Study Resource: Fixed expressions with ‘ficar’
The following are some fixed expressions in Brazilian Portuguese that use the word ficar(to be, to stay).
Expression | Sense | Example |
|---|---|---|
ficar em pé / sentado to be standing / sitting | indicates position: | Eles ficaram em pé no ônibus durante a viagem. They were standing on the bus during the trip. |
ficar entre nós to stay between us | to keep a secret | Essa conversa precisa ficar só entre nós. This conversation has to stay between us. |
ficar bem to be fine | to be adequate, polite | Não fica bem ir ao casamento com essa roupa informal. It doesn’t look good to go to the wedding in this informal outfit. |
ficar de fora to to stay out | to be excluded | Eu fiquei de fora da festa do Pedro. I was not invited to Pedro’s party. |
ficar por dentro to be aware of / on top of | to be updated | Nós ficamos por dentro de todas essas mudanças que irão acontecer. We stayed on top of all these changes that will happen. |
ficar por isso mesmo to leave it at that | to be unpunished | Eles violaram a lei, mas tudo ficou por isso mesmo. They broke the law, but that’s all there was to it. |
ficar perdido to be lost | to not understand something | Francisco não entendeu bem a lição e ficou perdido na aula. Francisco did not understand the lesson well and was lost in class. |
ficar uma fera to be furious | to get very angry | O pai ficou uma fera com o filho por causa da bagunça. The father was furious with his son because of the mess. |
ficar sabendo to get to know | to get information, | Eu fiquei sabendo que ele vai se mudar. É verdade? I heard he’s moving. Is it true? |
