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I am visiting Portugal and a note was posted on the door of the apartment I'm staying in. I'm having difficulty translating it, both because I don't know Portuguese and because it's in hand writing.

I believe it translates to something along the lines of: "Please don't drop something on my terrace"? But I'm not sure. I have no idea what that 5th word is.

Also I have been very quiet and respectful of my neighbours so I'm not sure what they would be referring to. Though, yesterday the apartment above me was making lots of noise (I think they had children visiting), which might have been the cause?

Image of the note: enter image description here

Thank you kindly for your assistance.

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Your're quite right. The sentence reads:

Por favor não deitem beatas para o meu terraço.

The word you missed is beatas (plural), or singular, beata, which in Portugal, and in this case, means ‘cigarrete butt’, so:

Please don't drop cigarrete butts on my terrace.

Beata has other meanings―‘beatified woman’ (poorly known, in Portugal at least), or (very well known and derogatory) ‘excessively or outwardly pious woman’―but I’m pretty sure they did not mean that.

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  • 1
    Ahh, makes sense. I don't smoke but I noticed a guy in the adjacent apartment was smoking out of his window (also above the terrace). Thanks a lot!
    – devlop
    Commented Feb 28, 2017 at 16:32
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    LOL. No, I don't remember throwing any pious women on to their terrace recently. :P
    – devlop
    Commented Feb 28, 2017 at 16:44
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    Please, be aware that this usage of beata is a Portuguese one. Never heard in Brazil someone call the butt of a cigarette as a beata.
    – gmauch
    Commented Feb 28, 2017 at 23:35
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    I agree with @gmauch. I've never heard anyone call a cigarette butt "baeta" on this side of the Atlantic.
    – Centaurus
    Commented Mar 1, 2017 at 0:41
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    Cotoco de cigarro no Brasil é bituca. Beata é pessoa muito religiosa que comparece mais do que o comum na igreja.
    – André Lyra
    Commented Mar 1, 2017 at 16:58

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