10 Brazilian Expressions With Numbers You Need to Know

Zero à esquerdaLiterally: zero on the leftMeaning: unsuccessful person

Duas cabeças pensam melhor que uma Two heads are better than one

Trocar seis por meia dúziaSix of one and half a dozen of the other

Matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada sóLiterally: kill two rabbits with one blowMeaning: kill two birds with one stone

(Ser o/a) número umThe best, the number one

Ser 8 ou 80 Literally: to be 8 or 80Meaning: black and white. Absolutely right or wrong, good or bad.

Um é pouco, dois é bom, três é demaisTwo’s company, three’s a crowd

Aos quatro ventosTo be scattered to the four winds

Quando um não quer dois não brigam Literally: when one doesn’t want two won’t argue Meaning: it takes two to tango

171Slang associated with the 171 section of the Brazilian Criminal Code which refers to fraud. It’s used to describe a dishonest person.