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puxa vida!

English translation: For goodness sake


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20:15 Feb 11, 2004
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Portuguese term or phrase: puxa vida!
Brazilian expression/interjection.
lexical
Spain
Local time: 08:21
English translation:For goodness sake
Explanation:
...

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Note added at 2 days 13 hrs 21 mins (2004-02-14 09:37:01 GMT)
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Contains the right balance of irritation with the situation and irritation with life in general
Selected response from:

Daniel Marcus
Local time: 07:21
Grading comment
I'm grateful to everybody for their comments - the amount of discussion shows how difficult it is to find a satisfactory parallel (especially now that it has been pointed out that "puxa vida" = "eh pá", with which I'm familiar. Thank you all.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3Good heavens!Claudio Mazotti
5 +2Oh Boy !
Rene Duvekot
5 +1Come on or C'mon or What do you mean...whaddya meanJane Lamb-Ruiz
5For goodness sake
Daniel Marcus
5No way!
Ilse Ackerman
5Gosh!Clarice Ferreira
5GoshxxxTrustmark
5geeze! ( very colloquial)Terry Crispin
5 -1oh my God!
Ricardo Fonseca
5 -2darn it!
Eduardo Queiroz


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
oh my God!


Explanation:
sounds nice

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Note added at 2004-02-11 23:22:57 (GMT)
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I can´t believe it / this

Ricardo Fonseca
Portugal
Local time: 07:21
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: no. that's much too strong...that Meu Deus in Portuguese anyway
2 hrs
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Oh Boy !


Explanation:
there are hundreds of surprise expressions. Puxa vida is a very mild, socially acceptable one, and it does not invoke God.

Rene Duvekot
Local time: 02:21
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mário Seita: In Portugal could be "Eh pá!"
3 mins
  -> é isso aí!!
neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: not surprise...a mild complaint by the speaker to the listener or the person with whom one is having a conversation..
1 hr
  -> In my 25 years of living in Brazil, I have heard this expression used both as a complaint (as you mention) as well as surprise.
neutral  Terry Crispin: I have heard this expression used both as a complaint (as you mention) as well as surprise.
5 hrs
agree  Amilcar: Este tipo de coisa é muito difícil, puxa vida é saco ;) muito largo. Tentei vários casos, e o Oh boy ... de ligeira queixa tende a funcionar. Oh boy, why did this have to happen to me...
1 day5 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Gosh


Explanation:
Just an expression for exclamation.

xxxTrustmark
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: in certain circumstances but it is not an exclamation purely it has semantic value
2 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
geeze! ( very colloquial)


Explanation:
very colloquial, spoken English.

Terry Crispin
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Gosh!


Explanation:
:-)

Clarice Ferreira
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
No way!


Explanation:
Expresses amazement.

Ilse Ackerman
Local time: 02:21
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: too strong...no way is very strong..puxa vida is more laconic and whiny
2 hrs
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47 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
darn it!


Explanation:
euphemisn for damn it!

Eduardo Queiroz
Local time: 05:21
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: no i just don't think it is
20 mins
disagree  Terry Crispin: don't think so either
25 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Come on or C'mon or What do you mean...whaddya mean


Explanation:
Puxa vida é uma queixa do falante a quem ouve....Linguagem falada..

meaning a complaint....you say puxa vida in a context of complaining...as in the US English, Come on....It is not an exclamatory like Gosh [euphemism for God]

Puxa vida...Você acredita essa história
Come on...Do you believe that story?

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Note added at 1 hr 7 mins (2004-02-11 21:23:24 GMT)
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Puxa vida is said to try and persuade the listening party of something. It is a kind of complaint...it is not an exclamation purely..it has the meaning of disagreeing with the other person

Jane Lamb-Ruiz
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ricardo Fonseca: traduza por favor: puxa vida, o que me havia de acontecer. Como é que fica? Não me parece que seja uma interjeiçapenas
2 hrs
  -> Dear me, why did this have to happen to me....Certo, aqui seria tipo, Dear God, why did this...A lament....and a lament is similar to a kind of queixa até se for consigo mesmo o os deuses interiores...:)
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Good heavens!


Explanation:
suggestion

Claudio Mazotti
Brazil
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 27

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jane Lamb-Ruiz: Yes to register amazement...but notice, Good heavens is usually addressed from a speaker to a listener or reader....The person is talking to someone....:)
10 hrs
agree  rhandler: Boa!
19 hrs
agree  Amilcar: Yes, sometimes, e.g., when a tinge of censure is present; but this seems to me a rarer usage than a kind of "Oh boy" (like, not again ...).
1 day14 hrs
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2 days13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
For goodness sake


Explanation:
...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 13 hrs 21 mins (2004-02-14 09:37:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Contains the right balance of irritation with the situation and irritation with life in general

Daniel Marcus
Local time: 07:21
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
I'm grateful to everybody for their comments - the amount of discussion shows how difficult it is to find a satisfactory parallel (especially now that it has been pointed out that "puxa vida" = "eh pá", with which I'm familiar. Thank you all.
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