Confessing to the Priest
Disclaimer: this one is dark humour, set in the Holocaust.
A man went to the Priest for confession.
"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. During the Second World War, I hid a Jewish man in my attic."
"Well," replied the priest, "that is not a sin."
"But I made him pay for every week he stayed."
The priest replied, "That was not right, but you did it for a good cause."
The man exclaimed, "Oh, thank you; that eases my mind. I have one more question."
"What is it son?" The priest asked.
The man whispered “Tenho de lhe dizer que a guerra acabou?Do I have to tell him that the war is over?”
Click to reveal translation
Click the sentence again to see the Portuguese
The Plus version of this story
With this joke, we do not intend to lessen the horrors of war and human intolerance.
Um homem foi ter* com o padre para se confessar."Perdoa-me* Senhor, porque eu pequei. Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial*, escondi um homem judeu no meu sótão. ""Bem", respondeu o padre, "Isso não é um pecado.""Mas eu fi-lo pagar por cada semana que ficou."O padre respondeu: "Isso não foi correto, mas fê-lo* por uma boa causa."O homem exclamou: "Oh, obrigado; isso alivia-me a consciência". Tenho mais uma pergunta.""O que é, filho?" perguntou o padre.O homem sussurrou “Tenho de lhe dizer que a guerra acabou?”A man went to the Priest for confession."Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. During the Second World War, I hid a Jewish man in my attic.""Well," replied the priest, "that is not a sin.""But I made him pay for every week he stayed." The priest replied, "That was not right, but you did it for a good cause."The man exclaimed, "Oh, thank you; that eases my mind. I have one more question.""What is it, son?" the priest asked.The man whispered “do I have to tell him that the war is over?”
🔎 Words in this story
✴️ Foi ter com (went to)
In Portuguese, the phrase "ir ter com” means to go and meet with someone or to go and see someone. It is a way of saying that you are going to visit or go to the location of someone else in order to meet them. For example, you might say:
- 🤝 Eu vou ter com o meu amigo ao parque. (I am going to meet my friend at the park.)
- Vai ter comigo ao restaurante. (Go meet me at the restaurant.)
✴️ Perdoa-me (forgive me)
This is the verb “perdoar” (to forgive) conjugated in the imperative mood for the second person singular (tu). This imperative form is the same as the present simple conjugation for the third person singular (ele).
There is a Plus version of this story
The same story, taken further, for DailyNata Plus members. This one works on direct object pronouns.
- The whole story in Portuguese, and its English
- The words in it, explained, with examples
- 2 interactive exercises
Written for level B1–B2. Every story has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.