Dar as Caras: What Does This Informal Portuguese Phrase Mean — Practice
A guided practice lesson with English explanations, Brazilian Portuguese examples, and answers you can check. Read the examples, recall the meaning, then say a version of your own.
Use dar as caras for someone who appears
Dar as caras means to show up, appear, or make an appearance. It is informal and often used when a person has been absent or has not appeared for a while. Depending on tone, it can sound playful, surprised, or mildly critical.
Conjugate dar: dou as caras (I show up), deu as caras (he or she appeared), and deram as caras (they showed up). The expression usually refers to people, but it can also describe something finally appearing or becoming visible.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| O vizinho deu as caras depois de meses. | The neighbor finally showed up after months. |
| Você vai dar as caras na festa hoje? | Are you going to show up at the party today? |
| O sol deu as caras depois da chuva. | The sun finally came out after the rain. |
Use tone carefully when someone has been absent
Because the expression can suggest that someone took a long time to appear, it may sound teasing or reproachful. In a polite invitation or formal message, aparecer, chegar, or vir is usually safer.
Use it with friends when the casual tone fits. If you only mean that someone arrived, chegar is direct and does not imply that the person was missing.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Ele apareceu para a reunião às nove. | He arrived for the meeting at nine. |
| Até que enfim você deu as caras! | You finally showed up! |
| A equipe chegou antes do início do evento. | The team arrived before the event began. |
Remember: Use dar as caras informally for showing up or appearing; choose chegar or aparecer when you want a neutral tone.
Check your understanding
Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.
Recall the Portuguese, then say it
Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.
The neighbor finally showed up after months.
Show a Portuguese answer
O vizinho deu as caras depois de meses.
Are you going to show up at the party today?
Show a Portuguese answer
Você vai dar as caras na festa hoje?
The sun finally came out after the rain.
Show a Portuguese answer
O sol deu as caras depois da chuva.
He arrived for the meeting at nine.
Show a Portuguese answer
Ele apareceu para a reunião às nove.
You finally showed up!
Show a Portuguese answer
Até que enfim você deu as caras!
The team arrived before the event began.
Show a Portuguese answer
A equipe chegou antes do início do evento.
Make the phrase useful to you
Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.
Use dar as caras informally for showing up or appearing; choose chegar or aparecer when you want a neutral tone.
Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.
Sources and your next lesson
This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Dar as Caras: What Does This Informal Portuguese Phrase Mean? lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.
To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.
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