Portuguese Idioms with “Pé”

Getting acquainted with Portuguese idiomatic expressions is key to reaching language fluency and feeling at home with day-to-day lingo.

Today, I am bringing you 13 frequently-used Portuguese idioms, all of which have this one thing in common: they mention the word pé.  Let’s dive in.

1. De pé atrás

De pé atrás denotes caution or suspicion:

O João ouviu a explicação do Miguel mas, contudo, ficou de pé atrás. João listened to what Miguel had to say, but he was still suspicious.

2. Com pezinhos de lã

We say, com pezinhos de lã when someone is trying to move quietly:

A Alberta entrou no quarto com pezinhos de lã para não acordar o Ricardo. Alberta walked into the room on her tiptoes so as not to wake Ricardo.

3. Bater o pé

Bater o pé means to stand one’s ground.

O Francisco tentou persuadir-me mas eu bati-lhe o pé. Francisco tried to coax me but I stood my ground.

4.  Do pé para a mão