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“até porque” (or “até mesmo porque”) is often used colloquially in ptBR and its nearest synonym would be “inclusive porque”. To me, it's a set phrase and idiom ("até" has one meaning, "porque" has another meaning, and the two words together work with a different meaning.) and as Artefacto mentioned in his answer, the phrase usually introduces an afterthought and is also common in ptPT.

I was trying to translate it into English but couldn’t find a word or phrase that expressed exactly the same. I thought of quite a few phrases but didn’t like any. “Even because” sounds like a poor choice to me. “Also because” isn't a set phrase and doesn’t seem to convey exactly the same.

Examples of "até porque" and "até mesmo porque" in Portuguese:

  • Eu já disse que teu livro não está comigo. Não levei comigo, podes ter certeza. Até porque eu não tenho nenhum interesse em filosofia.
  • Não acredito que tenha sido o João. Ele não faria isso. Até mesmo porque ele também foi prejudicado.

How can we convey exactly the same meaning in English?

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7 Answers 7

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17

In the examples you give, I would choose especially because (or especially since).

  • I've already said I don't have the book. You can be sure I haven't taken it with me. Especially because I have no interest in Philosophy.
  • I don't believe João has done it. He wouldn't do that. Especially since he was also harmed.

Other options, slightly different: more so because, not least because.

I do get the feeling that these expressions are somewhat stronger than "até porque", which can introduce 1) an afterthought with 2) something more of a justification for what was said before rather than exactly a cause. But I'm not a native English speaker and, well, there's no such thing as a perfect translation.

Note that especially because also has more literal meanings, where it cannot be translated to até porque: "I really liked it, especially because I'd never seen anything like it" (giving the main particular reason why you liked it). Here you would just say especialmente porque in Portuguese.

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  • 1
    "there's no such thing as a perfect translation." but your suggestions seem to convey the meaning. Good answer. +1 ps: do you ever use it in Portugal?
    – Centaurus
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 0:17
  • 1
    @Centaurus Yes, we do. It's very common.
    – Artefacto
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 0:20
  • I am not 100% sure about that translation. "Especially because", would translate from "especialmente porque". That I would translate as "even because"
    – nsn
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 12:13
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    @nsn "Especially because" can certainly translate to "especialmente porque", like I say in my last paragraph, but in other cases it may have a less literal meaning, closer to "até porque", giving more of a justification for the statement before. "even because + clause" is simply something that's not said in English. Searching the COCA corpus, there was only one relevant instance of "even because + clause" (excluding here "or even because", and similar)
    – Artefacto
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 12:32
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    There is no bi-equivalance in translation. A thing can translate in one direction, and not be true in the other. You guys seem to assuming that the meanings are the same. Até porque can be "especially since". That does not mean that "especially since" in an English context is only and always especialmente porque.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 3, 2018 at 14:30
7

This is the kind of thing that varies quite a bit from one region to another. I would tend to say "especially considering", such as:

  • I've already said that your book is not with me. I didn't take it with me, you can be sure, especially considering I don't even have any interest in philosophy.
  • I don't believe it was John. He wouldn't do that, especially considering he was also harmed.
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  • Eu já disse que teu livro não está comigo. Não levei comigo, podes ter certeza. Até porque eu não tenho nenhum interesse em filosofia.

[aqui levar e trazer estão criando confusão nas respostas. Eu optei por levar]

  • Translation: I already said I don't have your book [a true statement]. I didn't take it with me, you can be sure of that. And that's "even more true** or "all the more true" because I have no interest in philosophy.

  • Não acredito que tenha sido o João. Ele não faria isso. Até mesmo porque ele também foi prejudicado.

  • Translation: I don't think it was Joao. He wouldn't do that. All the more so because he was harmed, too.

Existe a ideia in português de que a primeira idea é uma verdade que a pessoa exprime. e o "até mesmo" vem confirma ainda mais a razão dada por ela.

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  • "all the more so" seems like a perfect fit.
    – Centaurus
    Commented May 3, 2018 at 17:01
1

In the first example you gave:

Eu já disse que teu livro não está comigo. Não levei comigo, podes ter certeza. Até porque eu não tenho nenhum interesse em filosofia.

I would translate that as:

I've already said that your book is not with me. I didn't take it with me, you can be sure. That's because I don't even have any interess in phylosophy.

The second example you gave:

Não acredito que tenha sido o João. Ele não faria isso. Até mesmo porque ele também foi prejudicado.

I would translate that as:

I can't believe it was John. He wouldn't do that, because he was also harmed.

In the first example the expression "Até mesmo" is to defend the accused with a plausible reason why he didn't do it. Since he doesn't even like philosophy he would have no reason to steal the book.

In the second example, why would anybody be guilty of a situation that he was a victim of? Why would he hurt himself? "Até mesmo porque" expresses an obvious reason why he wouldn't be guilty. "Até mesmo porque" he was also harmed.

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3
  • In my opinion, 1. That's because is a bit more like "isso porque" than "até porque". 2. I can't believe implies that what happened is true, and is closer to "não posso crer". "Não acredito" seria antes "I don't believe".
    – ANeves
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 11:06
  • @Inês, vê se gostas da formação nova. Se não gostares, é fácil pôr como estava.
    – Jacinto
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 12:02
  • @ANeves bom, depende também da maneira como o locutor se expressa. Como é escrito não se sabe se a frase foi dita como se fosse um espanto ou uma surpresa ou uma certeza
    – Inês Barata Feio Borges
    Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 19:57
0

I was thinking just today about how "in fact" (in English) and "de facto" (in Portuguese) are 100% exchangeable synonyms. "In fact" is actually suitable in your examples.

  • I already told you, I don't have your book. I didn't bring it with me, you can be sure about that. In fact, I have no interest in Philosophy.
  • I can't believe João did it. He wouldn't do that. In fact, he was also armed.

Oxford's dictionaries definition also confirms this:

"in (point of) fact:

Used to emphasize the truth of an assertion, especially one contrary to what might be expected or what has been asserted".

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1
  • "até porque" emphasizes the truth of an assertion, but it doesn't have the idea of being contrary to what may be expected (on the contrary, it follows other weaker assertions in the same direction).
    – Artefacto
    Commented Nov 14, 2015 at 0:21
0

The more exact translation of "até porque" would actually be "mainly because" which has a slightly different meaning to "especially because".

Here is a real example from a news story today in an online Portuguese news site...

"O plano ainda não está fechado, até porque o Executivo queria conhecer primeiro as medidas do PSD, que foram apresentadas sexta-feira."

Correct Translation:

"The plan has still not been decided/agreed upon, mainly because the Executive first wanted to know/understand the measures from the PSD, which were presented on Friday."

Incorrect translation: "The plan has still not been decided/agreed upon, especially because the Executive first wanted to know/understand the measures from the PSD, which were presented on Friday."

Use of "especially because" would not fit the actual meaning of what is intended by the writer in Portuguese. While "especially because" may fit some applications of this phrase, mainly because will fit all of them.

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  • has still not been
    – Centaurus
    Commented Sep 4, 2022 at 21:11
-2

I think that the most appropriate way to translate it would be "considering" or "given" or "provided" or "since".

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