levar às cavalitas
To piggyback in Portuguese is levar às cavalitas. Wiktionary also lists levar às costas and levar aos ombros.
Meaning: to carry someone on the back or shoulders (verb)
Ways to say it
| Portuguese |
|---|
| levar às cavalitas |
| levar às costas |
| levar aos ombros |
The verb is used to describe carrying someone on one's back or shoulders. In informal settings, you can also use the word cavalinho to convey the concept of a piggyback.
Which one should you use?
Levar às costas is a more literal and common way to say 'to carry on the back' compared to the more idiomatic levar às cavalitas.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Portugal, às cavalitas is a popular alternative for saying piggyback.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb levar (to carry/take) is required to form the full verbal phrase, as às cavalitas is an adverbial phrase describing the manner.
Did you know?
- While 'piggyback' in English uses a pig imagery, the Portuguese idiomatic expression às cavalitas uses horse imagery instead.
- The verb levar is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'levitate'. Both share a root meaning to lift or raise something upward.
- In Portuguese, the word costas is almost always used in the plural. Even when referring to a single person's back, the plural form is used to describe the area.
Examples in context
- Vamos brincar de cavalinho? Eu vou pegar uma carona nas suas costas!Let's play piggyback? I'll hitch a ride on your back!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “piggyback” translations and entries levar às cavalitas, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
