• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Colloquial Meaning of Zebra in Brazil

Colloquial Meaning of Zebra in Brazil

posted on June 29, 2016

Portuguese lesson - Colloquial Meaning of Zebra in Brazilian Portuguese

Deu zebra! I want to tell you the colloquial meaning of zebra in Brazil. The Brazilian colloquial expression “deu zebra” is used frequently in everyday life in Brazil, so it is worth knowing it.

Using idiomatic expressions will help your Portuguese sound more natural and will allow you to connect deeper with the Brazilian culture and people.

For example, the other day I asked my mom how her medical appointment went. She said: “Ah, deu a maior zebra”.

Literally she said: “Ah, it was the biggest zebra.”

Let me tell you what it means.

The colloquial meaning of Zebra in Brazil

Yes, zebra in Portuguese is the animal and we spell it just like in English. But you need to pay attention to the pronunciation because the Brazilian E sounds very different from the English E.

There is a popular Brazilian colloquial expression with the word zebra. In Brazil, we say that something is a zebra when:

  • We have an unexpected result in sports with the weaker team unexpectedly winning the game. The expression is common especially in soccer.
  • Things go unexpectedly wrong or unexpected problems show up
  • When something unpredictable or unexpected happens, but not in a positive way

Origin of the colloquial meaning of zebra in Brazil

There is an illegal gambling game in Brazil called Jogo do Bicho (the animal game). Although it is illegal, it is a popular game.

Jogo do Bicho is like a lottery, and the numbers are associated with animals. There are 25 animals in the game.

The zebra is not a part of Jogo do Bicho. So imagine how unexpected the results would be if the zebra showed up in a drawing. It is said that this is the origin of the expression: the zebra is an impossible or extremely unlikely result.

Over the years, the use of the expression was expanded to include the other situations that I mentioned above.

We use this expression with the verbs Dar and Ser

The expression may show up in different phrases. The most common ones use either the verb Dar or the verb Ser.

The verbs can come in any tense.  I show you examples below.

Example 1

Corinthians is one of the best soccer teams in Brazil. Imagine that it is going to play against an extremely weak team. Everyone feels confident that Corinthians will win without any trouble. But they unexpectedly lose the game.

This is a common situation in which we use the zebra expression. It may come in different ways. I am showing the most common phrases below. The verbs are in the past tense because I am talking about the game after it has finished.

  • Deu zebra. = It was an upset.
  • Foi a maior zebra. = It was the biggest upset.

Learn soccer vocabulary in Portuguese

Example 2

My mom had a medical appointment on Monday to get some test results. I knew that she had been waiting for the appointment, so I called her in the evening to ask how it went. Here is our conversation:

Eu: Oi, mãe! E aí, como foi a consulta?

Mãe: Ah, deu a maior zebra e eu não pude ir ao médico. Meu carro quebrou.

Translation:

Me: Hi, mom! So, how was the doctor appointment?

Mom: Ah, an unexpected problem happened and I could not go to the doctor. My car broke down.

Learn health related vocabulary and useful phrases in Portuguese

Example 3

Your coworker Felipe stood up an important client. Felipe is hoping that he can still close the deal, but you are not very optimistic about it. You say:

  • Eu acho que vai dar a maior zebra. = I think this is going to be a big problem.

Learn 55 professions in Portuguese

The best way to use new expressions with confidence is by practicing them. Street Smart Brazil offers Brazilian Portuguese lessons via video meetings. We have been teaching Portuguese online since 2008, helping learners around the globe speak Portuguese with ease.

Get started today. Book a Trial Lesson with us.

Portuguese lessons via video meetings - learn Portuguese online

Share ... Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on google
Google
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on email
Email

Related Posts:

  • 4 Brazilian Portuguese Expressions with the Verb Levar –…
  • Valentine’s Day in Brazil - Dia dos Namorados
  • Tô na correria - One-Word Portuguese lesson

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Street Smart Brazil has been helping learners around the globe speak Portuguese with ease since 2008. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Esperanza Gil

    June 30, 2016 at 8:24 am

    Awesome Luciana!!..You make yourself a great teacher !!! I bless the day I run into your videos were you teach Brazilian Portuguese. I really love your language and the passion you put in your work to make learners understand it easily. Thank you so much!!!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 1, 2016 at 2:09 am

      Oi, Esperanza! Muito obrigada pelo seu comentário! Fiquei muito feliz 🙂

      Reply
  2. Gesine Malcolm

    June 30, 2016 at 3:32 am

    Muito obrigada Luciana! Your lessons are great and you are a super teacher!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 1, 2016 at 2:09 am

      Muito obrigada, Gesine! Fico feliz de ajudar 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Street Smart Brazil offers courses that are a great way to learn Brazilian Portuguese almost painlessly and in a fun environment.
Bill
I am really happy that I chose Street Smart Brazil to learn Brazilian Portuguese. My teacher is fantastic and I am always looking forward to my next lesson. I am very impressed of the amount of mater… Read more
Deneb
I love my Portuguese lessons. My instructor is fantastic. She listens to my requests and allows me to practice what I want to practice. I also like the written exercises and the fact that I can practi… Read more
Kate
Street Smart Brazil is in my opinion the very best site for Portuguese learners on the web. Their teachers and lessons are definitely five-star quality. They not only teach you the language, but in a… Read more
Jack

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing