Playing with Fire

O meu pai dizia-me sempre: "Combate o fogo com fogo." Ele era um grande homem, mas um péssimo bombeiro.

My father used to always tell me, "Fight fire with fire." He was a great man, but a terrible fireman.

Today's vocabulary

🗣️ Dizia-me: Used to tell me ⚔️ Combater: To fight🔥 Fogo [masc. noun]: Fire📏 Grande [masc. and femin. adjective]: Great, big👨 Homem [masc. noun]: Man💀 Péssimo [masc. adjective]: Terrible👨‍🚒 Bombeiro [masc. noun]: Firefighter

A mini lesson on ‘fogo’:

‘Fogo’ literally means ‘fire,’ but let’s look at how it shows up in real Portuguese.

The element: Real fire

Let’s start with the basic meaning of ‘fogo’, the element that produces flames and heat.

• 🔥 O fogo começou na cozinha. (The fire started in the kitchen.)
• 🚒 O fogo alastrou-se rapidamente. (The fire spread quickly.)

This meaning refers to real, physical fire, whether in everyday occurrences like cooking fires or larger events such as wildfires.

Fiery expressions: Using ‘fogo’ as an interjection

In Portuguese, ‘fogo’ is often used as a sharp exclamation to express strong reactions. It's a quick and versatile way to convey feelings like surprise, frustration, or amazement in everyday conversations.

• 😮 Fogo! Que confusão! (Damn! What a mess!)
• 😓 Fogo, isto está difícil. (Jeez, this is hard.)
• 😲 Fogo, que sorte! (Wow, what luck!)

It shows surprise, frustration, or admiration. Just one word: ‘Fogo!’. The tone of voice says the rest.

📍If you have time, check out Expressions of Surprise and Portuguese Slang in Story [#371 Plus] Attention Not Found.

Related words: All about flames and heat

There’s a whole group of words linked to ‘fogo’. These help describe what happens when something burns.

A fogueira (the bonfire)

• 🌅 Vamos fazer uma fogueira na praia. (Let’s make a bonfire on the beach.)

A chama (the flame)

• 🕯️ A chama da vela é muito fraca. (The candle’s flame is very weak.)

O fumo (the smoke)

• 🌫️ Há muito fumo na sala. (There’s a lot of smoke in the room.)

A cinza (the ash)

• 🪨 Só ficaram as cinzas. (Only ashes were left.)

O incêndio (the blaze/fire)

• 🏚️ O incêndio destruiu três casas. (The fire destroyed three houses.)

Arder (to burn)

• 🚗 O carro ainda está a arder. (The car is still burning.)

Queimar (to burn something)

• 🍞 Queimei a mão no forno. (I burned my hand on the oven.)

A queimadura (the burn)

• 🩹 Ele tem uma queimadura no braço. (He has a burn on his arm.)

Apagar (to put out/extinguish)

• 💧 O bombeiro conseguiu apagar o fogo. (The firefighter managed to put out the fire.)

Expressions related to fire

Here are some colourful expressions:

Brincar com o fogo (To play with danger)

• 🧨 Estás a brincar com o fogo se continuares assim. (You’re playing with fire if you keep doing that.)

Pôr lenha na fogueira (To stir things up or make it worse)

• 🪵 Estás sempre a pôr lenha na fogueira. (You’re always making it worse.)

Fogo de artifício (fireworks)

• 🎆 Logo à noite quero ir ver o fogo de artifício. (Later tonight I want to go see the fireworks.)