os olhos
Sombra de dúvida
Listen to the examples and try to understand what I’m saying:
- Sem sombra de dúvida, Pelé foi o melhor jogador de todos os tempos. (Pelé was the best player of all times, for sure!)
- Ele parecia muito cansado. Sim, ele estava muito cansado, sem sombra de dúvida! (He seemed to be very tired. Yeah, he certainly was very tired!)
When we use the expression “sem sombra de dúvida” we mean we are sure of something, there is no doubt about it. See, there are some people here who say “sobra de dúvida”, but this is not correct, so repeat with me: sombra de dúvida!
We could translate that as “with no shadow of doubt”, but you can understand it as “there’s no doubt about it”.
Salvo engano
In contrast to the first expression, we use “salvo engano” when we are not very sure about a certain information. For instance:
- Salvo engano, ele estava tão cansado que não dormia há dois dias. (If I’m not mistaken, he was so tired that he had not slept in two days.)
Buraco do dente
Well, Sem sombra de dúvidas, you don’t know this one here, buddy! Salvo engano, you might know the other two expressions already, but this one here is very specific in Portuguese.
Tell me, what do you think about “a hole in the tooth”? It looks like somebody’s got tooth decay, right? Save this information: “a hole in the tooth”!
We use “buraco do dente” when we are referring to a little amount of food, so we say “isso não deu nem para o buraco do dente” meaning it didn’t even fill the space I had in my tooth.
See some examples:
- Eu gosto de comer naquele restaurante, mas é muito caro: da última vez, não deu nem para o buraco do dente.
(I like to eat at that restaurant, but it’s very expensive: the last time I’ve been there, even after eating I was hungry)
To sum up, it seems that someone wants to heal the problem he has in his tooth by filling that space with enough food on it.
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That’s it for today!
I hope you like it.
Marcos Sales
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Na região Norte do Brasil, para as “bandas” do Pará e Amapá, usa-se muito a expressão “buraco do dente” , uma frase comum seria: não dá nem para TAMPAR o buraco do dente, ou seja, um porção insatisfatória de comida
Exatamente, Helder! Em alguns locais do Nordeste, a mesma frase é também usada.
Interessante você frisar o “tampar” o buraco do dente. Percebo que tem conhecimento de causa.
Obrigado pela contribuição!