In Portuguese, adding a reflexive pronoun to a common verb often creates a completely new, unpredictable meaning. Let's explore some of these lexical shifts during a chaotic day at an amusement park.
Passar-se (To freak out) and Perder-se (To get lost)
Normally, passar means "to pass". But when made reflexive, passar-se translates to "to freak out", "to go crazy", or "to lose one's temper". Similarly, perder means "to lose" (like losing your keys), but perder-se means "to get lost".
| The little boy freaked out when he saw the mascot. | O rapazinho passou-se quando viu a mascote. |
| The tourists couldn't find the exit and got lost. | Os turistas não puderam encontrar a saída e perderam-se. |
Achar-se (To think highly of oneself) and Virar-se (To manage)
Achar usually means "to think" or "to find". Add a reflexive pronoun, and achar-se takes on a negative connotation, meaning "to think highly of oneself" or "to be full of oneself".
Meanwhile, virar means "to turn". The reflexive virar-se figuratively means "to manage", "to get by", or "to fend for oneself".
| He was able to win the game and now he thinks highly of himself. | Ele pôde ganhar o jogo e agora acha-se muito. |
| I manage well alone, you can go to the roller coaster. | Eu viro-me bem sozinho, tu podes ir à montanha-russa. |
Dar-se (To get along) and Bater-se (To fight)
The verb dar means "to give". However, dar-se — typically followed by bem (well) or mal (poorly) — means "to get along" with someone.
Finally, bater means "to hit". The reflexive bater-se shifts the meaning to "to fight" or "to struggle". When fighting over or for a specific thing, this verb is followed by the preposition por (or its contractions like pelo, pela).
| The two clowns don't get along with me. | Os dois palhaços não se dão bem comigo. |
| They fought for a spot in the line for the Ferris wheel. | Eles bateram-se por um lugar na fila para a roda-gigante. |