Brazilian Ways to Say Fast in Portuguese You Won’t Find in a Dictionary

If you’re wondering how to say fast in Portuguese, the short answer is “rápido,” just like in Spanish. But if you really want to sound like us, you have to go beyond that one word: here in Brazil we have a ton of ways to say fast in Portuguese that you’ll never find in a dictionary, and they’re exactly the ones we use every single day.

In this lesson I’ll teach you 14 Brazilian expressions for talking about speed, from “vapt-vupt” to “passou voando” or “num piscar de olhos.” Each one comes with example sentences so you know exactly when to use it and don’t end up sounding like a literal translation. I’ll also explain the meaning of “vapt vupt” and of sayings as Brazilian as “apressado come cru.”

Hit play on the video, read the sentences out loud, and stick around until the end: by the time you finish, you’ll have exactly the vocabulary you need to say that something happened fast in Portuguese with all the natural flair of a Brazilian. Simbora!

Video: Several Ways to Say FAST in Portuguese

List of Portuguese Sentences to Practice

PEGAR VELÔ

It means to pick up speed, to gain momentum until you’re moving fast. “Velô” comes from velocidade (speed), so it literally means “to grab speed” while something is already in motion.

• Só depois que le pegou velô descendo a ladeira que conseguiu se equilibrar na bicicleta.

How to use PEGAR in Portuguese

PEGAR EMBALO

Very similar to the previous one: it means to gain momentum or a running start. It’s used when something needs an initial push to get going and pick up speed, like push-starting a motorbike or a bicycle.

• Fiquei sem gasolina na moto, me empurra aqui pra eu tentar pegar embalo na moto pra ligá-la.

5 ways to use LIGAR

PIQUE

It has two uses: the speed or quickness with which something happens (“num pique”), and also the energy or drive you put into something (“estar no pique”). Very common in everyday life.

• O que foi que aconteceu? Eu vi o pessoal passando por aqui num pique, teve até uma pessoa que caiu no chão depois de tropeçar.
• Que bom que você já tá no pique com esse projeto, não perca o ritmo.

Article in Portuguese: Carnaval e academia: como manter o pique nas festividades

22 expressions with the verb CAIR in Portuguese

PASSOU VIRADO NO 70

This expression has two sides. The most literal one is to go by at full speed, as if you were doing 70 km/h, and it’s used mostly for cars or motorbikes that shoot past. But in Brazil we also say someone is “virado no 70” when they’re super wound up, hyped, or running on abnormal levels of energy, like they’re going “a thousand miles an hour.” The number 70 works as hyperbole, a comic exaggeration to show that the person (or the vehicle) is going way faster than normal.

• Eu escutei quando ele saiu da tua casa queimando pneu e quando passou por aqui em frente da minha casa virado no 70.
• Não adianta falar com ele agora, tá virado no 70 desde que recebeu aquela notícia.

Traffic Vocabulary in Portuguese

VIRADO NO JIRAYA

It’s a close cousin of “virado no 70” and means practically the same thing: being extremely wound up, furious, or full of intense energy. The difference is in the origin. “Virado no Jiraya” came from a Japanese tokusatsu series called “Jiraiya, o Incrível Ninja,” which aired in Brazil in the late 1980s on TV Manchete. The intensity with which the hero faced his enemies stuck in the popular imagination, and that’s how the hero’s name became a synonym for extreme readiness.

• O menino tomou um monte de refrigerante e agora tá virado no Jiraya, não para quieto de jeito nenhum.
• Depois que o time dele ganhou, ele saiu virado no Jiraya comemorando pela rua inteira.

PASSOU NAS CARREIRAS / FEZ ALGO NAS CARREIRAS

Doing something “nas carreiras” is doing it in a rush, in a hurry. It carries the idea that, because you went so fast, things usually end up badly done or half-finished.

• Quando é que você vai vir me visitar sem tá nas carreiras?
• Tá vendo aí o problema de fazer as coisas nas carreiras? fica tudo mal feito.

RÁPIDO DEMAIS

The most direct form: “too fast.” “Demais” is equivalent to “too much” or “too,” so it works for when something happens faster than you’d like.

• A avó dele sempre fala que o tempo tá passando rápido demais.

PASSOU VOANDO

Literally “flew by,” just like in Spanish. We use it a lot for time that slips away super fast, like when a nice moment ends in the blink of an eye.

• Nossa, o filme já acabou? o tempo passou voando.

NÃO DEU DOIS TEMPOS

It means something happened in no time at all, before you even noticed. “Não deu dois tempos” is like saying “not even two seconds passed” before the thing was already done and dusted.

• A comida tava tão gostosa que não deu nem dois tempos pra acabar tudo.

Difference between TUDO and TODO

VAPT VUPT

One of the most Brazilian expressions on this list. “Vapt-vupt” is an onomatopoeia that means doing something super fast, in an instant, with no delay. It’s the equivalent of “in a jiffy” or “real quick.”

• Preciso que você entre lá e resolva isso vapt-vupt, estamos quase no limite de tempo pra chegar no aeroporto pra pegar seu voo.

Sounds Brazilians make with their mouths

LIGEIRO DEMAIS

“Ligeiro” means fast or nimble, so “ligeiro demais” is too fast. It’s used a lot for the way someone walks or moves when they’re going really quickly.

• Ei, tem como andar mais devagar? você anda ligeiro demais e eu já tô ficando com o pé doendo.

NUM INSTANTE

It means “in an instant,” in a jiffy. It’s one of the most neutral and easy ways on the list to say that something happened very fast.

• – Alguém viu a cara do ladrão?
  – Infelizmente não, tudo aconteceu num instante.

NUM PISCAR DE OLHOS (very fast)

Literally “in a blink,” just like in English “in the blink of an eye.” It conveys the idea of something that happens so fast you can barely see it.

• Coloque cinto de segurança quando estiver no carro, um acidente pode acontecer num piscar de olhos.

Meanings of the verb PISCAR in Portuguese

“Nunca há tempo ou lugar para um verdadeiro amor. Ele acontece por acaso, numa batida do coração, num piscar de olhos.”
― Sarah Dessen

ELE FEZ NA HORA

“Fazer na hora” is doing something right then and there, on the spot, without making you wait. Very common for services and orders that get sorted out immediately.

• – Demora muito pra encomenda ficar pronta?
  – Não, ela faz na hora, espere aí 10 minutinhos que já fica pronta.

FOI RAPIDÃO

“Rapidão” is the affectionate augmentative of “rápido”: something that was super quick and, often, easier or shorter than expected. Super common in everyday speech.

• Eu jurava que ia demorar mó tempão pra resolver isso na prefeitura, mas na verdade foi rapidão.

MAIS QUE DEPRESSA

“Depressa” means fast or quickly, so “mais que depressa” is literally “faster than fast,” meaning in a hurry, right away, without wasting a single second. We use it when someone does something immediately, often reacting to an urgent situation or even escaping from one. Notice that it carries a tone of a quick reaction: it’s not just about going fast, but about springing into action instantly.

• Quando ouviu que tinha bolo na cozinha, a criança saiu correndo mais que depressa.
• Começou a chover forte as pessoas pegaram tudo mais que depressa pra não molhar as coisas.
• Ele viu que o chefe tava chegando e voltou pro lugar dele mais que depressa.

EXTRA

APRESSADO COME CRU

This one is a saying, not a way to say fast, but it fits perfectly here. It’s a Portuguese expression that translated into English would be something like “the hasty one eats it raw,” in other words, the person who has no patience will always end up with things “half-done,” incomplete.

• Tenha calma que a comida vai ficar pronta já já, você já conhece o ditado “apressado come cru“.

How to say AHORITA in Portuguese