• 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
A Street Smart Way to Say Something is Expensive in Portuguese

A Street Smart Way to Say Something is Expensive in Portuguese

posted on June 1, 2016

A Street Smart Way to Say Something is Expensive in Brazilian Portuguese
Custa os olhos da cara!!!

Colloquial expressions enrich the language and are so much fun, don’t you think? They make you sound more natural speaking the language.

In this video lesson, I show you a great Brazilian Portuguese expression to say that something is very expensive.

It is the equivalent of saying that something will cost you and arm and a leg, but it uses different body parts 🙂

I will also show you the regular word for expensive and how to use it with the verbs Ser and Estar.

Watch the video:

Expensive = Caro, Cara

Let’s start with the basics:

  • Caro, cara = expensive

Because expensive is an adjective, it needs to agree in gender and number with the noun.

Here is a lesson on the gender of adjectives.

Here is one on the gender of nouns.

É caro or Está caro? Ser or Estar?

Both are correct. They communicate slightly different ideas.

Using the Verb Ser

In the beginning of your Portuguese journey, you learned that the verb Ser is used to describe permanent qualities. Yes, this is an over-simplification, but it will work for our case here. When I am talking about things that are expensive in general (not just expensive right now or at this store), I use the verb Ser.

  • No Brasil, carros são caros. = In Brazil, cars are expensive.
  • É muito caro comprar uma casa em São Francisco. = It’s very expensive to buy a house in San Francisco.

Using the Verb Estar

When you first studied the verb Estar, you learned that it is used for temporary states and things that are not permanent. Observe the examples below to see how this applies to our study of the word Caro.

1)

You want to buy a car. Say you walk into a dealership and see a really good deal. You can say:

  • Esse carro não está caro. = This car is not expensive.

It is like saying that this car is not expensive at the moment or at this place.

2)

É caro comprar uma casa em São Francisco. Agora, com uma economia forte, está ainda mais caro.

= It is expensive to buy a house in San Francisco. Now, with a strong economy, it is more expensive.

The Verb Custar

Custar means to cost, such as in:

  • Quanto custa? = How much is it? How much does it cost?
  • Essa mesa custa R$200,00. = This table is R$200,00.

Custar os Olhos da Cara

This is the expression that I wanted to show you today.

  • Custar os olhos da cara = to be very expensive

In English, some things can cost you an arm and a leg. In Portuguese, they will cost you your eyes. Or, translating the expression literally, they will cost you “the eyes of your face”.

Remember to conjugate the verb Custar in your sentences to agree with the object you are talking about. Here are three examples using the expression:

1)

Essa loja é caríssima. Tudo aqui custa os olhos da cara.

= This store is very expensive. Everything here costs you an arm and a leg.

2)

Produtos de tecnologia custam os olhos da cara no Brasil.

= Technology products cost you an arm and a leg in Brazil.

3)

Reformar a casa vai custar os olhos da cara!

= It will cost us an arm and a leg to renovate the house!

 

Now you know how to talk about expensive things like a Brazilian! Have fun using your new expression 🙂

Have you tried our Brazilian Portuguese one-on-one lessons via Skype? It is a simple, convenient, and effective way to speak Portuguese that you are proud of. Book a Trial Lesson to see for yourself.

Portuguese Lessons via Skype

 

Related Posts:

  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • 4 Brazilian Portuguese Expressions with the Verb Levar –…

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

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

Street Smart Brazil is the best lessons you can get for such an affordable price. I was initially skeptical about doing virtual Portuguese classes, but after doing the trial class, I learned that Stre… Read more
Alexis
I absolutely love learning Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil! Top four strengths of Street Smart Brazil:
  • A perfect combo of order and flexibility: you have a roadmap of the learning process, you… Read more
Togzhan
Street Smart Brazil impressed me with the structure and outgoing personalities! I was able to learn the language 2 months before I went to Brazil and I can say it was because of Street Smart Brazil. … Read more
Jonathan
Learning with you guys has been great, and I can say that my trip to Brazil was much better knowing Portuguese!
Greg

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.