Breakdown of Quem é aquele gajo ao pé da porta?
quem
who
a porta
the door
aquele
that over there (aquele, aquela, aqueles, aquelas)
o gajo
the guy, the bloke (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Quem é aquele gajo ao pé da porta?
I usually use perto de for 'near'. Is ao pé de used the same way here?
Yes, in Portugal, ao pé de (literally 'at the foot of') is an extremely common colloquial alternative to perto de. It means 'next to', 'by', or 'near' and acts exactly the same way, combining with the preposition de.
Is the word gajo considered rude or offensive?
It is not a bad word, but it is very informal. It is the exact European Portuguese equivalent of 'guy' or 'dude'. You will hear it constantly in daily life, but you should stick to homem or rapaz in formal or professional settings.
Why use aquele instead of esse for 'that guy'?
Portuguese has three levels of physical distance. While esse means 'that' (near the listener), aquele means 'that one over there' (far from both the speaker and the listener). Since the guy is by the door, he is further away from the people having the conversation.
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