Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Portuguese term or phrase:
construindo alguma coisa
English translation:
plotting / making up schemes
Added to glossary by
Michael Powers (PhD)
Jul 2, 2007 16:34
16 yrs ago
Portuguese term
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
construindo alguma coisa
Portuguese to English
Law/Patents
Slang
Brazil - illegal activities, slush funds, etc.
I have a pretty good feel as to what it means in this context; however, I would like independent input to either confirm what I am thinking or give me new perspective.
TIA - Mike :)
E a ABC sempre honrou esses compromissos, sempre no começo do ano a ABC pagava tudo e ficva com dinheiro lá fora, fazendo as movimentações, transferindo, construindo alguma coisa, na época de campanha política, quando queria ajudar os candidatos, dava dinheiro por fora, essas coisas
TIA - Mike :)
E a ABC sempre honrou esses compromissos, sempre no começo do ano a ABC pagava tudo e ficva com dinheiro lá fora, fazendo as movimentações, transferindo, construindo alguma coisa, na época de campanha política, quando queria ajudar os candidatos, dava dinheiro por fora, essas coisas
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +1 | plotting/making schemes |
Denise Miranda
|
| 5 | by building something |
José YÁÑEZ (X)
|
| 3 +2 | building something |
Clauwolf
|
| 4 | concocting/cooking up/hatching/framing things/something |
Rui Freitas
|
| 3 | creating something |
Amy Duncan (X)
|
| 3 | fabricating something |
MLeiria
|
Proposed translations
+1
19 hrs
Denise Miranda
Native in Portuguese
Reliability and Accuracy
Native in: Portuguese 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
plotting/making schemes
a suggestion, Mike! That's what I grasp from the context.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, everyone. In this paragraph, since it deals with bribery ("dava dinheiro por fora"), the most appropriate translatioin in this figurative sense is the one offered by Denise Miranda of "plotting or making up schemes". - Mike :) "
14 mins
by building something
In the sense of constructing some sort of building
1 hr
creating something
...another option.
1 hr
fabricating something
According to Houaiss:
construir:
transitivo direto
8 Derivação: sentido figurado.
inventar, armar, tramar (algo)
Ex.: c. um álibi
construir:
transitivo direto
8 Derivação: sentido figurado.
inventar, armar, tramar (algo)
Ex.: c. um álibi
10 hrs
Rui Freitas
Portugal
Portugal
Native in Portuguese
Portugal
Linguist and studying law
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: European/Portugal)
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
concocting/cooking up/hatching/framing things/something
Being in figurative sense, I think this one gives you a lot of room to play with. I, for one, could not come up with one solution. I like plenty of the choices at hand.
+2
7 mins
building something
:) I think there is a pause (a dot) after "alguma coisa", the original is not perfect
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Note added at 20 hrs (2007-07-03 13:13:59 GMT)
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To be figurative, the term would be "arquitetando", near, but different from "construindo". So, pehaps you are right; try then "making squemes" from Denise :)))))
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Note added at 20 hrs (2007-07-03 13:13:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
To be figurative, the term would be "arquitetando", near, but different from "construindo". So, pehaps you are right; try then "making squemes" from Denise :)))))
Note from asker:
| "building something" or "constructing something" would, obviously be literal translations; however, in this case, I believe it is figurative, and may mean something like "improvising" or "making something up." I don't think a literal trasnlation fits here. What do you think? |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Susy Ordaz
6 hrs
|
|
obrigado
|
|
| agree |
amj_services (X)
: During election campaigns, very often candidates build roads, schools, houses... I think the meaning here is literal.
2 days 5 hrs
|
|
obrigado
|
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