Sooo, today the subject is romance. Cara-metade literally means face-half and it is the person you are romantically involved with or even the person you see as your ideal partner (even if it is imaginary or if you are waiting for someone special). For the examples, I used the similar English expression other half.
The idea behind cara-metade is quite simple: two halves of one whole. You are going to hear it in casual conversation, songs, and even wedding speeches.
A small, but important detail is:
carais a feminine noun. You will always see this expression with something like:minha, a, tua, sua, dele, dela
Let’s get to the examples:
Ela é minha cara-metade.
She is my other half.
Você é minha cara-metade.
You are my other half.
Ele ainda anda procurando sua cara-metade.
He is still looking for his other half.
Eu juro que ele é a cara-metade dela.
I swear he is her other half.
A cara-metade dele morreu em novembro.
His other half died in November.
Quero um amor de verdade, quero a minha cara-metade.
I want true love, I want my other half.
Você sempre deve dar presentes pra sua cara-metade.
You should always give gifts to your other half.
Ele nunca achou a sua cara-metade.
He never found his other half.
Você sempre vai ser a minha cara-metade.
You will always be my other half.
Quando era mais jovem, ele tava desesperado pra encontrar sua cara-metade.
When he was younger, he was desperate to find his other half.
In Brazil, this expression carries a lot of romanticism, and it’s used to refer to girlfriends, boyfriends, partners, spouses, etc. However, it may be used, it’s always romantic. So if you want to be cheesy, be sure to use it. I know that English also uses soulmate, so you probably want to know how we say that as well, but that’s for a future post. You’ll also hear cara-metade a lot in Brazilian music; it’s one of those words that shows up constantly in song lyrics. And if you like expressions that don’t translate perfectly, queimar o filme and alecrim dourado are good examples. Stay tuned. Te vejo no próximo post!