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Learn Colloquial Portuguese: Showing your Surprise in Brazilian Portuguese

Learn Colloquial Portuguese: Showing your Surprise in Brazilian Portuguese

posted on November 14, 2013

There are two common exclamations in Brazilian Portuguese that refer to the Virgin Mary. Both phrases are said in moments of surprise and both can be shortened several times over. Let’s take a look.

Nossa Senhora (Our Lady) can become simply Nossa!, which I’m sure you’ve heard a Brazilian say before. It’s also in that one song which I’m trying hard to forget, lol. Nossa, in turn, can become just Nó!, but this extra short version gives away one’s home state since it’s usually only people from Minas Gerais that say it.

Virgem Maria (Virgin Mary), in much the same way, is used for the same purpose, as I mentioned earlier. I have rarely, if ever, heard a Brazilian saying the entire phrase when surprised, instead they’ll say Vixi Maria! What happens next, you ask? It gets shorter, of course! Next comes Vixi! and after that…wait for it…ixi! Keep in mind, the latter two versions are used more in the north and northeast of Brazil.

Bonus: The similarly used (Bahian) phrase “Oh minha gente!” becomes “ôxente!”, which then becomes “ôxe!”

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Adam Lee

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

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