What does “de propósito” mean in Portuguese?

De propósito means “on purpose” or “deliberately” — doing something fully intending the result. Here the joke is that someone heads to the mall to spend money de propósito, daring a friend who bet they wouldn’t. Its natural opposite is sem querer, “without meaning to,” so quebrei sem querer is “I broke it by accident” while quebrei de propósito is “I broke it on purpose.” One little phrase flips intent.

Built from propósito (“purpose, intention”), the phrase drops straight onto the end of a sentence: ele fez de propósito (“he did it on purpose”), você pisou no meu pé de propósito? (“did you step on my foot on purpose?”). It is everyday, neutral register — no slang, fine with anyone. Keep the sem querer / de propósito pair together in your head; Brazilians reach for both constantly to sort out blame, apologies, and teasing.