• 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
How to Say To Scavenge & Hunt in Portuguese

How to Say To Scavenge & Hunt in Portuguese

posted on April 21, 2015

How to Say To Scavenge & Hunt in Portuguese

The other day I was at a language meetup talking to a Brazilian next to me about vocabulary related to animal behavior when she suddenly asked what “scavenge” means. It turns out that there are several ways to translate it, but it is not that easy to find a literal translation. In this post I share my little research with you. You will learn how to say scavenge and hunt in Portuguese. You will also learn four other verbs to grow your Portuguese vocabulary.

To Scavenge in Portuguese

Knowing very well what scavenge is but not how to translate it simply, I tried to get around the subject by saying it’s like hunting but not necessarily for animals.

Looking it up in a Portuguese language dictionary, I saw the verbs revirar (to turn something over) and vasculhar (to search about, to look carefully for something, to trawl or comb).

Here are examples of how to use these verbs in Portuguese:

1) João revirou a casa toda procurando a sua carteira.

= João turned everything over in the house looking for his wallet.

2) Helena vasculhou a casa toda para encontrar seus óculos.

= Helena searched all over the house to find her glasses.

This is not exactly how we use scavenge in English, right? Still not completely satisfied, I tried to think of related phrases.

How to Say To Scavenge & Hunt in Portuguese

And that’s when I remembered “scavenger hunt” and tried to explain that, but unfortunately I also didn’t know how to explain the concept as a direct translation, though I managed a long-winded version. The correct phrase for that term, by the way, is caça ao tesouro (basically, treasure hunt), also known in Brazil as gincana.

Now back to scavenge, different situations will require different verbs in Portuguese. Here are three examples:

1) Eu vejo pombos catando restos de comida nas mesas do restaurante da universidade.

= I see pigeons scavenging leftover food on the tables at the university cafeteria.

2) Marcos gosta de vasculhar ferros-velhos para encontrar peças para o seu carro.

= Marcos likes to scavenge junk years to find parts for this car.

3) É sempre triste ver pessoas pobres catando lixo atrás de comida.

= It is always sad to see poor people scavenging trash looking for food.

 

To Hunt in Portuguese

Caçar means to hunt in Portuguese. Here are some other phrases which use the verb to hunt.

– caça ao ovo de Páscoa (Easter egg hunt)

– caça às bruxas (witch hunt)

  • Also useful to know perseguição política (political persecution)

– caçar mulheres, caçar ricos, etc (to be on the hunt for women, rich men *)

– caçar os traficantes (to pursue drug dealers, in order to detain them)

Caçar can also be used as a name given to people who do this action, such as, os caça-mulheres (the women-hunters)  or that old movie “Os Caça-Fantasmas” (Ghostbusters). Another fun word to know: caça-palavras (word hunt).

Watch Out:

Notice that we do not use the word caçar in the context of job hunting. We say Procurar trabalho = to look for a job.

 

Technically, though, the word for hunter is caçador.

O caça-palavras = word hunt
O caça-palavras = word hunt

 

Don’t mix them up: Caçar, Cassar, Casar

Do not mix Caçar (to hunt) and  Cassar, which means to cancel, annul or repeal.

For example:

  • O Congresso pode cassar o mandato de políticos corruptos.

= Congress can revoke the mandate of corrupt politicians.

Another similar verb is Casar: to get married.

  • Lúcia e Antônio vão se casar.

= Lúcia and Antônio are going to get married.

Now you should know three similar sounding and similarly written verbs: caçar, cassar, and casar. Fun, right? 😉

The key to retaining new vocabulary and using it correctly is practice. Regular meetings with a professional tutor makes all the difference in your path to fluency. Don’t struggle with Portuguese! Book a Trial Lesson with a Street Smart Brazil instructor to see how we can help you speak Portuguese comfortably.

Book a Portuguese Trial Lesson with Street Smart Brazil

 

Related Posts:

  • Use the Infinitive in Portuguese instead of -ING in English
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

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.

Reader Interactions

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

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

My classes are awesome – I’m learning A LOT and it’s fun, convenient, and enjoyable. My instructor is a wonderful teacher, and she gives me a nice balance of grammar and oral & written comprehension.… Read more
Vanessa
Especially if you are in Rio de Janeiro, I highly recommend this class! You don´t have to fight traffic to get to class, your teacher will show up on time, you can make your own schedule, and the ma… Read more
Sarah
The quality of the instruction is outstanding. The instructors are flexible to schedule classes in times which are convenient. Being able to use SKYPE for face to face without traveling place to plac… Read more
Jennifer
I really enjoy studying with Street Smart Brazil. I have learned a tremendous amount and always look forward to the class. In June I traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, to visit my girlfriend and meet her… Read more
Drue

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/xoNtWBolAzE

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.