desconfiado / pé atrás

English translation: He\'s very distrustful (of everything)./He never trusts anybody. He\'s always on his guard.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:desconfiado / pé atrás
English translation:He\'s very distrustful (of everything)./He never trusts anybody. He\'s always on his guard.
Entered by: Mariana Attie

11:44 Jul 21, 2014
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Business/Commerce (general)
Portuguese term or phrase: desconfiado / pé atrás
Olá!

Como vocês traduziriam a frase: "ele é um cara desconfiado, está sempre com um pé atrás"
Mariana Attie
Brazil
Local time: 15:14
He's very distrustful (of everything)./He never trusts anybody. He's always on his guard.
Explanation:
.
Selected response from:

Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
Brazil
Grading comment
thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4He's very distrustful (of everything)./He never trusts anybody. He's always on his guard.
Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
4 +1suspicious..holding back
airmailrpl
5distrustful / skeptical or suspicious to a fault
VERLOW WOGLO JR
4suspicious / (on the) back foot
Vitor Pinteus
4wary / smells a rat
Dasher
3suspicious / he is afraid he may smell a rat
Claudio Mazotti


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
suspicious..holding back


Explanation:
"ele é um cara desconfiado, está sempre com um pé atrás" =>
"He is a suspicious guy, he is always holding back"

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 19:14
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 90

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mario Freitas: or hesitating
3 hrs
  -> agradeço
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
He's very distrustful (of everything)./He never trusts anybody. He's always on his guard.


Explanation:
.

Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
Brazil
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 69
Grading comment
thanks!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Paul Brown
2 mins

agree  Lumen (X)
18 mins

agree  Verginia Ophof
20 mins

agree  Paulinho Fonseca
28 mins
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
suspicious / he is afraid he may smell a rat


Explanation:
www.thefreedictionary.com/suspicious
Definition of suspicious in the Online Dictionary. Meaning of suspicious. Pronunciation of suspicious. Translations of suspicious. suspicious synonyms, ...
‎Suspiciously - ‎Suspicious - ‎Unsuspicious - ‎Encyclopedia

www.collinsdictionary.com › English Dictionary
But even people who are enjoying their discounted power may smell a rat ... Knowing that you are my husband they may smell a rat , if you'll pardon the phrase.

Claudio Mazotti
Brazil
Works in field
Native speaker of: Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 74

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  airmailrpl: I wonder what a rat smells like??..My friends had pet rats and the animals didn't smell bad - but the cages were another story
2 hrs
  -> try one and you will know...lol
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
suspicious / (on the) back foot


Explanation:
A tradução da frase toda: "he's a suspicious guy, he's always on the back foot"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2014-07-21 12:07:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A expressão "estar com um pé atrás" é uma expressão idiomática, cujo equivalente em EN julgo que é "to be on the back foot".
Vd. tb estes links:
1. http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=614434
2. http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/on-the-b...
3. http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/on the back fo...


    Reference: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/on-the-...
    Reference: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_the_back_foot
Vitor Pinteus
Portugal
Local time: 23:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 16
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
wary / smells a rat


Explanation:
"pé-atrás" é um regionalismo brasileiro, quer dizer que o "cara" é desconfiado. Portanto, a tradução do texto também exige um "idiom" para a sua correta tradução.

Deste modo, uma tradução possível para "ele é um cara desconfiado, está sempre com um pé-atrás" seria: "he's a wary guy, he’s always smelling a rat around".


Dasher
Brazil
Local time: 19:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira: Não, o substantivo pé-atrás veio da expressão com o pé atrás, não registrada em nenhum lugar como brasileirismo. E smell a rat não é uma linguagem, é uma expressão idiomática. De qualquer forma, nada disto é relevante.
14 mins
  -> Bem observado, Luciano "... com um pé atrás", sem hífen. Entretanto, a referida locução continua sendo um brasileirismo, derivada do subst. “pé-atrás”, assim como "smell a rat" é uma linguagem, um “idiom” dos americanos, pelo que fica mantida a tradução.

neutral  airmailrpl: I wonder what a rat smells like??
35 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
distrustful / skeptical or suspicious to a fault


Explanation:
suggestion

"to a fault"
So much that it is almost bad. He is suspicious of people to a fault and will not say anything unless it is absolute necessary.


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Note added at 4 horas (2014-07-21 15:47:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I would suggest: He is quite distrustful and choosy when it comes to trusting people.

VERLOW WOGLO JR
Brazil
Local time: 19:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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