Fio in Portuguese: Thread, Fio Dental, Por um Fio and More

Fio in Portuguese means "thread": sewing thread, dental floss, even the electrical wire running through your house. But here in Brazil we use this simple little word in a lot more situations, from expressions like por um fio and fio da meada to a super casual way of saying "son."

So, what does fio mean exactly? The fio meaning changes with context, and in this lesson I walk you through each one, with sentences to practice, the meaning of fio terra (careful, it has a double meaning) and other Portuguese expressions with fio you'll hear on the street. And if you're wondering how to spell it: it's fio, with an O at the end, even though we pronounce it like "FEE-oo."

Watch the video first and then practice with the sentences below. That way all the different uses of fios in Portuguese stop being a mystery and you start sounding like one of us.

Video: Ways to Use FIO in Portuguese

In this video I show you the different uses of fio in Portuguese, from sewing thread all the way to fio terra, with the real pronunciation we use in Brazil. Watch it until the end, because that's where the bonus content is, the stuff you won't find in any grammar book.

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Sentences with FIO in Portuguese to Practice

These are the expressions with fio in Portuguese you'll hear the most in Brazil, each one with its meaning in English and a real sentence to practice. Read them out loud: that way you lock in the context, not just the translation.

Here are some sentences to put into practice what you saw in the video about the word FIO in Portuguese.

Fio da meada

Perder o fio da meada means to lose your train of thought, to lose track of what you were saying or doing; a "meada" is a skein of yarn or thread. We also say pegar o fio da meada or puxar o fio da meada when we pick something back up or figure out where a problem started.

• Agora eu perdi o fio da meada contando a história, tem como desligar essa televisão pra eu não me distrair?

MIJAR / MIAR

Heads up: "meada" in Portuguese is a skein of thread and has nothing to do with peeing, even though it looks a lot like "mijada." Since so many students ask me how to say "pee" in Brazil, I'll clear it up right here.

Important detail: don't mix up "mijar" with "miar." "MIAR" is what a cat does, to "meow."

If you want to say "to pee" in Portuguese, the word is "mijar"; it's very informal and, depending on the situation, it can sound rude.

• Vou mijar antes de pegar a estrada.
• Já dei uma mijada antes de sair porque sei que pra encontrar banheiro por lá é mais difícil.

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Fio dental

Fio dental is dental floss for cleaning between your teeth, but in Brazil it's also the name for a thong bikini, the kind that's tiny in the back. That's why context is everything: buying fio dental at the pharmacy is not the same as wearing one at the beach.

• Você usa fio dental antes ou depois de escovar os dentes?
• Ela me falou que vai comprar um biquíni com fio dental pra se bronzear melhor.

Article in Portuguese: Fio dental: os benefícios desse cuidado para a saúde oral

Fio de cabelo

A fio de cabelo is a single hair, just one strand. For all the hair on your head we simply say "cabelo," and "fios" shows up a lot in shampoo ads, like in "fios mais fortes" (stronger strands).

• O assassino só foi pego porque encontraram um fio de cabelo na cena do crime e fizeram um teste de DNA.

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Por um fio

Por um fio means "by a hair" or "barely": something that almost happened but didn't. We also say estar por um fio when something is hanging by a thread, about to break or come to an end. If you want more, I have a lesson with other ways to say almost in Portuguese, like "por um triz" and "tirar um fino."

• Lembro que essa empresa não faliu por um fio, a crise bateu forte neles.

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Fio 30 / Fio 60

In Brazil, the fio number tells you how thick the yarn used to weave the fabric is: the higher the number, the finer and softer the fabric. It's a really common term when you're ordering custom T-shirts or uniforms.

• Você vai fazer o pedido das camisas fio 30 ou fio 60?

Fiapo

Fiapo is lint or a loose thread, that little strand that keeps coming off your clothes or a piece of fabric. We use it a lot to complain about low-quality clothing.

• Não gostei muito do tecido dessa camisa porque tá sempre saindo fiapo.

Fio terra

In electricity, fio terra is the ground wire, and it protects you from electric shocks, especially with the electric showerheads that are so common in Brazil. But watch out, because fio terra also has a meaning with a double sense.

• Você já colocou o fio terra na instalação do chuveiro?

Article in Portuguese: Choque elétrico no chuveiro: Eu poderia morrer no banho?

Fio de azeite

A fio de azeite is a drizzle of olive oil, that small amount that pours out in a thin stream. Useful detail: "azeite" is olive oil, while regular cooking oil in Brazil is "óleo."

• Pra assar esse queijo é só colocar um fio de azeite na frigideira.

Fio de cobre

Fio de cobre is copper wire, the kind used in electrical installations. In Brazil we use "fio" for the wiring inside the house and "cabo" for the cables on devices, like a "cabo USB."

• Você viu a reportagem que passou sobre pessoas que estão roubando instalações elétricas pra vender fio de cobre?

All the electrical "fios" together are called "fiação" (wiring).

Fio / Filho / Fi

Fio and fi are informal ways of saying filho (son), really typical of Minas Gerais and the Brazilian countryside. We use them to talk to a friend, kind of like saying "son," "buddy" or "bro" in English.

• E aí filho, tudo em ordem?
• E aí fio, tudo beleza?
• E aí fi, tudo em cima?

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Só o pó

Só o pó means being completely wiped out, with zero energy left, running on fumes. It doesn't have fio in it, but I'm including it here because it means almost the same thing as the next expression.

• Nossa cara, ontem à noite cheguei em casa só o pó, só acordei hoje à tarde e ainda com vontade de dormir mais.

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Só o fio da rabiola

Só o fio da rabiola also means being exhausted, wrecked or sick; the "rabiola" is the tail of a kite. It's a very informal expression you'll hear in relaxed conversations.

• Já que você tá só o fio da rabiola, fique em casa descansando que mais tarde a gente passa por aqui pra te pegar.

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Fazer a fio

A fio means continuously, nonstop or in a row. That's why we say horas a fio, dias a fio or anos a fio for something that went on for a long time without a break, like "for hours on end."

• Ela passou uns 5 meses fazendo isso a fio até que finalmente deu certo.

Meio-fio

Meio-fio is the curb, the stone or concrete edge between the sidewalk and the street. Be careful when you park, because your rims will pay the price.

• Ele pagou mais de 10 mil reais no jogo de rodas do carro dele e no primeiro dia que foi estacionar já arranhou uma no meio-fio.

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EXTRA

Here are the double-meaning uses of fio that you won't find in textbooks, but you will hear on the street. These are informal and even vulgar expressions, so only use them with people you're really close to and in the right context.

Fiofó

An informal expression for the *.

• Já viu a quantidade de coisas nessas sexy shop pra colocar no fiofó?

Fio terra

In this case, it's an expression meaning someone put a finger in the *.

Article in Portuguese: Fio terra dá prazer ao homem e não define sexualidade; como superar o tabu?

Enfiar

Enfiar means to stick or shove something in, often by force, and it comes from the same family as fio: originally it meant to put the thread through the needle. In everyday life we use it for everything, from cramming clothes into a suitcase to shoving your hands in your pockets.

• Não sei como você conseguiu enfiar tanta roupa numa mala tão pequena.

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