3 Common Mistakes Brazilians Make When Translating into English (and How to Avoid Them)

 Introduction:

If you’re a translator or a student working from Portuguese to English, you know it’s not always easy to produce a natural, fluent English text. In this post, I’ll show you three common mistakes Brazilian translators make when translating into English and how to avoid them with a few practical tips.

✅ 1. Translating word-for-word

Beginners often try to translate every word literally, assuming it’s the best way to be faithful to the original. But the result is often clunky and unnatural and sometimes doesn’t even make sense.

Example:
PT: Ele caiu na real.
❌ Wrong: He fell in the real.
✅ Natural: He came to his senses. / He had a reality check.

Tip: Be careful of expressions, they are often specific to the language. Find natural equivalents, not literal matches. Use high-quality bilingual resources, like Linguee or Reverso Context, with care and always check how native speakers actually use the phrase.

✅ 2. Using Brazilian sentence structures in English

It tends to be easier when translating to English to replicate the Portuguese sentence structure, but the result is long, wordy sentences, that use the gerund too heavily and have strange word order.

Example:
PT: Estamos trabalhando para estar entregando os resultados que você está esperando.
❌ Awkward EN: We are working to be delivering the results that you are waiting for.
✅ Clear EN: We’re aiming to produce the results you want.

Tip: It is important to be Clear and Concise in English. English tends to be more direct than Portuguese — trim the excess!

✅ 3. Ignoring audience and context

Many translators forget to adapt the tone, formality, or level of language. Informal emails become overly formal, or marketing messages lose their appeal.

Tip: Always ask yourself:

  • Who is going to read this?

  • What tone is appropriate — formal, neutral, casual?

  • What is the reader expected to understand or do?

Example: The way you translate a business proposal is not the same as a social media post or a university application.

Tip: Choice of words can be crucial. Words that are used commonly in Portuguese may have close English equivalents, but that does not mean they are used as commonly - if you use them you can make the tone more formal (e.g. using 'enter' for 'entrar', rather than 'go in')  

🧠 Final Thoughts:

Good translation is not just about vocabulary. It requires you to think like a native speaker, understand the context, and make smart, intentional choices. With practice (and feedback from natives when possible), your English translations can become truly professional.

✉️ Want more tips like this?

Follow my blog or get in touch to learn more about my coaching service for Brazilian translators who want to improve their English writing.

📩 Click here to contact me
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