ralar

Senses

1. 1.

   to grate

   to shred food (like cheese or carrots) using a grater

2. 2.

   to scrape, to graze

   to scrape or injure the skin against a rough surface

3. 3.

   to work hard, to bust one's ass (informal)

   to work very hard or put in great effort (colloquial)

Examples

• "Vou ralar o queijo para a pizza."

  I'm going to grate the cheese for the pizza.

• "Caí da bicicleta e ralei o joelho."

  I fell off my bike and scraped my knee.

• "Tive que ralar muito para passar naquele concurso."

  I had to work really hard to pass that exam.

Usage

In cooking contexts, "ralar" is the standard term for grating. The colloquial sense "to work hard" is very common in Brazilian Portuguese, often in expressions like "ralar pra caramba" (work like crazy). The reflexive form "se ralar" can mean to scrape oneself or (slang) to get angry/annoyed.