Deixar a Desejar: Say Something Falls Short in Portuguese
Deixar a desejar means to fall short or leave something to be desired. Use it to describe a result that did not meet expectations.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Deixar a desejar means to fall short, leave something to be desired, or not meet expectations. It can describe a service, result, explanation, or performance. The phrase suggests a gap between what was expected and what happened.
Use deixar a desejar when something falls short
The subject is the thing that fell short: o serviço deixou a desejar (the service fell short). It does not usually say that a person is inherently inadequate; it evaluates a particular result or experience.
O atendimento deixou a desejar durante a viagem.
The service fell short during the trip.
A primeira versão do relatório ainda deixa a desejar.
The first version of the report still leaves something to be desired.
Apesar dos problemas, a apresentação foi clara.
Despite the problems, the presentation was clear.
Use the phrase with care in feedback
Deixar a desejar can sound critical, especially when the subject is someone’s work. In feedback, name the specific gap and what would improve it. That gives the listener more useful information than the idiom alone.
The phrase stays in the infinitive after verbs such as continuar or pode: o resultado pode deixar a desejar. Conjugate deixar for a completed or current evaluation: deixou or deixa a desejar.
O áudio deixou a desejar, mas as instruções estavam claras.
The audio fell short, but the instructions were clear.
A tradução ainda deixa a desejar em alguns trechos.
The translation still falls short in a few sections.
Vamos revisar os pontos que podem melhorar.
Let’s review the parts that can improve.
Put it into practice
Use deixar a desejar to say that a specific result or experience falls short; give concrete feedback when you want the person to improve it.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Let’s review the parts that can improve”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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