The following is a video anthology of 25 of Brazilians’ most important gestures for communicating about relationships, failure, theft, scheming, sex acts, etc. And as a bonus, a little instruction on the unique Brazilian finger snap. This documenting of Brazilian supra-verbal communication took place over a few drinks during carnival in São Paulo.
The gestures, in order, are:
- Mentirona — big fat liar
- Rapidinho — faster
- Gostoso — that (person/thing) looks pretty damn tasty
- Gostoso (mais sutil) — pretty damn tasty (more subtle)
- Sujou — it didn’t work out
- Fudeu — fucking doesn’t work
- Sujou 2 — it didn’t work out
- Vamos alí — let’s sneak off together
- Afogar o ganso — to drown the goose (have sex)
- Faz tempo — it was long ago
- Nossa, muito trabalho — God, I’m tired, it’s so much work
- Escorrendo o veneno — Salivating venom (talking shit about someone)
- Boquete — blow job
- Bola gato — roll a cat (oral sex)
- Igual — the same
- Do mesmo jeito/tudo igual — on the same wavelength
- Planejando alguma maldade — scheming
- Na quebrada — in the hood
- Na faixa/meu brother — this person’s quality stuff
- Amigo do peito — we’re tight
- Vou furar o teu olho — I’m going to puncture your eyes, you dipshit
- Robou — stolen
- Parabens — congratulations
- Tô de mal — broken up with someone
- Tô de bem — we’re together
Bonus: How to do the Brazilian finger snap (o estalo brasileiro)
The standard caveats apply: I don’t pretend that this is a definitive anthology, and I certainly don’t expect that all Brazilians will agree on the meanings of every one of these gestures. You may want to supplement your studies with this more sober look at Brazilian gestures. And, as always, feel free to chime in below or contact me with your comments, questions and recriminations.
UPDATE — JULY 3, 2015
Gringos no Brasil has produced a dramatization to help you practice a few of these, starting at 1:51 below.
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