What Does Vadiar Mean in Portuguese? Vadiar, Vadia and Vadear Explained

If you landed here looking for the vadiar meaning, here's the short version: in Brazil, vadiar means to loaf around, do nothing or wander aimlessly, but depending on the context it can also mean having a fling with someone. That's why we Brazilians pay close attention to how, and with whom, we use this verb.

Vadiar comes from "vadio" (an idler or slacker), and that's also where "vadia" comes from, a word a lot of people look up after hearing it in Brazilian shows, telenovelas and songs. Heads up: the vadia meaning in Brazil goes way beyond "lazy woman". It's a harsh sexist insult, roughly like calling someone a "slut" or a "tramp" in English, so it's better to understand it than to use it.

In this post I'll walk you through what vadiar means in Portuguese with real everyday sentences, what vadia means and why it's offensive, vadiar vs vadear (which means to wade across a river) and a video so you can hear how we say it in Brazil.

What Does VADIAR Mean in Portuguese

Vadiar means to loaf around, laze about or wander aimlessly, without working or studying. That's how we use it almost all the time in Brazil, but the verb has other meanings that change with the context:

• To loaf around or do nothing: Ele largou o emprego e agora só quer vadiar.
• To wander aimlessly: Passei a tarde vadiando pelo centro da cidade.
• To play or have fun, especially when talking about kids: As crianças ficaram vadiando no quintal até escurecer.
• To have a fling or a casual affair (informal): Dizem que ele vadiava com uma colega do trabalho.
• To play capoeira: in capoeira angola rodas we say "vamos vadiar" to invite people to play.

Watch the conjugation: vadiar is a regular verb (eu vadio, ele vadia, nós vadiamos, and the gerund is vadiando), so "ele vadia" is just the conjugated verb and has nothing to do with the insult "vadia" that I explain further down.

If you want to know what we say in Brazil when someone hooks up with another person with no strings attached, check out these expressions with FICAR in Portuguese.

Video: The Meaning of the Verb VADIAR in Portuguese

In this video I explain the meaning of vadiar in Portuguese with everyday examples, so you can hear the Brazilian pronunciation and understand which context calls for each meaning of the verb without getting mixed up.

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Sentences with the Verb VADIAR in Portuguese

These sentences with vadiar in Portuguese show the most common use of the verb in Brazil: talking about someone who doesn't study, doesn't work or doesn't take anything seriously. Also notice "vadiagem", the noun that comes from the same verb.

• Os pais dele já não sabem o que fazer, ele só quer saber de vadiar, já foi reprovado 3 vezes.
• Ele sempre vadiava no colégio mas mesmo assim no final das contas terminou conseguindo um ótimo trabalho e se deu bem na vida.

Different ways to use MESMO in Portuguese.

Useful Portuguese expressions for work.

• Ontem saiu uma reportagem dizendo que a vadiagem entre adolescentes está crescendo muito, eles não ligam pra nada.

Different ways to use LIGAR in Portuguese.

Quotes and Sayings with VADIAR in Portuguese

In songs and inspirational quotes, vadiar loses its negative tone and becomes about enjoying life at your own pace, like in this line by Charlie Brown Jr., a hugely popular rock band in Brazil. If you like learning this way, check out my Brazilian songs in Portuguese with lyrics.

"Vamos viver, e cantar, não importa aqui seja o dia; vamos viver, vadiar, o que importa é nossa alegria."

- Charlie Brown Jr

What Is VADIAGEM in Portuguese

Vadiagem is the noun form of vadiar: the habit of living without a job or any occupation, what in English we'd call idleness or, in legal terms, vagrancy. Today we use it to criticize someone who does nothing, but in Brazil this word also carries a very heavy historical weight.

And don't confuse it with "ócio", which in Portuguese can be something positive, as I explain in the post about lazer and ócio in Portuguese.

Lei da Vadiagem: When Being Jobless Was a Crime in Brazil

The "Lei da Vadiagem" (Vagrancy Law) is the popular name for the Brazilian laws that punished with jail time anyone who was able to work but had no job or income. It was a tool of social control used mainly against Black and poor people after the abolition of slavery.

• 1830: the Código Criminal do Império (the Empire's Criminal Code) already punished the so-called "vadios".
• 1890: two years after the abolition of slavery (1888), the Republic's Penal Code made vadiagem a crime and also banned capoeira.
• 1941: during Getúlio Vargas's Estado Novo, vadiagem moved to article 59 of the Lei das Contravenções Penais, with a sentence of 15 days to 3 months in prison.

The most striking part is that this article survived for more than 80 years in Brazilian law, and the Senate has debated a bill to repeal it for good.

That's why, when you hear "vamos vadiar" in a capoeira roda, there's a lot of history behind it: the word that was once used to throw people in jail is now, for many capoeiristas, a synonym for playing, celebrating and resisting.

Vadiar vs Vadear: What's the Difference

Vadiar (with an I) means to loaf around, while vadear (with an E) means to wade across a river through its shallowest part. In Brazil they sound almost the same because we often pronounce that E like an I (the "ee" sound in "see"), which is why so many people mix them up when writing.

• Ele passou o fim de semana inteiro vadiando.
• Tivemos que vadear o rio pra chegar na cachoeira.

And if you searched for "vadeia", it's just the verb vadear conjugated (ele vadeia o rio), nothing to do with "vadia".

What Does VADIA Mean in Portuguese

Vadia is the feminine form of "vadio" (idler, slacker), but in Brazil it's almost never used that way: today it's a harsh sexist insult aimed at women. If you want to understand how insults and xingamentos work, check out the difference between berrar and xingar in Portuguese.

It's the same as saying vagabunda, a woman who gets involved with lots of people in a short period of time.

In fact, there are several insults aimed at women.

• Vaca
• Puta
• Vagabunda
• Perua
• Cachorra
• Piranha

There's an interesting article in Portuguese that covers this topic in more detail.

Article: 18 insults that reveal sexism in society.

Learn the most common Brazilian Portuguese swear words and insults.

On O Pensador you'll find more examples with the verb VADIAR.

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