10 Portuguese Idioms with Fazer

Portuguese is brimming with idioms, and “fazer” (to do/make) pops up in many of them. Here are 10 common idioms with “fazer” to supercharge your Portuguese fluency.

1. Fazer de conta → Pretending

Ontem passei pela Clarissa mas ela fez de conta que não me viu.
Yesterday I passed Clarissa but she pretended not to see me.

2. Fazer 30 por uma linha → Being a handful

Estes miúdos fazem 30 por uma linha!
These kids are a handful!

3. Fazer questão → Insisting

Faço questão que jantes cá em casa.
I insist that you eat dinner here at my place.

4. Fazer-se a alguém → Hitting on someone

A Joana está a fazer-se a ti.
Joana’s hitting on you.

5. Fazer-se de burro → Playing dumb

O Joaquim faz-se de burro mas na verdade é um gajo esperto.
Joaquim plays dumb, but he’s actually a smart guy.

6. Fazer pouco de alguém → Mocking someone

Não faças pouco do Miguel.
Don’t mock Miguel.

7. Fazer às 3 pancadas → Being clumsy

O meu dentista faz tudo às 3 pancadas e leva um dinheirão.
My dentist has clumsy hands and takes a lot of money.

8. Fazer a vida negra a alguém → Giving someone a hard time

Por que me fazes a vida negra?
Why are you making my life miserable?

9. Fazer festinhas → Caressing, petting

Adoro fazer festinhas a gatos.
I love petting cats.

10. Fazer das tripas coração → Working one’s butt off

Fiz das tripas coração para chegar aqui a horas.
I’ve worked my butt off to get here on time.

Mark complete Completed

Real European Portuguese is harder than the textbook

If you can read Portuguese but real speech is still hard to follow, Portuguesepedia is built for that gap. A deep library of real EP audio, organized by level and topic, with AI-powered practice built in.

start free

No card required.

What learners say

I love the mix of formats. The listening pieces, short reads, exercises, and idioms cover different angles, so I don't get stuck doing the same thing. It keeps me coming back.

~ Olivia ~

It doesn’t feel like studying in the boring sense. The tone is light, but the practice is solid, and I’ve noticed I can put sentences together more easily.

~ Giulia ~

Everything feels well put together. I'll listen to something at my level, check a quick explanation when I'm confused, and then do a practice exercise. Everything I need is in one place and easy to find.

~ Liam ~

Portuguese used to feel messy, like I was putting in effort but not getting results. With Portuguesepedia, I can focus on what I actually need, and I’ve started noticing real improvement week by week.

~ Ebba ~

Something clicked after a few weeks. Real Portuguese started making more sense — not just on paper, but when I'm actually listening. I hadn't felt that kind of progress before.

~ Maria ~

I’d been trying to learn Portuguese for years, but I never felt confident using it. Textbooks were too much, and speaking classes made me freeze. With Portuguesepedia, things finally started to make sense.

~ Emely ~

Just added