"Você precisa dançar conforme a música."
Translation:You have to dance to the music.
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Ok? Can I get more explination for the Portuguese? Is this like a "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" or what? I'll look up the English in a bit, as I don't recognize it. It sounds like a song verse.
yes, that's it! you have to act the way the situation you are in demands you to...
It's the idiom dance to somebody's tune, which means to always do what someone tells you to do, whether you agree with it or not (by Farlex).
By the way, I've just reported that version because it's not accepted yet (24/03/2014).
Both of TerraZe's suggestions seem to work better idiomatically than the suggestion given "you have to dance according to the music" just seems to be a literal translation - I've never heard it used as an idiom in English, at any rate. I much prefer, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do!" or "You just have to go with the flow!"
So basically "act in in a way to not conflict with majority". Often, we simply say "When in Rome", but it while it means the same thing, it is used when out of your social norm. Cool, thanks.
Okay. That's not really an idiom in English... But I guess it's a valid metaphor.
Interestingly, I've heard a more literal translation of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" in portuguese. The other guy was highly drunk though so I have no idea what he actually said (he mumbled and my portuguese is far from good. I'm in southern Brazil btw)
I think "Quando em Roma faça como os romanos" is more used when you are in another country, state or city and have to adapt yourself to the new habits. "Você precisa dançar conforme a música" is more used with the sense of "going with the flow"
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Literally, sure, but not figuratively. "When in Rome..." and "go with the flow" are much more common here.
I used "you need to go with the flow" and it said it was incorrect, was I right to report it? it's very similar to the spanish "bailar al son que toquen"
I think you were definitely right to report it. And thanks for thanks for the Spanish version - I get to improve both languages at once, great!
Do portuguese speakers ever use this phrase? The translation is rubbish but no change there.
guys, these are different meanings. "When in Rome" is a piece of advice. "To dance to somebody's tune" is to act under someone's control to some degree. Which is it?
It's more of a "go with the flow", but shares some nuances with "when in rome". I'm not familiar with an excursion "dance to someone's tune"
"Dance to the tune.", or, "Dance to the fiddler." may be more common than using the word "music". Perhaps this might even be, "Face the music.".
‘Face the music’ is used more when a situation you're in is playing out in a bad way but you can't ignore it and you have to face it. This is used especially when the consequences of you actions have turned out badly or if you're to receive a beratement or punishment.
After the minister read the news of the corruption scandal in the papers, he knew he would have to face the music.
Rather than face the music, the discredited celebrity fled the country and changed his name.
It's often encountered as ‘time to face the music’, spoken by the unfortunate individual himself.
But this proverb seems to be more like ‘go with the flow’.
"Go with the flow," or as suggested in another comment, "Get with the progam," are much better idiomatic English translations. The other idiomatic phrases being discussed in the comments (when in Rome, face the music, etc.) do not fit the meaning of the Portuguese phrase and should be ignored.
This is also slowly fading from American English, last I heard it was a LONG time ago. It means when in whatever situation (and it's usually sudden and unpredicted) you have to go with the flow sort of. You can't really fight it, but it's not the end.
why there is "go by the board" in the hint to "dançar"? i'm not an english speaker and i was confused by that
I don't know either. "To go by the board" means to let something go, fail, or fall to pieces, usually metaphorically. "He let everything go by the board when he started drinking".
There is a remarkably similar Italian expression that goes "Ora che [/visto che] siamo in ballo, balliamo [/dobbiamo ballare]!" = "Now the dance has begun [lit. we got into the dance], let's dance". It means once things have become such you have no choice but go with the flow. I'm not sure it's perfectly equivalent to the Portuguese expression though, as that seems to have a more general meaning. I'd love to hear the advice of a native speaker about this: is it always used on its own or can it sometimes have a "now" or "since it's come to this" beginning?
Yeh, get on with it. Go with the flow. Your in it now, don't buck it. Don't raise waves. Keep your mouth shut and just fit in for the moment. It will all come out in the end.
Alternately I think that it could imply that you chose the music, you set up the circumstances, so now don't complain. Live with the consequences.
It also might imply that you caused the inconvenience for others, so suffer along with them.
I said "You have do dance in accord with the music" - That seems right to me - just a bit of a clunky way of saying it.
