# Help with Portuguese translation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293 "2005-05-03T23:27:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/1 "2005-05-03T23:27:07Z")
I’ve been teaching myself Portuguese the last several of months. I’m enjoy medieval canticles, songs, poetry, and much that I have foudn appealing is in a medieval portuguese (Gallic?), so I figured if I learn Portuguese, I could probably have an easier time interpreting passages. I took to listening to some interesting Portuguese bands to help me out and I’m working through Madredeus’s Alfama. I’m having problem with the very last line of the song. I’ll include the second to last line too for some context: > [@](#): > > Esquecida, em cada dia que passa, nunca mais revi a graça dos teus olhos que eu amei. > Má sorte, foi amor que não retive, e se calhar distrai-me… Qualquer coisa que encontrei. I got so far: Forgotten, in each day that passes, never more to receive the favour of your eyes, that I loved. Bad luck, was the love that I did not keep,… The rest I feel I’m missing something. Any help with that, or any correcitons on the rest would be much appreciated! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/2 "2005-05-04T00:02:32Z")
> [@](#): > > e se calhar distrai-me… Qualquer coisa que encontrei. I believe – I speak enough Spanish to figure it out, but I had to look up “se calhar” – that it is : “And perhaps it distracts me, anything I found.” However, Spanish (and I believe the other Romance languages, like Portuguese) often uses the present simple for the immediate future. It might be closer to “and perhaps whatever thing I found will / is going to distract me.” Oh, and “… nunca mais revi a graça …” = “no more did I look again at the grace”. “Revi” is in the past of “rever”, to see again (re + ver = see again). And according to a couple dictionaries I looked in, “graça” might be better translated as “grace”. The rest you have is correct, as far as I can tell. It’s amazing to me how close the languages are, though. > [@Portuguese](#): > > Esquecida, em cada dia que passa, nunca mais revi a graça dos teus olhos que eu amei. > Má sorte, foi amor que não retive, e se calhar distrai-me… Qualquer coisa que encontrei. > [@Spanish](#): > > Olvidada, en cada día que pasa, nunca más volví a ver la gracia de tus ojos que yo amé. > Mal suerte fue amor que no retuve, y talvez me distraiga … cualquier cosa que encontré More or less, I think. I’ve only taken 2 semesters of Spanish. Now let’s wait for a native to come along and blow me out of the water. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/3 "2005-05-04T00:28:24Z")
Bambi, that’s pretty much it. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/4 "2005-05-04T01:38:36Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Bambi, that’s pretty much it. Thanks, **KG**! I always question my translations when they’re for someone else’s use. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/5 "2005-05-04T02:00:34Z")
[http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/dlpo.aspx](http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/dlpo.aspx) - That’s a good free online Portuguese dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/6 "2005-05-04T03:36:37Z")
Here ya go… _Esquecida, em cada dia que passa, nunca mais revi a graça dos teus olhos que eu amei._ Forgotten one, with each day that goes by, I never again saw the beauty of your eyes, which I loved. _Má sorte, foi amor que não retive, e se calhar distrai-me… Qualquer coisa que encontrei._ Bad luck, it was love that I didn’t hold on to, and if it fits, I was distracted… Anything that I came across. I’m a little curious about the mixed up tenses in the first line (_passa_ is present, _revi_ is past), though. My wife, a true _carioca_, has given this translation her stamp of approval. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/7 "2005-05-04T11:15:22Z")
Thanks so much guys! 🙂 I am a little dissapointed by all my mistakes, though I suppose I cannot expect miracles in a few months of self-teaching. Anyone care to recommend me any good books on teaching yourself Portuguese? (And with that question, mods, you may want to move this over to IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/8 "2005-05-04T12:24:54Z")
I actually found it much easier to marry a Brazilian ;). When I get home I will find the name and ISBN of my favorite Portuguese/English dictionary. If you are interested in anything beyond casual conversation, this is the dictionary for you. You might be able to special order it from a book store, but I doubt it – I bought mine in Rio. You will probably have to make a short trip to Ferry Street in Newark and find a bookstore there. I like to read proper Brazilian literature, at the breathtaking pace of five pages per day (at best), and I have found that no other dictionary has all of the fancy words that one finds in a literary work. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/9 "2005-05-04T15:06:27Z")
I have Oxfords English/Portuguese dictionary, but that is more for beginners. I gave you the link to the Portuguese dictionary, but you need to know some Portuguese to use it. I also have a Spanish/Portuguese dictionary, but I don’t think that would help you. It helps me to spot my mistakes when thinking Spanish, writing Portuguese. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/10 "2005-05-04T20:35:57Z")
The translation is correct as far as it goes but I’m not sure what the lady is going on about, even as a native portuguese speaker. Here’s my literal translation: > [@](#): > > Esquecida, em cada dia que passa, nunca mais revi a graça dos teus olhos que eu amei. > Má sorte, foi amor que não retive, e se calhar distrai-me… Qualquer coisa que encontrei. Forgotten, in each day that passes, never again did I see the favour of your eyes whom I loved. Bad luck, it was love I did not keep, and maybe I got distracted… Something that I found. The mildly amusing thing is, I’m a casual acquaintance to a member of Madredeus so I guess I could ask him. **Kinthalis** if you have any questions about Portugal or its language feel free to drop me a line at anonymous\_web\_surfer AT hotmail DOT com and I will answer to the best of my abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/11 "2005-05-04T20:50:48Z")
Just to be clear, there is some context missing but the second quoted sentence also seems to me to use an odd phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-portuguese-translation/302293/12 "2005-05-04T22:36:03Z")
Back again, with the info on the most bitchin’ Pt-Eng dictionary I have: \*Michaelis Moderno Dicionário Inglês-Português Português-Inglês ISBN 85-06-03123-0 Melhoramentos de São Paulo\* At 1735 pages, it’s a three-inch thick hard cover book the size of a phonebook. All of my other dictionaries (even Portuguese-only) pale in comparison. If you are serious about the language, I give it a strong recommendation. The only time it failed me was when I was chewing on _Cidade de Deus_, a book that is chock full of slang. I managed to make my way through that one by using a fairly extensive (and probably outdated) slang dictionary and posting queries to Brazilian dopers in GQ from time to time.