English to Portuguese finally

Dictionary entry: finally
n.ares

n.ares

Senior Member
Dictionary Editor
Medellín, Colombia
Spanish - Colombia
finally adv(in the end)finalmente adv
We finally made it home after midnight.
Nós finalmente chegamos em casa após a meia noite.

midnight n(time: 12 at night)meia-noite sf
The bell rang at midnight.
O sino tocou à meia-noite.

Does meia-noite need a hyphen or not?
 
    • Carfer

    Carfer

    Senior Member
    Paris, France
    Portuguese - Portugal
    Yes, it does, because 'meia-noite', in this case, means the hour (0h/24h, midnight), unlike 'meia noite' which means a period of half a night. Therefore, 'Amanhã só vou dormir meia noite' means tomorrow I'll have a half a night sleep and 'Amanhã vou dormir à meia-noite' means that I'll go to bed at midnight. The same rule applies to 'meio-dia' (12h) and 'meio dia' (half a day).
     
    I

    Itoggy

    Member
    Dictionary Editor
    Portuguese - Brazil
    n.ares said:
    finally adv(in the end)finalmente adv
    We finally made it home after midnight.
    Nós finalmente chegamos em casa após a meia noite.

    midnight n(time: 12 at night)meia-noite sf
    The bell rang at midnight.
    O sino tocou à meia-noite.

    Does meia-noite need a hyphen or not?
    Click to expand...
    Yes, it does for the reasons Cafer has written. When "meia" is part of a compound noun ("midnight" in this sentence), it does require a hyphen.
     
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