What does “sobras” mean in Portuguese?

In Portuguese, sobras are leftovers — the food left over once everyone has eaten. It’s the plural of sobra, the noun built from the verb sobrar, “to be left over” or “to remain.” So when a meal ends and there’s still food on the table, what stays behind are the sobras: a high-frequency kitchen word you’ll reach for at almost any family dinner.

The verb runs through everyday speech: sobrou comida? (“is there food left?”), and the handy idiom de sobra meaning “to spare” or “plenty” — temos tempo de sobra, “we have time to spare.” Sobrar comes from Latin superāre, “to go beyond, exceed” — the same root as superar (“to overcome”), so sobras are literally what’s left once you’ve gone beyond what was needed. In the clip a mother quietly saves the sobras for her family, eating little herself.