• 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

When One Phrase Leads to Another

posted on June 15, 2012


(A little joke from Yahoo Answers)

I’ve been reading a great little book called Folclore Brasileiro by Nilza Megale, a primer on Brazilian folklore which runs the gamut from the musical to the spiritual. When reading about Afro-Brazilian religions, I came across one phrase which in turn made me recall another. I’d like to look at those two phrases and their meanings.

“Baixar o Santo”

Different from abaixar (to bend over/down), baixar means ‘to lower’ or ‘to download’. The verb baixar can also be used in a unique phrase, albeit of a spiritual nature. The phrase I’m referring to is “baixar o santo” which takes on the meaning of incorporating a divinity, when a believer* goes into a trance. It is used mainly when speaking of Afro-Brazilian religions, though you may have seen something similar when watching certain televised church services.

Ex. Ele baixou o santo.
Ex. He went into a trance.

* – Not to be confused with Beliebers (Justin Bieber fans) who also seem to go into a trance when you mention their idol.

“Puxar a Alguém”

Taking on someone else’s spirit made me think of another phrase which I’ll share with you. As you may know, puxar doesn’t mean ‘to push’ (that’s empurrar). In fact, puxar means the opposite, to pull. The same verb has another meaning when used in the phrase,“puxar a alguém” (to take after someone). Let’s look at some examples,

Ex. Eu puxei à minha mãe.
Ex. I take after my mother.

Ex. Ele puxou ao pai na inteligência.
Ex. He takes after his father in intelligence.

(In case you are wondering about the picture at the top, it’s someone saying that since everything is online these days, he wants to know how he can download a saint (baixar um santo) via the internet. The answer says he should try “baixaqui” which is a reference to a site like CNET’s Download.com where one can find ‘everything’)

Cick here for Part 2 of When One Phrase Leads to Another.

—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs
  • 4 Brazilian Portuguese Expressions with the Verb Levar –…
  • 8 Power Tips to Learn Verb Conjugation – Portuguese lesson

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

Comments

  1. Luciana Lage

    June 17, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    Great post, Adam. These are two very popular and useful expressions. You might have noticed that we use “baixou o santo” outside of the religious realm. For example, say a girl is fed up with her boyfriend’s always being late to pick her up. If she tells him off, he can say “Baixou o santo”.

    Another example: Say I feel super inspired to create class material and write several new handouts for the Street Smart Brazil library all in one day. I can say, “Baixou o santo and I was able to write ten new awesome handouts today.”

    Even those how are not religious, or are religious but do not believe in or agree with afro-brazilian religions, will use this expression to indicate a behavior that is more intense, excited, or inspired than average.

    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

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

Learning a new language can be one of the most challenging things you can do. The individualized and wholly personal tact of teaching at Street Smart Brazil makes it a challenge that you will want to … Read more
Gary
Street Smart Brazil has impressed me. Not only will your Brazilian Portuguese improve under their instruction but you will learn a lot about Brazilian culture.
Naomi
Streetsmart Brazil helped me to attain a Celpe Bras proficiency rating of advanced intermediate. Not only have I improved my reading and writing skills, I can speak more fluently on a wide range of t… Read more
Auby
I can highly recommend learning Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil. I have very good tutoring. My teacher is competent and nice. Her classes are great and she challenges me every single time in a ver… Read more
Marina

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.