Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Portuguese term or phrase:
ficar com alguém
English translation:
kiss, hug and touch someone; [other translations possible; see DB comments]
Portuguese term
United States
BA in Transl., MA in ESL, 15 yrs of exp.
Native in: Portuguese 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Spanish to Portuguese, and 2 more.
ficar com alguém
Ficar com alguém - Na cultura brasileira, a expressão “ficar com alguém” é o estágio anterior ao namoro propriamente dito. Ficar designa uma relação afetiva sem compromisso em que, normalmente, não tem associada uma componente de fidelidade, já que a sua natureza é, normalmente, passageira. Pode resumir-se a um encontro de apenas um dia ou uma noite ou prolongar-se por tempo indeterminado, porém, não muito longo.
O ficar costuma ser o estágio anterior ao namoro, em que as duas pessoas envolvidas se conhecem mais profundamente antes de iniciar uma relação mais séria.
A maior diferença entre ficar e namorar é que, como dito acima, ficar é uma relação sem compromisso; já namorar envolve, necessariamente, compromisso. -- Do site Curso Vila Brasil
I've seen two translations for this idiom, one of which is questionable. Here they are:
1. hook up with someone
https://blog.influx.com.br/como-se-diz-ficar-com-alguem-em-i...
2. hold someone down (sic) - (found in the KOG) I haven't found any reference(s) that would convince me this is a good translation. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hold somebody down
Any other option(s) besides "hook up with someone"? Thank you all in advance.
| 5 +1 | Hook up with someone |
Bruno Pavesi
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| 4 +2 | going out with |
Nick Taylor
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| 4 +2 | seeing someone |
Muriel Vasconcellos
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| 5 | fooling around or keeping it casual |
Kleber Pereira
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| 4 | friends with benefits |
Paul Mielke
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Nov 28, 2021 12:17: Oliver Simões Created KOG entry
Nov 28, 2021 12:22: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "ficar com alguém"" to ""kiss and touch; hook up; make out; have (casual) sex with; see someone; fool around; hang out (?)""
Nov 28, 2021 12:23: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "ficar com alguém"" to ""kiss and touch; [other translations are possible; see DB comments]""
Nov 28, 2021 12:26: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "ficar com alguém"" to ""kiss and touch someone; [other translations are possible; see DB comments]""
Nov 28, 2021 12:41: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "ficar com alguém"" to ""kiss and touch someone; [other translations possible; see DB comments]""
Proposed translations
Brazil
Translations in marketing and gaming
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian) , English (Variant: US)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Hook up with someone
I've attached a source from the UrbanDictionary explaining the meaning of a hook up. I believe it matches with "ficar".
| agree |
Simone Taylor
3 hrs
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| neutral |
Muriel Vasconcellos
: In the link that you post, it simply means to have sex. In my experience, it can be a one-nighter. This term is confusing because it can also simply mean meeting someone for any purpose.
16 hrs
|
Netherlands
Science, Biotech, Health, Technical, Env
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English
fooling around or keeping it casual
United States
ATA Certified ES>EN, PT>EN Translator
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English
friends with benefits
https://www.insider.com/how-long-you-should-date-someone-before-you-make-it-official-2018-7
| Thank you. This idiom translates into PT-Br as "amizade colorida". https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-express-the-English-term-friends-with-benefits-in-Portuguese |
Portuguese to English, English to Portug
Native in: English 
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
going out with
| agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos
11 hrs
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Cheers Muriel
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| agree |
Charles R. Castleberry
16 hrs
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Thanks Charles
|
United States
Each translation a gem!
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
seeing someone
What does it mean to be seeing each other?
"Seeing each other," means that you are involved with someone. You're not necessarily exclusive, but you're interested in the possibility. Think of it as seeing about someone. If you're "seeing someone" you can still be "dating" others."
WHAT DOES been seeing someone mean?
People like to use the term "seeing someone" when their romance is budding. This allows for them to let those around them know that they are extremely interested in someone else and not open to dating other people.
The rest of this entry is copied from the following link:
vhttp://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-be... :
Dating vs Seeing Someone
For most people the difference between dating and seeing someone refers to the level of commitment agreed upon by the couple. While this isn’t an exact scientific definition, it is applied by the majority.
Seeing someone usually applies to the beginning of a new relationship. It usually indicates a heightened level of interest, and even offers subtle speculation that it may turn into a serious, committed relationship. It’s not always easy to tell the initial meaning of ‘seeing someone’, but at the very least, you know that if someone refers to your relationship that way you are definitely on their radar map.
Dating tends to imply that the relationship has grown into a much more serious endeavor. It is often marked by the willingness to discuss fidelity, and it usually evolves over a period of time.
In either case, monogamy cannot be assumed unless it has specifically been spoken about. Many people confuse the idea of dating with monogamy. Having a monogamous relationship is a choice that not every committed couple will make.
Dating can be used to describe a different function as well. When someone has chosen to see several people at a time, to make a selection, we refer to it as dating. Dating can mean absolute no commitment, and can refer to someone’s lifestyle choices. In cases like this, it is usually rather easy to tell the difference by inference. People who are dating numerous men or women tend to be up front about their exploits, at least to their friends, if not to their partners.
| agree |
Charles R. Castleberry
3 hrs
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Thank you, Charles!
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| agree |
Nick Taylor
: of course - are you seeing anyone at the moment? (not directed at you :-) ho ho
5 hrs
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Thank you, Nick!
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Discussion
"Ficar is to ‘see someone’ or to ‘date someone casually’. There are several layers to this – you can either ficar com or sem compromiso – the former where you are seeing one person exclusively and the latter is when you are seeing someone without any commitment." - 12 Beautiful Ways to Say I Love You in Brazilian Portuguese, https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/12-...
An American mother on her daughter's experience while living in a small town in Brazil:
"We’d been warned by Brazilian friends at home that it was common practice at parties to be asked by someone you’d just met if you wanted to make out. 'Quer ficar comigo?' No strings attached." https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/love-humor/the-laid-ba...
"Not necessarily one night, but let's say it starts with a kiss, but you are not dating her yet (it's not serious and you may not even know her personally, it usually ends just after that). IF you get to ficar with her again for a couple days or weeks, you could say it is getting serious and it's basically dating." - https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/4734728
An internet user (nicknamed Alter Ego) points out that "ficar" means "transar" ("to have sex") in Receife (Pernambuco): "Estive recentemente visitando a terra natal (Recife), e aprendi algumas expressoes novas incorporadas ao nosso belo Idioma. "Ficar" com alguem, significa (transar). Fazer amor sem compromisso algum."
William Stein points out that Brazilian teenagers "are usually sexually active very young by American standards" (probably true), but in another comment he reveals his ignorance of Portuguese and the word in question: "You don't understand what I said. I said the word "F***", which is very well known internationally, does not exist in Portuguese (sic), so maybe the Brazilians chose a similar Portugeuse word to have the same meaning (sic)" (expletive edited). https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ficar-com-alguém.248...
POSSIBLE TRANSLATIONS (context-specific, meaning varies from person to person):
kiss and touch; kiss, hug and touch; hook up; make out; have (casual) sex with; see someone; fool around
"Hang out has two meanings. The first meaning is to spend free time with people you know, relaxing and having a good time. (...)" https://www.elitedaily.com/dating/what-does-hanging-out-mean
"How likely are you to talk or hang out with a stranger?" https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/23jyvq/how_likel...
Most of the dictionary definitions I found don't specify the level of closeness or the people one can hang out with, but a Google search retrieved close to 10 million results for <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q="hang out with friends""... out with friends</a>, so I'm afraid the answer is YES!!! I'm just not sure about the definition in the Urban Dictionary. I haven't found it anywhere else. Anyway, I find it to be the closest to ficar, which can go either way:
- ficou com um amigo: https://www.google.com/search?q="ficou com um amigo"
- ficou com um cara estranho: https://www.google.com/search?q="ficou com um cara estranho"
You can hang out with someone you don't know. It's completely impersonal. 'Hand out' simply means not doing anything in particular. Just sitting around talking.
“hang out: Less serious than getting together or dating. Spending time with someone in the context of friendship or in the context of casually exploring whether you like someone as just a friend or maybe more than a friend. [Examples:] I'm gonna hang out with my best friend this weekend. We should hang out some time.” https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hang out
In the following example from Reverso, “hang out with” has been translated as “ficar com”, but IMO it could also mean “be with” or “go out with”.
I don't know why you hang out with her.
Eu não sei como consegue ficar com ela.
https://context.reverso.net/translation/english-portuguese/h...
Most of the dictionaries, however, tend to define “hanging out” as “spending time in a place or with somebody”, some of them add that this is done “socially” or for “entertainment” purposes. WordReference also has an example in this sense:
Since he got a girlfriend he's stopped hanging out with his friends.
Desde que ele arrumou uma namorada, parou de sair com os amigos dele. https://www.wordreference.com/enpt/hang out with
In regards to "fool around": engage in sexual activity casually or with someone other than one's spouse or partner" (Lexico.com)
As far as "seeing someone", here are some definitions:
"date someone" (Idiom Connection)
"This is the beginning stage of the relationship and is not as serious as ‘dating’." (AskAnyDifference.com)
"having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone" (Macmillan)
"Ficar: Namorar sem compromisso [ti. + com : Nas festas, sempre ficava com alguém.] [int.: Esses dois ficaram uma única vez.] " English translation: date without a commitment. (It’s very unlikely that one-time ficantes would ever say they are "dating"!)
date: go out with (someone in whom one is romantically or sexually interested). (Lexico.com)
Now let's say these same people met at the party then decided to do the "ficar" thing. Example: "Maria ficou com João na festa da Teresa." Can we say Maria "went out with" João to Teresa's party when they were already out (of their homes) by the time they met? (Eles saíram primeiro de suas casas, "ficar" foi uma consequência de terem se conhecido na festa.) IMHO: "go out with" translates better as "sair com"!
Thank you all for your suggestions. I decided to close without grading at this point. If I find an acceptable translation, I'll post it at a later date. (no pun intended)
Some further definitions of "make out" for comparison purposes:
- "If two people are making out, they are engaged in sexual activity. [mainly US, informal] (Collins)
- "to kiss and touch in a sexual way, or to succeed in having sex with someone" (Cambridge)
- "to engage in sexual intercourse" (Merriam-Webster)
- "kiss and caress amorously" (Lexico.com/Oxford)
The Oxford definition is corroborated by this Wiki on "How to Make Out", which seems pretty vanilla IMHO: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Out By the Oxford definition, I would probably translate "make out" as "beijar e acariciar" or perhaps "sessão de amassos" (make-out session). Based on the other definitions, I would probably go with "ter relações sexuais", "transar" or somethng along those lines.
I hope this helps!
Charles, that's the way I interpret it too: sex is not a given; that's why I discarded "get laid" and "have a fling". As far as "seeing someone", I'm still debating. I just found a different explanation: https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-dating-and-s...
Regarding the choice of "making out", I'd say it really depends on the context.
(Doesn't it always? haha)
https://epoca.oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/walcyr-carrasco/not...
Now, as an "estágio anterior ao namoro" seeing someone might fit.
How long after seeing someone Are you in a relationship?
According to a relationship expert, it's socially acceptable to broach the subject after two months. But some people will get to the stage earlier — it all depends how much time you're spending together, and how much of a good fit you are. If you're not sure, try introducing them to your friends and see how they react.
https://en.bab.la/dictionary/portuguese-english/ficar-com-al...