Jogar Fora in Portuguese: Throw Away, Discard or Waste

Jogar fora can mean no longer keeping something

Caldas Aulete’s jogar entry records jogar fora for discarding an object and figuratively wasting an opportunity. The reference was checked on October 21, 2026.

• Você vai jogar esta caixa fora? — “Are you going to throw this box away?”
• Não jogue fora o comprovante. — “Don’t throw away the receipt.”
• Eu joguei fora as anotações antigas. — “I threw away the old notes.”

The object can appear before or after fora in these examples: jogar esta caixa fora and jogar fora esta caixa. The action is discarding, not playing a game with a box. Listen for the complete phrase, especially when an object separates jogar from fora.

The negative instruction matters. Não jogue fora asks the listener to keep the object. In a shared space, identify exactly which object is being discussed. Esta caixa, “this box,” is more useful than an unclear isso when several boxes are nearby.

Putting something outside does not mean discarding it

• Coloque a caixa lá fora. — “Put the box outside.”
• Guarde a caixa no armário. — “Put the box away in the cupboard.”
• Pode jogar a caixa fora. — “You can throw the box away.”

The first changes its location. The second keeps it in a storage place. The third permits discarding it. A box outside may still belong to someone and may still be needed. Do not treat a location word by itself as an instruction to dispose of an object.

Compare fora and para fora for outside and outward movement, and guardar and salvar for keeping or saving something. Learning the full action avoids a costly misunderstanding from translating only fora.

Original dialogue: check before discarding

The first question requests permission. The reply distinguishes two boxes and preserves one item inside the second. Repeat the instruction back if there is any doubt: Então guardo o papel e jogo só a caixa pequena fora? — “So I keep the paper and throw away only the small box?”

This dialogue teaches how to clarify the action and object. It does not specify how any material should be sorted or collected locally. Ask for the relevant disposal instructions when handling an actual item.

An opportunity can be wasted without a physical object

• Não quero jogar fora essa oportunidade de conversar. — “I don’t want to waste this opportunity to talk.”
• Ela acha que jogou fora uma boa chance. — “She thinks she wasted a good chance.”
• Podemos aproveitar a oportunidade de fazer uma pergunta. — “We can make use of the opportunity to ask a question.”

Oportunidade and chance make the figurative reading clear. You are not being told to put an opportunity into a bin. The contrast with aproveitar helps: one phrase describes failing to make use of a chance, while the other describes using it.

Be careful when commenting on another person’s choices. Você jogou fora uma oportunidade can sound like criticism. Describing your own intention, não quero jogar fora, is a different conversational move. For using an available moment constructively, see aproveitar.

Practice: keep, move or discard?

1. Translate não jogue fora o comprovante.
2. Does coloque a caixa lá fora necessarily authorize discarding it?
3. Ask permission to discard a specific box.
4. In jogar fora uma oportunidade, is fora a physical place?
5. You must keep the paper but discard the small box. Confirm the instruction.

Continue with real conversation practice

Use the food and coffee listening guide for a longer conversation context. The dialogues and exercises here are original written practice. Describe an actual preference or situation with one new pattern, then prepare a follow-up question.

Continue with Real Life Portuguese for native Brazilian audio and everyday expressions. Choose a short exchange available in the app. Listen for the speaker’s intention, then use a pattern from this activity to prepare a reply that fits your own situation. Bruno Lopes is a co-founder of the app.