Calque Errors (Literal Translation) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A calque is a phrase you build by translating an English expression word-for-word into Portuguese. Sometimes it works ("fazer sentido" really is "to make sense"). Far more often it produces something that is grammatical-looking nonsense, or that means something quite different from what you intended. The cure is not memorizing every idiom — it is learning to think in Portuguese chunks instead of assembling translated English. This page shows the most common calque traps and the native expressions that replace them.

Error 1: Age — you HAVE years, you don't ARE years

English says "I am 20 years old" — age expressed with be. Portuguese expresses age with ter (to have): you have 20 years. Translating "I am 20" directly produces a sentence that, taken literally, says you are equal to twenty years.

❌ Eu sou vinte anos.

Incorrect — age is expressed with 'ter', not 'ser'

✅ Eu tenho vinte anos.

I'm twenty years old. (lit. I have twenty years)

❌ Minha filha é cinco anos.

Incorrect — 'é cinco anos' calques English 'is five'

✅ Minha filha tem cinco anos.

My daughter is five years old.

The same "ter, not ser/estar" logic covers physical sensations English builds with be: estar com fome / ter fome (to be hungry), estar com sede (to be thirsty), estar com frio (to be cold), estar com medo (to be afraid).

❌ Eu sou com fome.

Incorrect — calque of 'I am hungry'

✅ Eu estou com fome.

I'm hungry. (lit. I'm with hunger)

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For age and bodily states, English uses "be" but Portuguese uses "ter/estar com": "tenho 20 anos", "estou com fome", "estou com medo". Never calque these with "ser".

Error 2: "Have a good time" → se divertir

English "have a good time" / "have fun" tempts learners into "ter um bom tempo" — but "tempo" in Portuguese means weather or abstract time, never a "fun occasion". The native verb is the reflexive se divertir (to enjoy oneself).

❌ Espero que você tenha um bom tempo na festa.

Incorrect — 'um bom tempo' calques 'a good time'; sounds like 'good weather'

✅ Espero que você se divirta na festa.

I hope you have a good time at the party.

✅ A gente se divertiu muito ontem.

We had a lot of fun yesterday.

Notice the correct version even needs the subjunctive ("se divirta") because of "espero que" — calquing the English also tends to drag the wrong mood along with it.

Error 3: "Estou bom" for "I'm good / I'm full"

When someone offers more food, English speakers say "I'm good" (= no thanks) or "I'm full". Calquing "estou bom" sounds odd; the natural reply is estou bem (I'm fine) for the polite refusal, or estou satisfeito/cheio for "full". And answering "How are you?" with "Estou bom" is a grammatical slip — the fixed answer is "estou bem".

❌ — Quer mais? — Não, estou bom, obrigado.

Incorrect — 'estou bom' calques 'I'm good'

✅ — Quer mais? — Não, estou satisfeito, obrigado.

— Want more? — No, I'm full, thanks. (formal/neutral)

✅ — Tudo bem? — Tudo bem, e você?

— How's it going? — All good, and you?

Error 4: Idioms never translate literally

Idioms are frozen — their meaning isn't the sum of their words, so word-for-word translation always breaks. "Raining cats and dogs" becomes meaningless if rendered as animals falling from the sky.

❌ Está chovendo cães e gatos.

Incorrect — literal translation of an English idiom; means nothing in Portuguese

✅ Está chovendo canivete.

It's pouring / raining cats and dogs. (lit. it's raining pocketknives — informal)

✅ Está caindo um toró.

It's coming down in buckets. (informal, very common)

❌ Isso custa um braço e uma perna.

Incorrect — calque of 'an arm and a leg'

✅ Isso custa os olhos da cara.

That costs an arm and a leg. (lit. the eyes of your face)

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When you reach for an idiom, stop and ask whether you've ever heard a Brazilian say it. If not, you're probably calquing. Learn idioms as whole units, the same way you learned them in English.

Error 5: Calqued collocations and verb-noun pairings

Many everyday actions pair a specific verb with a specific noun, and the pairing rarely matches English. "Return a call" is the classic one: English "return" → "devolver", but "devolver" means physically giving an object back. A call is retornar (or simply "ligar de volta").

❌ Eu vou devolver a sua ligação mais tarde.

Incorrect — 'devolver' is for returning objects, not calls

✅ Eu vou retornar a sua ligação mais tarde.

I'll return your call later. (also: 'te ligar de volta')

❌ Eu preciso fazer uma decisão.

Incorrect calque of 'make a decision'

✅ Eu preciso tomar uma decisão.

I need to make a decision. (decisions are 'taken', not 'made')

❌ Eu vou pegar um banho antes de sair.

Incorrect — calques 'take a shower' with 'pegar'; the verb is 'tomar'

✅ Eu vou tomar banho antes de sair.

I'm going to take a shower before going out. (banho is 'taken' with tomar — this calque happens to work)

The "tomar banho" example is a useful reminder: some calques happen to land correctly because both languages use the same metaphor. You can't predict which ones — you have to learn the collocation. "Tomar uma decisão", "tomar banho", "tomar café", but "fazer uma pergunta" (ask a question), "fazer aniversário" (have a birthday).

Error 6: Forgetting the contraction inside a calque ("de isto")

A subtle calque error: English "I like this" maps to "gostar de isto", but "de + isto" must contract to disto (and de + isso → disso, de + aquilo → daquilo). Learners building the phrase from English keep the words apart.

❌ Eu gosto de isto.

Incorrect — 'de isto' must contract to 'disto'

✅ Eu gosto disto.

I like this. (de + isto = disto)

✅ Eu não entendi nada disso.

I didn't understand any of that. (de + isso = disso)

Common Mistakes recap

❌ Eu sou 30 anos e eu quero ter um bom tempo no meu aniversário.

Two calques: '❌sou 30 anos' and '❌ter um bom tempo'

✅ Eu tenho 30 anos e quero me divertir no meu aniversário.

I'm 30 and I want to have a good time on my birthday.

❌ Você pode devolver minha ligação? Preciso fazer uma decisão.

Two calques: '❌devolver a ligação' and '❌fazer uma decisão'

✅ Você pode retornar minha ligação? Preciso tomar uma decisão.

Can you return my call? I need to make a decision.

Key takeaways

Age and bodily states use ter/estar com, not ser: "tenho 20 anos", "estou com fome" — never "❌sou 20 anos".
"Have a good time" = se divertir, not "❌ter um bom tempo" (tempo = weather/time).
Idioms are frozen — translate them as wholes: "chovendo canivete", "custa os olhos da cara", not "❌cães e gatos".
Collocations rarely match: "tomar uma decisão" (not fazer), "retornar a ligação" (not devolver). Learn the verb + noun pair as one chunk.
Contract inside the phrase: "gosto disto/disso", not "❌de isto".
The overarching fix: build sentences from Portuguese chunks you've actually heard, not from translated English.

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