Chapter 9

Going Out on the Town

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Making plans

Bullet Checking out the music scene

Bullet Enjoying museums, galleries, and movies

Bullet Falling in love

When you think of Brazil, you probably think first of its praias (prah-ee-ahz) (beaches) (check out Chapter 12) and then Carnaval (kah-nah-vah-ooh) (see Chapter 17). But there’s so much more to Brazilian culture! For starters, the country has fabulous museus (moo-zay-ooz) (museums) and a vibrant arts scene as well as lots of domestic filmes (fee-ooh-meez) (movies).

Brazilians also have an uncanny knack for enjoying themselves. Listening to música ao vivo (moo-zee-kah ah-ooh vee-voo) (live music) and taking in the atmosphere at a bar or enjoying tunes by local DJs at a boate (boh-ah-chee) (nightclub) are great cultural experiences, too. This chapter tells you what you need to know to explore and appreciate the art and culture of Brazil and to enjoy yourself as much as any Brazilian.

Talking about Going Out

Está a fim de sair? (es-tah ah fing jee sah-eeh?) (Are you in the mood to go out?)

Whether you’re itching for música ao vivo (moo-zee-kah ah-ooh vee-voo) (live music) or something else, you can use the following phrase to ask locals what there is to do around town:

O que você recomenda para fazer hoje à noite? (ooh kee voh-seh heh-koh-men-dah pah-rah fah-zeh oh-zhee ah noh-ee-chee?) (What do you recommend to do tonight?)

The locals may ask, O que você gosta? (ooh kee voh-seh goh-stah?) (What do you like?). You can respond Gosto de … (goh-stoh jee …) (I like …) followed by one of the following:

  • bares (bah-reez) (bars)
  • boates (boh-ah-cheez) (nightclubs)
  • cinema (see-neh-mah) (cinema)
  • espectáculos (eh-spek-tah-koo-lohz) (shows)
  • eventos culturais (eh-ven-tohz kool-too-rah-eez) (cultural events)
  • festas (fes-tahz) (parties)
  • teatro (chee-ah-troh) (theater)

If you’re new in town and just want to ask how to get to the centro (sen-troh) (downtown), say Onde fica o centro? (ohn-jee fee-kah ooh sen-troh?) (Where’s the downtown area?).

Inviting someone out and being invited

Of course, the best scenario happens not when you have to ask a local about things around town but when a local te convida (chee kohn-vee-dah) (invites you) to some event. They may say:

  • Estou te convidando! (eh-stoh chee kohn-vee-dahn-doh!) (I’m inviting you!)
  • Vem com a gente! (vang koh-oong ah zhang-shee!) (Come with us!)
  • Vem comigo! (vang koh-mee-goo!) (Come with me!)

If you’re the one who’s doing the inviting, you can use one of the preceding expressions or any of the following:

  • Quer ir comigo? (keh ee koh-mee-goo?) (Do you want to go with me?)
  • Quer vir conosco? (keh vee koh-noh-skoh?) (Do you want to come with us?)
  • Quero te convidar. (keh-roo chee kohn-vee-dah.) (I want to invite you — though this phrase doesn’t mean the person inviting will pick up the tab)

Here are more specific examples of common expressions using convidar (kohn-vee-dah) (to invite):

  • Quero convidar a todos para a minha casa. (keh-roo kohn-vee-dah ah toh-dooz pah-rah ah meen-yah kah-zah.) (I want to invite everyone to my house.)
  • Estão convidando a gente para a praia. (eh-stah-ooh kohn-vee-dahn-doh ah zhang-chee pah-rah ah prah-ee-ah.) (They’re inviting us to go to the beach.)

Soundnative Brazilians often say a gente (ah zhang-chee) rather than nós (nohz) to mean we or us.A gente literally means the people. It’s as if you’re talking about another group of people to talk about yourself and a friend, then you conjugate it as if it’s one person. Here’s an example: A woman tells her husband that she and a friend are going to the beach: A gente vai a para praia (ah zhang-chee vah-ee pah-rah prah-ee-ah) (We are going to the beach). The textbook way of saying the same thing (which Brazilians use as well) is Nós vamos para a praia (nohz vah-mooz pah-rah prah-ee-ah) (We are going to the beach).

Asking what a place or event is like

After you have an idea about the evento (eh-ven-toh) (event) or lugar (loo-gah) (place) that a person from the area is recommending, you may want to ask for mais detalhes (mah-eez deh-tahl-yeez) (more details).

Here are a few questions that can help you gather details:

  • Como é o lugar? (koh-moo eh ooh loo-gah?) (What’s the place like?)
  • Quando começa? (kwahn-doh koh-meh-sah?) (When does it start?)
  • Onde fica? (ohn-jee fee-kah?) (Where is it?)
  • Tem algum motivo? (tang ah-ooh-goong moh-chee-voh?) (Why is it being put on?)
  • O que é, exatamente? (ooh kee eh, eh-zah-tah-men-chee?) (What is it, exactly?)

Try these additional phrases to get even more clues:

  • Custa caro? (koo-stah kah-roh?) (Is it expensive?)
  • Vai ter muitas pessoas? (vah-ee teh moh-ee-tahz peh-soh-ahz?) (Will there be a lot of people?)
  • Que tipo de música vai ter? (kee chee-poh jee moo-zee-kah vah-ee teh?) (What type of music will there be?)
  • Que tipo de gente? (kee chee-poh jee zhang-chee?) (What type of people?)
  • É informal ou formal? (eh een-foh-mah-ooh ooh foh-mah-ooh?) (Is it informal or formal?)
  • Vale a pena ir? (vah-lee ah peh-nah ee?) (Is it worth going to?)

You’re likely to hear these answers to your questions about an event:

  • Não custa caro. (nah-ooh koo-stah kah-roh.) (It’s not expensive.)
  • Vai ser muito bom. (vah-ee seh moh-ee-toh boh-oong.) (It’s going to be really good.)
  • Vale a pena. (vah-lee ah peh-nah.) (It’s worth going.)
  • Deve ter bastante gente. (deh-vee teh bah-stahn-chee zhang-chee.) (There should be a lot of people.)
  • O lugar é pequeno. (ooh loo-gah eh peh-keh-noh.) (The place is small.)
  • É muito jovem. (eh moh-ee-toh zhoh-vang.) (It’s a young crowd — typically meaning people in their 20s.)
  • É para todas as idades. (eh pah-rah toh-dahz ahz ee-dah-jeez) (It’s for all ages.)
  • É um bar gay. (eh oong bah gay.) (It’s a gay bar.)

Other important questions to ask about bars or events are whether there’s an entrada (en-trah-dah) (cover charge) and whether the place has a consumação mínima (kohn-soo-mah-sah-ooh mee-nee-mah) (minimum charge; Literally: minimum consumption), meaning you must spend a certain amount of money on drinks or food while you’re there. Ask Paga para entrar? (pah-gah pah-rah en-trah?) (Does it have a cover charge?) or Tem consumação mínima? (tang kohn-soo-mah-sah-ooh mee-nee-mah?) (Is there a minimum charge?). If the bar or restaurant features música ao vivo (moo-zee-kah ah-ooh vee-voh) (live music), ask if there is a couvert artístico (koh-ooh-vert ahr-chees-chee-koh) (live music surcharge) as well.

Cultural wisdom At many bars in Brazil, you receive a paper card called a comanda (koh-mahn-dah) when you walk in. Instead of paying for food and drinks when you order them, the bartender or waiter marks your orders on the card. Each person gets a card; they aren’t for groups. When you’re ready to leave, you wait in line by the cashier and pay for everything at once.

Taking in Brazil’s Musical Culture

The one thing you shouldn’t miss doing in Brazil de noite (jee noh-ee-chee) (at night) is listening to música ao vivo (moo-zee-kah ah-ooh vee-voh) (live music). Normally this involves going to a restaurant or bar where there’s a cantor (kahn-toh) (singer). Most often, the cantor plays the violão (vee-oh-lah-ooh) (acoustic guitar) while singing. Sometimes there’s a baterista (bah-teh-rees-tah) (drummer) and someone playing the baixo (bah-ee-shoh) (bass guitar) to accompany the cantor.

Cultural wisdom Live singers in Brazil repeat ad infinitum about 40 Brazilian top hits that span the past several decades. The plateia (plah-tay-ah) (crowd) always loves these songs and often sings along. For a long time after I moved to Brazil, I recognized only a few canções (kahn-soh-eez) (songs). But before I left, after three years of living in Brazil, I realized in a bar one night that I knew all the songs! It’s true that the top hits are drummed into your brain over the years (you even hear them in the supermarkets), but learning them was still a small victory for me.

Using the musical verb: Tocar

Você toca algum instrumento? (voh-seh toh-kah ah-ooh-goong een-stroo-men-toh?) (Do you play an instrument?) In Brazil, the violão is by far the most common instrument played. But Brazilians appreciate all kinds of music, and anything having to do with music is a great conversation starter.

Here’s how you conjugate tocar (toh-kah) (to play [an instrument]).

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu toco

eh-ooh toh-koo

você toca

voh-seh toh-kah

ele/ela toca

eh-lee/eh-lah toh-kah

nós tocamos

nohz toh-kah-mohz

eles/elas tocam

eh-leez/eh-lahz toh-kah-ooh

vocês tocam

voh-sehz toh-kah-ooh

This is how you say the names of popular instruments in Portuguese:

  • o violão (ooh vee-ooh-lah-ooh) (acoustic guitar)
  • o baixo (ooh bah-ee-shoh) (bass guitar)
  • a guitarra (ah gee-tah-hah) (electric guitar)
  • a bateria (ah bah-teh-ree-ah) (drums)
  • a flauta (ah flah-ooh-tah) (flute)
  • o piano (ooh pee-ah-noh) (piano)
  • o violino (ooh vee-ooh-lee-noh) (violin)

Here are some phrases you can use to talk about playing instruments:

  • Eu toco piano. (eh-ooh toh-koo pee-ah-noh.) (I play the piano.)
  • Ela toca bateria. (eh-lah toh-kah bah-teh-ree-ah.) (She plays the drums.)
  • Eles tocam violão. (eh-leez toh-kah-ooh vee-oh-lah-ooh.) (They play the guitar.)

Cultural wisdom Brazilians talk about the shape of the guitar as similar to a woman’s body. English-speakers say hourglass figure; Brazilians say corpo de violão (koh-poo jee vee-ooh-lah-ooh) (guitar-shaped body).

Now for Brazilian instruments, here are some of the most famous music-makers:

  • o berimbau (ooh beh-reem-bah-ooh): A large bow that’s played with a wooden stick. It’s used to accompany the Brazilian martial arts form capoeira (kay-poh-ay-rah).
  • o cavaquinho (ooh kah-vah-keen-yoh): An instrument similar to a ukulele. It’s used in bands that play samba (sahm-bah), Brazil’s national rhythm, a three-step beat that can either be moderate tempo or fast, and chorinho (shoh-heen-yoh), an older form of samba popular in the 19th century until the 1920s in Brazil.
  • a cuíca (ah kwee-kah): A stick that’s rubbed through what looks like a small drum. It makes a donkey hee-haw or whine, depending on how it’s moved.
  • o pandeiro (ooh pahn-day-roh): A tambourine.
  • o paxixi (ooh pah-shee-shee): A woven rattle.
  • a sanfona (ah sahn-foh-nah): An accordion used for forró music.

Soundnative If you want to talk about children (or adults!) playing, avoid the verb tocar, which is only for playing instruments. Instead, use the verb brincar (bring-kah), as in the following example:

As crianças gostam de brincar. (ahz kree-ahn-sahz goh-stah-ooh jee bring-kah.) (Children like to play.)

Brincar also means to kid around.Está brincando? (eh-stah bring-kahn-doh?) is a popular phrase that means Are you kidding?

And if you want to talk about playing sports, use the verb jogar (zhoh-gah). Flip to Chapter 16 to learn all about jogar.

Using the dancing verb: Dançar

Especially if you’re solteiro/a (sohl-tay-roh/rah) (a single person), you’ll probably want to know how to ask someone to dançar (dahn-sah) (dance). You also need to know how you’ll be asked to dançar.

Remember Couple-dancing is common in Brazil. The most popular form is probably forró (foh-hoh), a fast-paced, country-sounding music and accompanying dance form that originates in the northeast. Samba (sahm-bah), the best-known music and dance from Brazil, is for casais (kah-zah-eez) (couples) and to dance sozinho (soh-zeen-yoh) (alone).

Take a peek at the conjugations for dançar.

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu danço

eh-ooh dahn-soh

você dança

voh-seh dahn-sah

ele/ela dança

eh-lee/eh-lah dahn-sah

nós dançamos

nohz dahn-sah-mohz

eles/elas dançam

eh-leez/eh-lahz dahn-sah-ooh

vocês dançam

voh-sehz dahn-sah-ooh

Practice these common expressions that include dançar:

  • Vamos dançar? (vah-mohz dahn-sah?) (Shall we dance?)
  • Quer dançar comigo? (keh dahn-sah koh-mee-goo?) (Do you want to dance with me?)
  • Não sei dançar. (nah-ooh say dahn-sah.) (I don’t know how to dance.)

Using the singing verb: Cantar

Você gosta de cantar? (voh-seh goh-stah jee kahn-tah?) (Do you like to sing?) The verb cantar (kahn-tah) (to sing) is a great, basic verb to practice. Its ending is -ar, so the conjugations are a piece of cake (find information on conjugating verbs in Chapter 2).

Conjugation

Pronunciation

eu canto

eh-ooh kahn-toh

você canta

voh-seh kahn-tah

ele/ela canta

eh-lee/eh-lah kahn-tah

nós cantamos

nohz kahn-tah-mohz

eles/elas cantam

eh-leez/eh-lahz kahn-tah-ooh

vocês cantam

voh-sehz kahn-tah-ooh

Here are some ways you can use cantar:

  • Ela canta super bem. (eh-lah kahn-tah soo-peh bang.) (She sings really well.)
  • Eu não canto muito bem. (eh-ooh nah-ooh kahn-toh moh-ee-toh bang.) (I don’t sing very well.)
  • Você canta? Não sabia. (voh-seh kahn-tah? nah-ooh sah-bee-ah.) (You sing? I didn’t know.)
  • Nós cantamos no chuveiro. (nohz kahn-tah-mohz noh shoo-vay-roh.) (We sing in the shower.)

Exploring Art

Brazil has plenty of galerias de arte (gah-leh-ree-ahz jee ah-chee) (art galleries) and museus (moo-zeh-oohz) (museums). The biggest and most famous ones are in some of the country’s largest cities, São Paulo and Rio, and its capital, Brasilia; but intriguing smaller museums are in all sorts of nooks and crannies of the country. Brazil also has great centros culturais (sen-trohz kool-too-rah-eez) (cultural centers), which host their own exposições de arte (es-poh-zee-soh-eez jee ah-chee) (art exhibitions).

Inside Brazil’s galerias de arte, museus, and centros culturais, you can find quadros (kwah-drohz) (paintings), esculturas (eh-skool-too-rahz) (sculptures), fotografias (foh-toh-grah-fee-ahz) (photographs), and objetos históricos (ohb-zheh-tohz ee-stoh-ree-kohz) (historic objects) — just like in any major art institution in the world.

Check out some phrases that deal with arte (ah-chee) (art):

  • Você gosta de arte? (voh-seh goh-stah jee ah-chee?) (Do you like art?)
  • Tem uma exposição muito boa no Itaú Cultural. (tang ooh-mah es-poh-zee-sah-ooh moh-ee-toh boh-ah noh ee-tah-ooh kool-too-rah-ooh.) (There’s a really good exhibition at Itaú Cultural Center.)
  • Tem uns quadros famosos do Picasso naquele museu. (tang oonz kwah-drohz fah-moh-zooz doo pee-kah-soh nah-keh-lee moo-zeh-ooh.) (There are some famous Picasso paintings in that museum.)
  • Eu adoro as vernissages. (ee-ooh ah-doh-roo ahz veh-nee-sah-zhez.) (I love art exhibition opening nights.)

Going to the Movies

What type of filmes (fee-ooh-meez) (movies) do you like? Have you ever seen um filme brasileiro (oong fee-ooh-mee brah-zee-lay-roh) (a Brazilian movie)? You may be surprised to find out that the Brazilian indústria de filmes (een-doo-stree-ah jee fee-ooh-meez) (movie industry) is very large and produces many high-quality movies every year. (Check out Chapter 19 for a list of some classic Brazilian movies you can download/stream.)

Cultural wisdom At most salas de cinema (sah-lahz jee see-neh-mah) (movie theaters) in Brazil, about half of the filmes playing are Brazilian. Several filmes novos (fee-ooh-meez noh-vooz) (new films) come out every month. In addition to domestic films, you can also see filmes americanos (fee-ooh-meez ah-meh-ree-kah-nohz) (American movies) and filmes europeus (fee-ooh-meez eh-ooh-roh-peh-ooz) (European movies).

You may want to ask whether a movie is legendado (leh-zhang-dah-doo) (subtitled) or dublado (doo-blah-doo) (dubbed over). Subtitled films are also sometimes referred to as versão original (veh-sah-ooh oh-ree-zhee-nah-ooh) (original version).

Here are some handy phrases you can use to talk about filmes:

  • Vamos ao cinema? (vah-mohz ah-ooh see-neh-mah?) (Do you want to go to the movies?)
  • Quer assistir um filme? (keh ah-sees-chee oong fee-ooh-mee?) (Do you want to see a movie?)
  • Que tipo de filmes você gosta? (kee chee-poh jee fee-ooh-meez voh-seh goh-stah?) (What type of movies do you like?)
  • Qual filme você gostaria de ver? (kwah-ooh fee-ooh-mee voh-seh gohs-tah-ree-ah jee veh?) (Which movie do you want to see?)

Names of non-Brazilian filmes, such as American and European ones, are often translated into Portuguese with a funny result. My favorite is the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), which was translated as E Aí, Irmão, Cadê Você? (ee ah-ee eeh-mah-ooh, kah-deh voh-she?) (Hey Dude, Where Are You?). Of course, Brazilians probably laugh at how we translate their movie titles, too!

Falling in Love — in Portuguese

Speaking of going out at night, this section touches on dating. They say o amor (ooh ah-moh) (love) is the international língua (ling-gwah) (language). And I believe that’s true, but why would anyone want to love sem falar (seen fah-lah) (without talking), when saying palavras carinhosas (pah-lahv-rahs kah-reen-yoh-zahs) (lovey-dovey words) in Portuguese is so much fun?

Brazilian Portuguese is an extremely romantic língua. Not only are the sounds beautiful and melodic, but Brazilians themselves are very românticos (hoh-mahn-chee-kooz) (romantic). And you can’t separate the língua from its cultura (kool-too-rah) (culture). The language é cheia de poesia (eh shay-ah jee poh-eh-zee-ah) (is full of poetry).

Cultural wisdom In Brazil, most people are up-to-date on the television novelas (noh-veh-lahz) (soap operas). And with the vast majority of Brazilian novelas dealing with a paixão (ah pah-ee-shah-ooh) (passion), most Brazilians think about romance a lot. The stories are alegres (ah-leh-greez) (happy) and tristes (trees-cheez) (sad), of course, with a touch of tragédia (trah-zheh-jee-ah) (tragedy).

Soundnative Brazilians even have a specific verb to describe the act of walking around town in a love-lock with your honey: namorar (nah-moh-rah). That could mean either smooching in public or just walking hand in hand, gazing into each other’s eyes. The root of the verb is amor. What did Jaqueline (zhah-keh-lee-nee) do Saturday? Ela foi namorar (eh-lah foh-ee nah-moh-rah).

Girlfriend, by the way, is namorada (nah-moh-rah-dah), and boyfriend is namorado (nah-moh-rah-doo). After things move along, the happy couple may decide to have a casamento (kah-zah-men-toh) (wedding). At that point, they become noivo (noy-ee-voh) (fiancé) and noiva (noh-ee-vah) (fiancée), or two of each sex. Husband is marido (mah-ree-doo) and wife is mulher/esposa (mool-yeh/es-poh-zah). To discover how to respectfully talk about a non-binary person, see Chapter 2.

Check out some classic romantic phrases in Portuguese:

  • Eu te amo. (eh-ooh chee ah-moo.) (I love you.)
  • Você quer casar comigo? (voh-seh see keh kah-zah koh-mee-goo?) (Will you marry me?)
  • Eu estou apaixonado/a. (eh-ooh eh-stoh ah-pah-ee-shee-ooh-nah-doo/dah.) (I’m in love.)
  • Estou com muita saudade de você. (eh-stoh koh-oong moh-ee-tah sah-ooh-dah-jee jee voh-seh.) (I miss you very much.)
  • Me dá um beijo. (mee dah oong bay-zhoh.) (Give me a kiss.)
  • Eu vou te amar por toda a minha vida. (eh-ooh voh chee ah-mah poh toh-dah ah ming-yah vee-dah.) (I’m going to love you for the rest of my life.)

And here’s how Brazilians say sweet nothings:

  • meu amor (meh-ooh ah-moh) (my love)
  • meu querido/ minha querida (meh-ooh keh-ree-doo/ ming-yah keh-ree-dah) (my honey; Literally: my loved one)
  • meu fofinho/ minha fofinha (meh-ooh foh-fing-yoh/ ming-yah foh-fing-yah) (my sweetie; Literally: my soft, fluffy one)

Soundnative Try out these classic romantic phrases that Brazilians use to paquerar (pah-keh-rah) (flirt):

  • Você é muito lindo/a. (voh-seh eh moh-ee-toh leen-doh/dah.) (You’re really handsome/beautiful.)
  • Você tem olhos muito bonitos. (voh-seh tang ohl-yooz moh-ee-toh boo-nee-tooz.) (You have very pretty eyes.)
  • Gostei muito de você. (goh-stay moh-ee-toh jee voh-seh.) (I really like you.)

Here are some practical phrases, too, for when you meet someone you’re interested in:

  • Me dá o seu número de celular? (mee dah ooh seh-ooh noo-meh-roh jee sel-ooh-lah?) (Will you give me your cell number?)
  • O que vai fazer amanhã? (ooh kee vah-ee fah-zeh ah-mahn-yah?) (What are you doing tomorrow?)
  • Quer ir ao cinema comigo? (keh ee ah-ooh see-neh-mah koh-mee-goo?) (Do you want to go to the movies with me?)

Of course, these are all things you say after the very first question: Qual é seu nome? (kwah-ooh eh seh-ooh noh-mee?) (What’s your name?) or Quer dançar? (keh dahn-sah?) (Do you want to dance?)