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Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

posted on December 10, 2012

The verb Deixar is a very versatile verb. Today I will show you four meanings of the verb Deixar in Portuguese and three commonly used expressions that are not very intuitive.

Conjugation of the Verb Deixar in Portuguese:

Deixar is a regular verb – good news for you 🙂

Pronunciation tip:

The letter X in Deixar sounds like the “sh” in English, as in “shy”. You can hear the verb Deixar in the song Não Me Deixe Só, by the wonderful Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata.

 

Four Meanings of the Verb Deixar in Portuguese

1. Deixar = To leave

1. Nós deixamos o restaurante muito satisfeitos com a comida e o atendimento.

= We left the restaurant very happy with the food and the service.

2. Deixei meu casaco no escritório.

= I left my coat at the office.

3. Me deixa em paz!

= Leave me alone!

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

Street Smart Portuguese:

The Portuguese grammar says that you cannot start a sentence with a pronome oblíquo, such as “me”. In Brazil, however, we all say “Me deixa em paz”, despite the grammar. The correct form would sound too formal for everyday conversation: “Deixa-me em paz”.

 

2. Deixar = To abandon; to quit

1. Carla deixou o marido faz dois meses. Ele está arrasado.

= Carla left her husband two months ago. He is devastated.

 

  • Learn how to use the verb Fazer with time. Visit our lesson: Faz 2 anos – Use the Verb Fazer with Time

 

2. Vou deixar meu trabalho. Não aguento mais o meu chefe.

= I will quit my job. I cannot stand my boss anymore.

 

3. Deixar = To let, to allow (someone to do something)

1. O professor deixou o aluno sair da aula mais cedo.

= The teacher let the student leave class early.

2. Rosana não deixa ninguém falar. Ela está sempre interrompendo todo mundo.

= Rosana doesn’t let anyone speak. She is always interrupting everyone.

3. Mirela está de castigo. O pai dela não a deixou sair com as amigas hoje.

= Mirela is grounded. Her father didn’t allow her to go out with her friends today.

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

 

4. Deixar de = To stop (doing something)

Notice that we use the second verb in its base form (infinitive).

1. José deixou de fumar há dois anos.

= José quit smoking two years ago.

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

 

  • Learn how to use the verb Haver with time. Visit our lesson: Moro aqui há dois anos – Befriend the verb Haver

 

2. Deixe de insistência!

= Stop insisting!

3. A vida tem muitos desafios, mas eu me recuso a deixar de sonhar.

= Life has many challenges, but I refuse to stop dreaming.

Three Useful Expressions with the Verb Deixar

1. Deixar de invenção

Literally, invenção = invention.

Deixar de invenção = to knock it off; to give up (an idea or behavior).

Situation 1:

Esposa: Vou fazer uma plástica.
Marido:  Deixe de invenção. Você não precisa de plástica.

Translation:

Wife:          I will get plastic surgery.
Husband: Knock it off. You don’t need plastic surgery.

 

Situation 2:

Diogo: Vou deixar meu emprego e passar um ano viajando pelo mundo.
Carla:  Deixe de invenção, Diogo. Você não tem dinheiro pra fazer isso.

Translation:

Diogo: I will leave my job and spend one year traveling the world.
Carla:  Knock it off, Diogo. You don’t have money to do this.

 

Learn with songs:

Todo mundo nasce artista
Depois vem a repressão
Não faz arte, diz a tia
Vê se deixa de invenção

Download your translated lyrics to learn with songs.

 

2. Deixa pra lá = Forget it; Never mind; Let it be

Situation 1:

Alice:      Que homem grosso!
Claudia: Deixa pra lá; isso não tem importância.

Tradução:

Alice:       How rude that guy!
Claudia: Never mind, it isn’t important.

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

Situation 2:

Cris: Cláudio perdeu o trabalho de novo.
Ana:  Pois é, eu tentei dar uns conselhos a ele, mas ele não ouve ninguém. Eu terminei deixando pra lá.

Translation:

Cris: Cláudio lost his job again.
Ana:  I know, I’ve tried to give him some advice, but he doesn’t listen to anyone. I ended up letting it be.

Situation 3:

Priscila: João me deu um bolo de novo. Dessa vez eu não vou simplesmente deixar pra lá, não!

Translation:

João stood me up again. This time I won’t just forget it!

 

3. Não deixar de fazer algo = To be sure to do something

This one is not very intuitive and it comes in a few different ways. I hope the examples below will help you understand it.

1. Não deixe de ver Edifício Master. É um ótimo filme.

= Make sure you watch Edifício Master. It is a great movie.

Four Meanings and Three Idiomatic Expressions with the Verb DEIXAR in Portuguese

 

2. Não deixe de confirmar nossa reserva. Hoje é o último dia para fazer isso.

= Make sure you confirm our reservation. Today is the last day to do so.

3. Os ingressos para o show de Chico Buarque estão super caros, mas não vou deixar de ver Chico por nada.

= Tickets for Chico Buarque’s concert are very expensive, but I won’t miss him for anything.

4. Que dia! Estou podre, mas não posso deixar de ir ao aniversário de Suzana.

= What a day! I’m beat, but I cannot miss Suzana’s birthday.

 

I hope this helps make your Portuguese even smarter 🙂

Street Smart Brazil has a fantastic team of instructors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  Book a Trial Lesson to see how we can help you become fluent in Portuguese.

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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.

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  1. Sagir Ahmed

    January 14, 2018 at 3:39 am

    Thank You

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    • Sagir Ahmed

      January 14, 2018 at 3:41 am

      Ok

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