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acertar

English translation: settle up

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:acertar
English translation:settle up
Entered by: Michael Powers (PhD)

12:46 Jan 9, 2007
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Slang / Brasil
Portuguese term or phrase: acertar
It appears twice with two different meanings.

Falei que eu tinha que te acertar doze caixas. Ele falou que ia acertar.

My interpretation thus far:

I said I was going to arrange twelve boxes for you. He said he was going to ??

Someone else told me instead of "arrange" it would be "pay you for 12 boxes" and that the second part is "do it." However, I cannot find justification for this in Collins, Oxford, etc.

Or, maybe there is another option that is better than these.

Thanks.
Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
Local time: 17:13
settle up
Explanation:
"acertar contas" is to settle up

I told you I had to settle up with you for 12 boxes.
He said he would settle up.

The two phrases are not related to the same situation, are they?
Selected response from:

Edgar Potter
United States
Local time: 16:13
Grading comment
Obrigado, Mike :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4settle up
Edgar Potter
5to get right - to hit - atinar (in spanish)
Lucía Rodriguez Ilaria
5provide (you with 12 boxes)
Lilian Magalhães
4Pay for it; Take care of paying for it; Take care of it (as far as payment goes).
Tonia Wind


  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
to get right - to hit - atinar (in spanish)


Explanation:
acertar is to get something right, like "acertei a resposta"... as if it were out of luck or something.
also acertar can be "hit" in the sense of "acertar as 12 caixas", also out of luck. i told you i had to hit 12 boxes for you. he said he was going to hit them.
there are other meanings of acertar, but in your case it is the one i mentioned above. it is hard to explain though.
if you look up the word "atinar" in wordreference.com it may help you. atinar (spanish) is acertar (portuguese)

Lucía Rodriguez Ilaria
Brazil
Local time: 18:13
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
settle up


Explanation:
"acertar contas" is to settle up

I told you I had to settle up with you for 12 boxes.
He said he would settle up.

The two phrases are not related to the same situation, are they?

Edgar Potter
United States
Local time: 16:13
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Obrigado, Mike :)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Katia DG: settle up or simply pay
2 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Guilherme Vaz: I'd use "settle", plain and simple. I had to settle with you for 12 boxes.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Susy Ordaz
18 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Henrique Magalhaes
22 hrs
  -> Thanks
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Pay for it; Take care of paying for it; Take care of it (as far as payment goes).


Explanation:
I have heard this quite often for taking care of paying for something.

The option offered above (settle up) would also be a good choice.

Example sentence(s):
  • I told you I needed to settle up with you for 12 boxes. He said that he was going to take care of it.
  • He said he was going to pay for it. He said he was going to take care of paying for it.
Tonia Wind
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:13
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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2 days 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
provide (you with 12 boxes)


Explanation:
That´s the meaning.
A question about these texts you´ve been posting. Are they said by Brazilians? Some don´t seem very natural ou extremely wrong. Some Spanish words appear mixed up with Portuguese too.

Lilian Magalhães
Brazil
Local time: 18:13
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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