When learning a new language, vocabulary can be a problem. But using the different “tools” to form coherent sentences can also be a really difficult feat. Verbs and their multiple forms, adjectives that make the sentences more colorful, and…adverbs.

Portuguese adverbs can give verbs power and intensity. Using them correctly will allow the speaker to communicate complex details, a sense of time, and much more abstract information.

Portuguese is a tough language, no doubt. But with this list of 100+ adverbs, we’ll not only help you learn about adverbs in Portuguese vocabulary, but we’ll also show you how to more clearly express ideas and give descriptions.

After some practice, you’ll be able to naturally incorporate Portuguese adverbs into your conversations and writing. This will help you communicate more easily and even add some style!

Let’s learn about adverbs in Portuguese grammar.

Table of Contents

1. How to Identify Adverbs in Portuguese
2. Placement of Portuguese Adverbs in a Sentence
3. Portuguese Adverbs of Manner
4. Portuguese Adverbs of Intensity
5. Portuguese Adverbs of Denial
6. Portuguese Adverbs of Doubt
7. Portuguese Adverbs of Time
8. Portuguese Adverbs of Place
9. “Useless” Adverbs
10. The Case of Inho in Portuguese Adverbs
11. Comparisons and Superlatives
12. Conclusion

1. How to Identify Adverbs in Portuguese

Hopefully, the sentences we’ll study will give you some insight into Portuguese adverbs. Still, you may notice that this class of words can be very confusing to identify, since they’re somewhat more abstract than adjectives.

Indeed, some adverbs feel like they’re in a grammatical threshold of words. This impression is captured in Brazilian grammarian Evanildo Bechara’s interesting definition of adverbs:

It is the expression that denotes a state (of place, time, mode, intensity, condition etc.) and performs the function of an adverbial adjunctive in the sentence. (…) It constitutes of a word of nominal or pronominal nature (…)

This definition provides a pretty solid base to help you learn about adverbs in Portuguese grammar. It’s interesting because it exposes not only the function of adverbs, but also their “root.”

They “play the part” of pronouns and nouns in a phrase and intensify certain aspects of verbs at the same time.

A key tip to identify nominal adverbs is that many of them are formed by adjectives + the -mente suffix. The -mente suffix corresponds to the ending “-ly” in some English adverbs, such as “quickly.”

Here are some examples:

• Rapidamente (rápida + mente): “Fast”
• Pessimamente (péssima + mente): “Nastily”
• Otimamente (ótima + mente): “Excellently”

Please note that the nominal adverbs usually carry the feminine form of the adjectives (rápida instead of rápido, for instance). The items above are all adverbs of manner (see more examples of this type below).

On the other hand, pronominal adverbs are harder to detect. They don’t have a “formula.”

A good way to identify them is to know their main functions:

• Demonstrative: Aqui, acolá, lá, cá
• Relative: Onde, quando, em que, como
• Interrogative: Onde? Quando? Como? Por quê?
• Indefinite: Muito, pouco, que

Let’s look at some more essential information about Portuguese language adverbs before moving on to our list.

2. Placement of Portuguese Adverbs in a Sentence

Portuguese is a quirky language, and rules always have tons of exceptions. To simplify, adverbs modify verbs and are normally positioned after the verbs. For example:

• Eu gosto de ir naquele restaurante atrás da rua.

“I like to go to that restaurant behind the street.”

• Talvez eu queira ir naquele restaurante atrás da rua.

“Perhaps I’d like to go to that restaurant behind the street.”

Portuguese adverbs can be placed anywhere in a sentence, as they don’t have a typical position. But it should be noticeable if an adverb doesn’t concord with the verb.

But let’s keep things simple for now, so that you can move forward in learning Portuguese. For now, just keep in mind that you’ll generally find adverbs at the end of a sentence, and that they modify the verb. 

Now, let’s finally take a look at our Portuguese adverbs list with examples!

3. Portuguese Adverbs of Manner

It’s interesting to notice that whereas many adjectives in English can also be used as adverbs (fast, slow, just, ugly, cowardly, late, low), this doesn’t usually happen with Portuguese adverbs of manner. When it does happen, it’s usually in an informal context.

1. Bem (“Well”)
2. Mal (“Badly”)
3. Assim (“Like this”)
4. Pior (“Worse”)
5. Melhor (“Better”)
6.  Depressa (“Fast”)
7. Vagarosamente (“Slow”)
8. À toa (“For nothing”)
9. Às pressas (“In a hurry”)
10. À vontade (“Comfortably”)
11. Rapidamente (“Quickly”)
12. Calmamente (“Calmly”)
13. Apenas (“Just”)
14. Infelizmente (“Unfortunately”)
15. Realmente (“Indeed”)
16. Igualmente (“Likewise”)
17. Enquanto isso (“Meanwhile”)

Here are a couple of example sentences using some of the Portuguese adverbs above:

• Infelizmente, ela não conseguiu comprar novas calças de veludo.

“Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to buy new velvet trousers.”

• Seria melhor resolver esta questão calmamente.

“It would be better to calmly solve this question.”

4. Portuguese Adverbs of Intensity

This class of Portuguese adverbs may demand more attention from the learner than others. Adverbs of intensity are likely to combine with other adverbs, since they’re often used for comparative purposes.

Also, they present the few cases in which adverbs in European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese differ. Read more about these variations later in this article.

1. Muito (“Many”)
2. Pouco (“Little”)
3. Bastante (“Enough”)
4. Demais (“Too much”)
5. Tão (“So”)
6. Tanto (“So much”)
7. Com frequência (“Often”)
8. Ele diz que tem trabalho demais.

“He says he’s been working too much.”

9. Homero toca violão com frequência.

“Homero often plays the guitar.”

5. Portuguese Adverbs of Denial

Our next set of Portuguese adverbs are those of denial. These are adverbs frequently used when making a negative statement or denying something. 

1. Não (“No”)
2. Absolutamente (“Absolutely”)
3. Nada (“Nothing”)
4. Tampouco (“Neither”)
5. Nem (“Nor”)
6. Nunca (“Never”)
7. De modo algum (“Not at all”)
8. De forma alguma (“Not at all”)
9. Porém (“However”)
10. Eu nunca voei de asa-delta, porém não descarto possibilidades futuras.

“I have never flown with a hang-glider. However, I don’t rule out future possibilities.”

11. Não servimos mingau aqui.

“We don’t serve oatmeal here.”

6. Portuguese Adverbs of Doubt

1. Talvez (“Maybe”)
2. Possivelmente (“Possibly”)
3. Provavelmente (“Probably”)
4. Quiçá (“Perhaps”)
5. Acaso (“In case of”)
6. Porventura (“Perhaps”)
7. Provavelmente o casal saia cedo da festa.

“The couple will probably leave the party early.”

8. Acaso queiras comprar o disco, posso reservá-lo.

“In case you want to buy the music record, I can save it for you.”

7. Portuguese Adverbs of Time

1. Agora (“Now”)
2. Hoje (“Today”)
3. Ontem (“Yesterday”)
4. Cedo (“Early”)
5. Tarde (“Late”)
6. À tarde (“In the afternoon”)
7. À noite (“In the night”)
8. Já (“Already”)
9. No dia seguinte (“On the next day”)
10. Amanhã (“Tomorrow”)
11.  De manhã (“In the morning”)
12. Jamais (“Never”)
13. Nunca (“Never”)
14. Sempre (“Always”)
15. Antes (“Before”)
16. Dantes (“Before”)
17. Depois (“After”)
18. Durante (“During”)
19. Brevemente (“Briefly”)
20. De repente (“Suddenly”)
21. De vez em quando (“Once in a while”)
22. Às vezes (“Sometimes”)
23. Imediatamente (“Immediately”)
24. Logo (“Soon”)
25. Primeiro (“First”)
26. Outrora (“Once”)
27. Cedo (“Soon”)
28. Ainda (“Still”)
29. Antigamente (“In the old days”)
30. Doravante (“Hereafter”)
31. Então (“So”)
32. Ora (“Well”)
33. Enfim (“Finally”)
34. Afinal (“After all”)
35. Constantemente (“Constantly”)
36. Primeiramente (“Primarily”)
37. Provisoriamente (“Provisionally”)
38. Sucessivamente (“Successively”)
39. Atualmente (“Currently”)
40. Finalmente (“Finally”)
41. Postumamente (“Posthumously”)
42. Você tem que tomar esta decisão mais cedo ou mais tarde.

“You need to make this decision sooner or later.”

43. Atualmente tudo anda tão cinza.

“Currently, everything feels so gray.”

8. Portuguese Adverbs of Place

1. Aqui (“Here”)
2. Ali (“There”)
3. Abaixo (“Below”)
4. Acima (“Above”)
5. Lá (“Over there”)
6. Acolá (“There”)
7. Perto (“Near”)
8. Longe (“Far”)
9. Atrás (“Behind”)
10. Aí (“There”)
11. Cá (“Here”)
12. Dentro (“Inside”)
13. Fora (“Outside”)
14. Além (“Beyond”)
15. Adiante (“Forward”)
16. Distante (“Distant”)
17. Em cima (“On”)
18. Acima (“Above”)
19. Ao lado (“Beside that”)
20. À direita (“To the right”)
21. À esquerda (“To the left”)
22. Em algum lugar (“Somewhere”)

• Em algum lugar perto daqui há uma área para piqueniques.

“Somewhere nearby, there’s an area for picnics.”

• Odeio quando falam para eu “pensar fora da caixa.”

“I hate it when they tell me to ‘think outside the box.’”

9. “Useless” Adverbs

There are cases in which it’s more difficult to learn about adverbs in Portuguese grammar intuitively. This is the case with adverbs used as an expressive particle.

This type of particle is an adverb that doesn’t have a real semantic value—it just emphasizes the tone of a piece of information within a phrase. This effect sometimes gets lost in translation:

1) Eu não sei!

2) Eu sei lá!

Sentence 1 literally means “I don’t know.”

Sentence 2, though, has no literal translation. A quick analysis might confuse a foreign speaker, because lá usually works as an adverb of place. Additionally, the sentence holds no explicit adverb of denial or any sign of denial whatsoever. A literal translation of the sentence would result in “I know there!”

The true translation would have to employ some analogic resource to recreate the expressive particle. Something along the lines of “I have no clue!” or “The heck I know!”

Here are other useful examples to learn about adverbs in Portuguese sentences. The expressive adverb is in bold. They’re followed by their literal and “correct” translations:

• Vejam só que coisa! 
  • só: typically equivalent to “only”

Bad translation: “Look only what thing!”

Note: que coisa is also an idiomatic expression in Portuguese.

Good translation: “Well, look at that!”

• Oh! Que saudade que eu tenho! 
  • que: sometimes equivalent to “which” or “how”

Bad translation: “Oh! How I long which I have!”

Good translation: “Oh! How I long for that/him/her!”

10. The Case of Inho in Portuguese Adverbs

Another tip that will help you avoid a lot of suffering is to learn how to use the -inho suffix.

This diminutive form is largely used in Portuguese-speaking countries in informal contexts, and its meaning may vary.

When used with adjectives, the meaning of this diminutive will be easier to figure out, even if it may sound absurd—as in the case of azulzinho (“little blue”).

In the case of adverbs, the oddness of inho can escalate and achieve bizarre levels of confusion. Consider the following sentence:

• Ela saiu agorinha.

Literally, “She went out little now.”

What you need to know is that when added to adverbs, inho will work as a superlative in the phrase. So, Ela saiu agorinha corresponds roughly to “She went out right now.” Here’s another opportunity to learn about adverbs in Portuguese sentences—this time, with the use of inho. 

• É bom andar devagarinho.

“To walk really slow is a good thing.” or “It is a good thing to take it easy.”

• Ele acordava cedinho e só voltava à noitinha.

“He’d wake up very early and would only come back late in the night.”

There’s also a classic use of inho in European Portuguese adverbs:

• Obrigadinho!

“Thank you very much!”

11. Comparisons and Superlatives

Now that we’ve gone through the inho effect, let’s move on.

Adverbs can “change” adjectives sometimes. This is the case with absolute analytic superlatives and relative superlatives.

Absolute analytic superlatives are formed by placing adverbs of intensity (muito, bastante, pouco) before the adjective to intensify its idea.

Example:

• A comida está muito quente. 

“The food is very hot.”

The relative superlative combines a defined noun, an adverb, and an adjective to highlight a quality of someone or something at its highest level. 

For instance:

• Este carro é o mais feio que eu já vi. 

“This car is the ugliest I’ve ever seen.”

In the latter type of superlative, there’s a noticeable difference between the adverbs in European Portuguese and the Brazilian Portuguese adverbs. The forms “the biggest” and “the smallest” follow the rule for this superlative in Portugal, while they’re irregular in Brazil.

• Portugal: O mais grande 
• Brazil: O maior

• Portugal: O mais pequeno 
• Brazil: O menor

12. Conclusion

This collection of words and tips of various types will hopefully be useful to you while you learn about adverbs in Portuguese. But this is just a glimpse of a huge amount of material available online.

PortuguesePod101 offers many resources for students to learn about adverbs in Portuguese sentences, and much more, in a simple and fun way! Remember to continue practicing and studying all the material you can; it will pay off.

Before you go, let us know in the comments how you feel about using Portuguese adverbs now. Are there any adverbs in Portuguese you still want to know? We look forward to hearing from you!

Learning about verbs is a crucial step when studying another language. They open up so many possibilities!

With verbs, you can tell stories, understand what’s on the news today, give and follow orders, and imagine the future. Pretty much every interaction needs verbs. But just knowing the verbs by themselves doesn’t do the job. We need to modify them a bit so they can express things like time, the number of people performing an action, and mood. 

That means it’s time to explore the ins and outs of Portuguese conjugation. 

The all-important topic of conjugation is like the spice that brings out the flavors of the Portuguese language. By learning it, you’ll be able to talk about things that have happened, things that could happen, things that will definitely happen, things that are happening…you get the idea. 

Conjugation allows you to tell amazing stories!

Portuguese verb conjugation is a vast world of rules and exceptions. Take it slow and, most importantly, practice a lot. Read, listen to native speakers in conversations, and talk whenever possible. That’s how you’ll really come to understand Portuguese conjugation. 

In this article, we’ll examine how verbs are modified depending on person, number, mood, tense, and voice. It’s a long list, but there are some conjugations that are much more widely used than others, so don’t worry!

Have you noticed that we just mentioned verbs so far? Don’t let this fool you: adjectives and adverbs also have to be modified depending on the word they relate to. This is called agreement. This happens when adjectives and adverbs are changed in order to agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (feminine or masculine). We won’t dive too deep into the nitty-gritty of that, but this article will cover a few examples.

Ready to get familiar with some new rules? Let’s make this ride as enjoyable as possible, with some handy Portuguese conjugation tables for you to study. By the end of this article, you’ll better understand how our rebel irregular verbs and friendly regular verbs behave. In addition, you’ll get plenty of practice and exposure with examples and a Portuguese conjugation quiz to test yourself.

Table of Contents

1. The Three Verb Ending Groups
2. What Affects Conjugation
3. Conjugation Charts
4. Putting Conjugation to the Test
5. Continue Learning More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

1. The Three Verb Ending Groups

If you read our article on the 100 most common Portuguese verbs, you’re already familiar with the verb endings. As a refresher, there are three main Portuguese verb groups:

• Verbs ending in -AR
• Verbs ending in -ER
• Verbs ending in -IR

Knowing these verb endings and how they conjugate is useful, because pretty much all regular verbs within each group behave in the same way. The stem of the verb remains the same, and the endings all do their thing—following the same pattern! 

This means you can learn by heart one verb from each group, and that will serve as a guide on how to conjugate every other regular verb in Portuguese.

2. What Affects Conjugation

As we said before, verbs can change depending on several factors, like person, number, mood, tense, and voice. In order to keep everything under control, let’s break it down. Shall we?

1 – Person and Number

In Portuguese conjugation, verbs change for each person in the sentence. We can divide the persons into two groups based on the number, which is either singular or plural. 

The table below shows all of the existing persons in Portuguese.

1st person singular	Eu	“I”
2nd person singular	Tu	“You”
3rd person singular	Você / Ele / Ela	“You” / “He” / “She”
1st person plural	Nós	“We”
2nd person plural	Vós	“You”
3rd person plural	Vocês / Eles / Elas	“You” (plural) / “They” (m.) / “They” (f.)

Although there are six persons to learn, in Brazilian Portuguese you only need to focus on four: 

• Eu (“I”)
• Você / Ele / Ela (“You” and “He/She,” which conjugate in the same way)
• Nós (“We”)
• Vocês / Eles / Elas (“You” in the plural, “they” masculine, “they” feminine)

You might have noticed that você and vocês are both second person pronouns, as they translate to “you” (singular and plural, respectively). However, they use the third person conjugation. For this reason, in this article, você is grouped with ele/ela. Similarly, vocês is grouped with eles/elas.

Regional Differences Tu is also used in some parts of Brazil. In some places, it’s used with the “correct” conjugation, while in others, tu is conjugated as a third person singular pronoun (as você). For this reason, we suggest that you learn how to recognize it, but don’t worry too much about using it. Você will be understood regardless of the region of Brazil you’re in. In Portugal, however, tu is widely used in informal situations, while você is formal but very rarely used.

2 – Mood

Another thing you need to know: Portuguese verbs are moody. What we mean is that verbs are divided into moods (also called modes). According to Portuguese verb conjugation rules, the verbs can be conjugated in each of the different modes, and hence, convey a different mood. The existing modes are:

• The Indicative mode, which indicates a fact. 

Example: Eu comi. (“I ate.”) 

• The Subjunctive mode, which expresses a possible action, a wish, or something that we’re not sure about. It always needs an adverb, another verb, or other particles that help make sense of it. 

Example: Talvez eu coma. (“Maybe I will eat.”)

• The Imperative mode, which conveys an order or advice. 

Example: Fale com ele. (“[You] talk to him.”) 

• The Conditional mode, which indicates what one could, would, or should do. Some grammar books classify the conditional as part of the indicative mode. 

Example: Eu falaria com ele. (“I would talk to him.”)

3 – Tenses

Tenses refer to the moment in time when the action conveyed by the verbs occur. Each of the modes we saw above has different tenses. 

In Portuguese, some tenses are simple and some are compound. Compound tenses use another verb, called an auxiliary, alongside the main verb. 

There are a lot of tenses to learn—and they often are nightmare topics for Brazilian children in school. But there is some good news! In day-to-day life, you’ll probably stick to just a handful of them. Another piece of good news is that there’s often more than one way to say what you want. That means you can use the tenses that you’re more comfortable with. 

For example, to talk about the future in the indicative mode, you can use the simple future or the compound future. The compound is much more common and, in our opinion, easier to learn. 

• Simple future: Comeremos cedo hoje. (“We will eat early today.”)
• Compound future: Nós vamos comer cedo hoje. (“We are going to eat early today.”)

The verb ir is the auxiliary verb in the compound future tense. It’s a verb that you will inevitably learn to conjugate, since it’s so commonly used. Then, by using the compound future form, you don’t have to learn the individual future conjugation for each action verb. Instead, pair the conjugated auxiliary verb with the infinitive form of the main verb. 

The same applies to the pluperfect tense. The compound pluperfect is formed with the auxiliary verb ter (“to have”), and you can use it instead of the simple pluperfect. The compound pluperfect is much more common than the simple form, which is extremely rare in Brazilian Portuguese.

• Simple pluperfect: Ela vendera o carro. (“She had sold the car.”)
• Compound pluperfect: Ela tinha vendido o carro. (“She had sold the car.”)

Here are all the basic tenses and moods:

Indicative	Presente (“Simple Present”)
	Pretérito Perfeito (“Simple Past”)
	Pretérito Imperfeito (“Past Imperfect”)
	Pretérito Mais-que-perfeito (“Past Pluperfect”)
	Futuro do Presente (“Simple Future”)
Conditional
Subjunctive	Presente (“Present Subjunctive”)
	Pretérito Imperfeito (“Imperfect Subjunctive”)
	Futuro (“Future Subjunctive”)
Imperative

In addition to the tenses above, we have some other verb forms that you should be familiar with:

• The infinitive is the most basic form of a verb, without any conjugation. You might see it coupled with auxiliary verbs. 

Example: Eu vou dançar muito! (“I will dance a lot!”)

• The past participle is a verb form that can be used with auxiliary verbs to form compound past tenses.

Example: ver → visto (“to see” → “seen”)

Você tem visto seu irmão? (“Have you seen your brother?”)

• The gerund form, which is very common in Brazil, is the equivalent of the “-ing” ending in English.

Example: estudar → estudando (“to study” → “studying”)

Elas estão estudando inglês. (“They are studying English.”) [f.]

4 – Voices

Finally, conjugation in Portuguese also depends on the two voices that exist in Portuguese: active and passive. 

Use the active voice conjugation when the subject performs the action.

• Ana serviu o jantar. (“Ana served dinner.”)

Use the passive voice conjugation when the action happens to the subject. In this case, we use the past participle.

• O jantar foi servido pela Ana. (“Dinner was served by Ana.”)

A noiva fez um brinde. (“The bride made a toast.”)

3. Conjugation Charts

Take a deep breath, the theoretical part is behind us. Now, let’s make everything a bit more clear by looking at the actual conjugation and real-life examples. 

In this section, we’ll see the Portuguese verb conjugation for all of the simple tenses of the indicative and subjunctive, as well as for the imperative and conditional forms. By becoming familiar with the simple conjugations now, you’ll be able to conjugate the compound forms later on.

Also, remember what we said earlier: not all tenses and persons are as common in Brazilian Portuguese. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

• Don’t worry too much about the conjugations for tu and vós.
• Same applies to the pluperfect tense. 
• The future tense can also be overlooked for now, if you prefer using the compound future tense.

Be aware that they exist, but you probably won’t need them in daily interactions!

To ease our way into the examples, we’ll begin with the regular verbs. Remember the main idea behind conjugating regular verbs: the stem remains the same, and the ending will be modified. Then, use the following examples to spot the repeating patterns.

1- AR verbs

The first verbal group includes verbs such as:

• Cantar (“To sing”)
• Falar (“To talk,” “To say”)
• Andar (“To walk”)
• Deitar (“To lay”)
• Amar (“To love”)
• Gostar (“To like”)

Falar (“To talk”)

Examples:

• Nós cantamos em uma banda de MPB. 

“We sing in a Popular Brazilian Music band.”

• Os professores falaram que não podemos mudar o dia da aula. 

“The teachers said we couldn’t change the class day.”

• Espero que minha namorada ame este presente. 

“I hope my girlfriend loves this gift.”

• Seus primos acordariam muito tarde sem o despertador. 

“Your cousins would wake up very late without the alarm clock.”

• Se eu andasse até o trabalho todos os dias, estaria em forma. 

“If I walked to work every day, I’d be in shape.”

• As novas vizinhas estão gostando muito do bairro. 

“The new neighbors are liking the neighborhood a lot.”

Notice the way the adjective novo (“new”) has been modified in the last example. In order to agree with the noun vizinhas, which is plural and feminine, the adjective has to be plural and feminine as well.  This vocabulary list is a great resource if you want to refresh your memory and practice how to pronounce the most common Portuguese adjectives.

2- ER verbs

The second Portuguese verbal group includes verbs like:

• Beber (“To drink”)
• Comer (“To eat”)
• Viver (“To live”)
• Correr (“To run”)
• Escrever (“To write”)
• Aprender (“To learn”)

Comer (“To eat”)

Examples:

• Eu comeria todo este bolo delicioso, mas tenho que dividir. 

“I would eat all of this delicious cake, but I have to share it.”

• Se eles bebessem mais água, não teríam este problema. 

“If they drank more water, they wouldn’t have this problem.” 

[In this case, “they” is in the masculine form.]

• Corra para não perder o ônibus! 

“Run so you don’t miss the bus!”

• Nós vamos escrever um livro juntos. / Nós escreveremos um livro juntos. 

“We are going to write a book together.”

• Você aprendia inglês na escola? 

“Did you use to learn English in school?”

• Quando ela viver sozinha, vai ver como é difícil! 

“When she lives by herself, she will see how hard it is!”

3- IR verbs

A few verbs in the third and final Portuguese verbal group are:

• Partir (“To leave,” “To break”)
• Abrir (“To open”)
• Dormir (“To sleep”)
• Assistir (“To watch”)
• Decidir (“To decide”)
• Confundir (“To confuse”)

Abrir (“To open”)

The past participle for this verb is irregular. If we take a couple of other examples from the third group, we can see how it differs: Dormir → dormido (“Sleep” → “slept”)Partir → partido (“Break” → “broken”)Decidir → decidido (“Decide” → “decided”)

Here are some examples of sentences using the third group verbs:

• Abram os presente pequenos primeiro! 

“Open the small gifts first!”

• O bebê dormia muito pouco. 

“The baby slept too little.”

• Vamos assistir esta série hoje. / Assistiremos esta série hoje. 

“We are going to watch this TV show today.”

• Quando eles decidirem, vão nos ligar. 

“When they decide, they will call us.”

[masculine]

• Se eu confundisse os nomes, perdia pontos no jogo. 

“If I confused the names, I lost points in the game.”

Minhas avós comemoraram juntas. (“My grandmothers celebrated together.”)

4 – The Most Important Irregular Verbs

As much as we love the regular verbs, we have to devote some time to learning the irregular ones. They are everywhere in Portuguese—and they’re also very useful! 

Here are Portuguese conjugation charts for the four most important irregular verbs, which also act as auxiliary verbs: ser, estar, ir, and ter.

Ser (“To be,” permanent)

Ser is an auxiliary verb when a sentence is in the passive voice, as you can see in the last example.

Examples:

• Eu serei a pessoa mais velha na festa. / Eu vou ser a pessoa mais velha na festa. 

“I will be the oldest person at the party.”

• Vocês são engraçados! 

“You are funny!”

• Sua mãe sempre foi a melhor professora. 

“Your mom was always the best teacher.”

• Já sabe, se for no Brasil, me avisa. 

“You know already, if you go to Brazil, tell me.”

• Mesmo que eles fossem mais rápidos, não chegariam a tempo. 

“Even if they were faster, they wouldn’t arrive in time.”

[“they” is masculine]

• O ator foi reconhecido no supermercado. 

“The actor was recognized in the supermarket.”

Estar (“To be,” impermanent)

Estar is an auxiliary verb in all of the continuous tenses. In other words, when you want to say you “were doing” or “are doing” something, use estar as the auxiliary verb alongside the main verb.

Examples:

• O policial estava dirigindo muito devagar. 

“The police officer was driving too slow.”

• Meus pais estiveram aqui ontem. 

“My parents were here yesterday.”

• Eu estaria na praia, se pudesse. 

“I would be at the beach, if I could.”

• Espero que elas estejam em casa. 

“I hope they are home.”

[feminine]

• Quando o médico estiver pronto, vai chamar vocês. 

“When the doctor is ready, he will call you all.”

Ir (“To go”)

As we mentioned before, ir is an auxiliary verb in the future tense, in the widely used compound future tense.

Examples:

• Os convidados vão chegar mais cedo. 

“The guests will arrive earlier.”

• Eu já vou! 

“I’m going!”

• Talvez ele vá na viagem. 

“Maybe he will go on the trip.”

• Elas foram para o Rio de Janeiro de férias? 

“They went to Rio de Janeiro for their vacation?”

[“they” is feminine]

• Vamos logo, antes que chova! 

“Let’s go, before it rains!”

• É verdade que ele ia pedir demissão? 

“Is it true that he was going to resign?”

Ter (“To have”)

Ter is used to form the perfect tenses. Take a look at the following sentences, as the last ones show some examples of ter as an auxiliary verb.

Examples:

• Nós tivemos uma boa chance de ganhar. 

“We had a good chance of winning.”

• Quando ela tiver uma bicicleta, vai se exercitar. 

“When she has a bike, she will exercise.”

• Tenha paciência, criança! 

“Have patience, child!”

• Se tivesse sobremesa, eles teriam comido mais. 

“If there was dessert, they would have eaten more.”

[“they” is masculine]

• Eu tenho tido sorte nas minhas viagens. 

“I have had luck in my travels.”

• Você tem dormido cedo? 

“Have you been sleeping early?”

Nós temos um gatinho fofo. (“We have a cute kitten.”)

Good job! Now you’re familiar with the conjugation for regular verbs, as well as the most important irregular Portuguese verbs. You can put yourself to the test and try to conjugate the verbs in this vocabulary list. As a bonus, you’ll be able to practice their pronunciation!

4. Putting Conjugation to the Test

To keep you on your toes, it’s time to practice with this quick Portuguese verb conjugation quiz. 

Complete the sentence by filling in the gap with the correct conjugation of the verb (shown between parentheses). Afterwards, scroll down for the correct answers and an explanation. Try to fill it in before checking the answers!

1. Minha filha (adorar) _____________ conhecer vocês.

(“My daughter would love to meet you.”) 

2. Todos os dias, nós (beber) ______________ um copo de suco de laranja.

(“Everyday, we drink a glass of orange juice.”)

3. Eles (sair) ______________ de casa quando o telefone tocou.

(“They were leaving the house when the telephone rang.”

[where “they” is masculine]

4. A casa deve estar limpa quando sua avó (chegar) _____________.

(“The house must be clean when your grandmother arrives.”)

5. Ele (ser) _____________ a estrela do show.

(“He was the star of the show.”)

Did you write your answers down? Let’s see what the correct conjugations are and why.

1. Minha filha adoraria conhecer vocês. (“My daughter would love to meet you.”) 

Since we’re talking about something that the daughter would love, it’s a possibility. Therefore, we use the conditional. 
Adorar is a regular verb of the -AR group, so we have to conjugate it in the same way as the verb falar (“to talk”). Another thing to note is that “my daughter” is a third person singular subject. You can see the entire conjugation for the verb adorar, but since it’s a regular verb, you can just substitute the stem of the verb:

Falaria → adoraria

2. Todos os dias, nós bebemos um copo de suco de laranja. (“Everyday, we drink a glass of orange juice.”)

In this case, the action happens everyday. Hence, the verb should be in the present tense of the indicative. 

Beber is a regular verb of the second conjugation, and the person in the sentence is nós, the first person of the plural. Once again, you can use the same pattern from the conjugation of the verb comer (“to eat”), and just change the stem.

Comemos → bebemos

3. Eles saíam de casa quando o telefone tocou. / Eles estavam saindo de casa quando o telefone tocou. (“They were leaving the house when the telephone rang.”) [masculine]

This is an interesting sentence because there are two ways you could say it. The fact is, the action of leaving the house was happening in the past when it was interrupted. 

In the first answer, we used the past imperfect tense, and the verb is conjugated in the third person plural. Sair is an irregular verb, but its conjugation is fairly similar to that of the -IR group. For effects of comparison, see how the regular verb abrir (“to open”) is conjugated for the same tense and person: 

Abriam → saíam 

The second answer uses the past continuous tense, with the auxiliary verb estar (“to be”) and the gerund form of the main verb (sair). It conveys the idea that something was happening when another action occurred. Again, you can compare the gerund form below.

Abrindo → saindo

You can listen to this lesson on PortuguesePod101.com for more examples on how to use the past imperfect tense.

4. A casa deve estar limpa quando sua avó chegar. (“The house must be clean when your grandmother arrives.”)

The verb chegar has to be conjugated in the future of the subjunctive, since it implies an action that will happen, but we’re not quite sure when. The presence of the adverb quando (“when”) serves as an indication that the subjunctive mood is used. 

Then, conjugate the verb in the third person singular, exactly as we did with the verb falar.

Falar → chegar

5. Ele foi a estrela do show. / Ele era a estrela do show. (“He was the star of the show.”)

This is a tricky one! Depending on the context, the answer changes a bit.

If the show was a one-time event that is already over, we use the simple past tense. In this case, the verb refers to an action that already happened and is done with. 

• Ele foi a estrela do show.  

“He was the star of the show.”

Now, if the action happened over an indefinite period of time (e.g. during this person’s whole adulthood), we use the imperfect past tense. Let’s say, for example, that the show was running for years, and the subject of the sentence was continuously the star of the show. In this case: 

• Ele era a estrela do show. 

“He was the star of the show.”

If you want to dive a little bit deeper into the differences between foi and era, there’s a very interesting discussion here.

Vamos continuar a praticar! (“Let’s continue to practice!”)

5. Continue Learning More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

Hopefully this guide provided the information you need to understand Portuguese conjugation and progress even further in your language-learning journey. Don’t forget to come back to this article, or the article about the 100 most common Portuguese verbs, whenever you need to practice. 

Ready to go out into the world and put all you learned into practice? Did the examples help you grasp the different ways to use the verbs? If we missed any aspect of Portuguese verb conjugation, tell us in the comments. 

Now, don’t stop learning! There are more free Portuguese resources and a variety of vocabulary lists available on PortuguesePod101.com. Go ahead and choose your favorite tools to expand your learning opportunities.
If you want to take your learning experience further, members of PortuguesePod101.com get access to the largest language lesson library in the world, with thousands of real lessons by real teachers. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from anywhere, feel motivated, and be ready to speak Portuguese with confidence. And in the meantime, continue exploring PortuguesePod101!

Oh, verbs. Crucially important for communication in any language, they can sometimes be a bit of a pain. There are so many of them, regular and irregular, that it’s easy to get lost. But worry not: we’re here to help you every step of the way! In no time, you’ll be best friends with Portuguese verbs. 

It’s definitely important to learn the most-used verbs early on in your journey to mastering a second language. The reason for this is simple: verbs provide key information in a sentence, indicating an action. Of course, you’ll also need to know the most popular adjectives and adverbs in Portuguese! This way, you’ll have all the tools you need to understand sentences and make your own.

The cool thing about learning the most common verbs in Portuguese is that you’ll start recognizing them when listening or reading. This is one of the best ways to understand the context of what’s being said, even if you don’t understand all the words in a sentence. And with just a few Portuguese verbs, you’ll be able to communicate much more.

Better yet, since in Portuguese it’s common to reply with a single verb instead of a whole sentence, you’ll really get the most bang for your buck!
If you’re ready to get familiarized with Portuguese irregular and regular verbs, great! We’ll make this as easy as possible for you! First, let’s have a quick look at the main characteristics of Portuguese verb conjugation. Then, we’ll explore 100 must-know Portuguese verbs that will really help you step up your language game.

Table of Contents

1. The Basics You Need to Know
2. The Finest Exemplars of Portuguese Verbs
3. Continue Learning More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

1. The Basics You Need to Know

1 – Verb Endings: Why They Matter

As in some other languages, Portuguese has three main verb groups, characterized by their different endings. In this case, the verb endings are  -AR, -ER, and -IR. Take the three verbs below as examples:

-AR	-ER	-IR
Andar (“To walk”)	Comer (“To eat”)	Abrir (“To open”)

There are also verbs that end in -OR, but since those are always irregular verbs, we don’t group them. 

It can be helpful to keep those endings in mind, because regular verbs in each group are conjugated in the same way. The stem of the verbs remain the same throughout the different conjugations, and the endings are predictable. 

In other words, by learning the Portuguese verb conjugation for just a few verbs in each group, you’ll already have a blueprint of how to deal with any other regular verb you come across! 
To see how regular verbs in the present tense behave, look at this Portuguese conjugation chart:

	-AR verbs		-ER verbs		-IR verbs
Eu	Stem + o	Ando	Stem + o	Como	Stem + o	Abro
	“I walk”		“I eat”		“I open”
Tu	Stem + as	Andas	Stem + es	Comes	Stem + es	Abres
	“You walk”		“You eat”		“You open”
Você/Ele/Ela	Stem + a	Anda	Stem + e	Come	Stem + e	Abre
	“You walk,” using você. “He/She walks”		“You eat,” using você. “He/She eats”		“You open,” using você. “He/She opens”
Nós	Stem + amos	Andamos	Stem + emos	Comemos	Stem + imos	Abrimos
	“We walk”		“We eat”		“We open”
Vós	Stem + ais	Andais	Stem + eis	Comeis	Stem + is	Abris
	“You walk”		“You eat”		“You open”
Vocês/Eles/Elas	Stem + am	Andam	Stem + em	Comem	Stem + em	Abrem
	“They walk”		“They eat”		“They open”

It is indeed a happy moment when we encounter regular verbs. 

2 – Making the Most of the Verbs 

An interesting thing about verbs is that they go beyond expressing an action. The verb conjugation in Portuguese tells you much more than what happened; it also tells you who is performing the action and/or the moment in time when that action happens. In some cases, it’s not even necessary to use the subject in the sentence, since the verb itself already implies the subject. 

Let’s look at an example to see if it makes sense.

• Acordei agora. 

“I woke up now.”

In the example, we only have the verb acordei and the adverb agora (“now”). There’s no need to use the subject eu (“I”), because the verb in itself contains the information about who did the action (who woke up). In this example, the verb alone doesn’t tell us when the action took place, which is why we see the adverb agora. 

Let’s look at another example, this time an interaction between two people:

• Acordou agora? 

“Did you wake up now?”

Acordei. 

“I did.”

This is a perfect example of how you can use a single verb to answer a question. So rejoice! Once you learn the rules for Portuguese verb conjugation and how verbs change depending on the person and time, your communication potential will increase exponentially!

3 – When Verbs Go Together

Now another word about Portuguese verb tenses.

In some cases, you’ll see more than one verb being used in a sentence. This happens in compound tenses. In Portuguese, we have simple tenses and compound tenses, similar to what happens in English. When only one verb expresses the action, we’re dealing with a simple tense, while compound tenses use two verbs to express the action.

For example, you can say:

• Eu fiz a prova de matemática. 

“I took the math test.”

In the simple tense, only one verb expresses the action. Now, if you say:

• Eu estava fazendo a prova de matemática quando… 

“I was taking the math test when…”

We have a compound tense, where the main verb needs an auxiliary verb to indicate the action. Like in the example above, it’s very common to use compound tenses when talking about getting to places. 

In this article, we won’t go into the details of Portuguese verb conjugation, but you will be able to recognize some of those auxiliary verbs after checking out our Portuguese verbs list.

4 – Where Does the Verb Go?

Lastly, something that’s very helpful is becoming familiarized with the basic sentence structure in Portuguese. This is very straightforward, since it’s similar to the English sentence structure.

Sentence	Eu andei com ele.	“I walked with him.”
Subject	Eu	“I”
Verb	andei	“walked”
Object	com ele	“with him”

However, keep in mind that Portuguese is a language full of exceptions, so don’t rule out other possibilities.

I know, I know, that was a lot. Verbs can be intimidating because they’re in pretty much every sentence we read, write, or speak. But this is also a blessing in disguise since you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice. 

Remember that learning a foreign language is not a sprint, so let’s first work on becoming familiar with the most common Portuguese verbs. To know how to pronounce the verbs we’ll see, check out this handy video with the Top 25 Portuguese Verbs.

And a final tip: As you set out to learn Portuguese verbs, use your time wisely. When commuting or with free time on your hands, take a look at this article again. Review and reinforce what you learn with some more information about Portuguese verbs. Then, by combining them with adverbs and adjectives you’ve already learned, you can begin creating more sentences. You’ll be ready to go beyond the basic greetings and really start conversing in Portuguese!

2. The Finest Exemplars of Portuguese Verbs

1 – The Verb “To Be” in Portuguese

The illustrious verb “to be” has to come first in this list of essential Portuguese verbs. After all, it’s one of the first verbs you’ll use when getting to know people. There’s a catch, however. Unlike in English, in Portuguese we have two verbs that translate to “to be.” These are the Portuguese verbs ser and estar.

Think of it in terms of permanence and impermanence:

• You can be something permanently (or at least for a long time):
  •  You can be a certain nationality or profession.

• You can be something for a small period of time (temporarily)
  • You can be cold, you can be sunblind, or you can be in school.

1.

Ser “To be” – permanent

Ele é um homem muito alto. “He is a very tall man.”

2.

Estar “To be” – impermanent

Eles estão ansiosos. “They are anxious.”

Both verbs also act as auxiliary verbs in specific compound tenses. 

Estar is an auxiliary verb in all of the continuous tenses. That means that when you want to say you “were doing” or “are doing” something, estar is the auxiliary verb you will use.

• Present continuous: Eu estou correndo agora. (“I am running now.”)
• Past continuous: Você estava lendo uma revista. (“You were reading a magazine.”)

Ser is an auxiliary verb only when a sentence is in the passive voice. In other words, when the action happens to someone, we use the verb ser alongside the main verb.

• Passive voice: Nós fomos reconhecidos. (“We were recognized.”)

2 – Some Other Auxiliary Verbs

Besides the “to be” verbs, there are some other important Portuguese auxiliary verbs to learn. When they’re acting as helping verbs, they’re used before the action verb. As a result, they add information about possibility or time. 

In the examples below, the first sentence shows the verb acting as the main verb, in the simple tense. The second example shows how it’s used in the compound tense.

3.

Ir  “To go” “Will”

Eles estão indo para a praia. “They are going to the beach.”

Eu vou dormir agora. “I will sleep now.”

The verb ir is an auxiliary verb in the future tense, indicating the action that will happen. 

In Brazilian Portuguese, it’s very common to see the verb ir being used in the compound future tense instead of the simple future tense. For example, it’s more likely that you’ll hear:

• Eu vou fazer um bolo. 

than

• Eu farei um bolo.

Both sentences mean the same thing, but the compound form is more common in colloquial Portuguese. 

You’ll also encounter the verb ir paired with an action verb in the gerund form. This combination expresses a continuous action in the near future.

• Eu vou dirigindo na frente. 

“I will be driving ahead.”

You can probably tell by the examples above that ir is a highly irregular verb.

4.

Ter  “To have”

Nós temos dinheiro. “We have money.”

Eu tenho comido bem. “I have been eating well.”

Ter is used to form the perfect tenses:

• Você tem acordado cedo. 

“You have been waking up early.”

• Você teria acordado cedo se o despertador tivesse funcionado direito. 

“You would have woken up early if the alarm clock had worked properly.”

5.

Haver  “Can”  “May”

Há mais de 40 sapatos. “There are more than 40 shoes.”

Eu haveria perdido. “I would have lost.”

Haver is a special little verb. It’s used in a variety of ways. But the truth is that, at least in Brazilian Portuguese, it’s becoming less common to use it. 

Haver can mean “there is” or “there are”:

• Há muita gente aqui. 

“There are a lot of people here.”

Note that the same sentence could have been written with the verb ter:

• Tem muita gente aqui. 

“There are a lot of people here.”

These two words can be used interchangeably in the context of “there is” and “there are.” They’re also interchangeable in the compound perfect tenses. 

• Ele havia conseguido. 

“He had succeeded.”

• Ele tinha conseguido. 

“He had succeeded.”

Although grammatically correct, it’s rarer to see the verb haver used in those cases.

/! But attention! When ter conveys possession, then the verbs can’t be used interchangeably.

6.

Poder  “Can”  “May” “To be able”  “Might”

Podemos lutar. “We can fight.” Eu posso precisar de ajuda hoje a noite. “I might need help tonight.”

7.

Dever “Must” “To have to” “To owe”	Tu deves continuar. “You must continue.” Você me deve uma cerveja. “You owe me a beer.”
Dever is also a noun in Portuguese. It can mean “duty” or “homework” in the expression dever de casa. Já terminei meu dever de casa. (“I’m done with my homework.”)

There are many other verbs that, in some occasions, act as auxiliary verbs. As long as you know the ones we’ve just looked at, you’ll do very well!

3 – The Most-Used Action Verbs in Portuguese

Now that you already know the main auxiliary verbs, let’s continue seeing how to express actions with this Portuguese verbs chart. Remember to also get familiar with how they sound with this vocabulary list of the 50 Most Common Verbs. There are more listening exercises available on PortuguesePod101.

8.

Fazer “To do” “To make” “To have” (when talking about events)	Você já fez seus exercícios hoje? “Did you already do your exercises today?” Eu faço o melhor bolo de chocolate. “I make the best chocolate cake.” Vamos fazer uma festa esse fim de semana? “Let’s have a party this weekend?”
In Portuguese, we often use the verb fazer to talk about weather: Fez muito sol. (“It was very sunny.”) We can also use the verb estar in the same way: Estava muito sol. (“It was very sunny.”) Lastly, you’re also likely to see both verbs being used, in a compound tense: Estava fazendo muito frio. (“It was very cold.”)

9.

Dizer “To say” “To tell”

Nós sempre dizemos isso. “We always say that.”

10.

Falar “To speak” “To talk” “To tell”

Minha mãe fala inglês. “My mother speaks English.”

11.

Dar “To give”

Eles nos deram muito apoio. “They gave us a lot of support.”

12.

Gostar “To like”

Ela gostava do mar. “She liked the sea.”

13.

Amar “To love”

Eu amo bolo de chocolate! “I love chocolate cake!”

14.

Ver “To see”

Vocês veem aquele pássaro? “Do you see that bird?”

15.

Olhar “To look”

Quando ele olhou pra mim, eu chorei. “When he looked at me, I cried.”

16.

Ouvir “To hear”

Você ouviu o trovão? “Did you hear the thunder?”

17.

Escutar “To listen to”

Ele escutou o discurso até o final. “He listened to the speech until the end.”

Ouvir and escutar are used interchangeably very often, even though there’s a slight difference in meaning. Ouvir doesn’t necessarily imply paying attention. Escutar refers to making sense of what was heard or, in other words, hearing and paying attention to it.  However, in most cases, you can use both. For example: Eu ouvi um barulho estranho.  Eu escutei um barulho estranho.  Both sentences translate to “I heard a weird noise.”

18.

Tocar “To touch” “To make a sound”	Não toca na panela. “Don’t touch the pan.” O celular está tocando. “The phone is ringing.” A música parou de tocar. “The music stopped playing.”
Tocar is a very versatile word that’s used in a couple of slang expressions.  The first one is equivalent to saying “High five!” Toca aqui!  Another common use is the expression se toca! It’s used as a wakeup call: Se toca! Tá achando que é quem? (“Wake up! Who do you think you are?”) Cara, se toca, esse namoro já acabou. (“Dude, wake up, this relationship is over.”)

19.

Cheirar “To smell”

Está cheirando mal aqui. “It smells bad here.”

In Portuguese, there are several ways that you can talk about how something smells, besides using the verb cheirar.  You can also use the verb sentir (“to feel,” see below) + the noun cheiro (“smell”):  Eu sinto cheiro de café! (“I smell coffee!”) Or you can use the verb estar (impermanent “to be”):  Está um cheiro bom aqui. (“It smells nice here.”) Finally, you can opt for the verb ter (“to have”):  Esta casa tem um cheiro ruim. (“This house has a bad smell.”) In fact, if you do see the verb cheirar being used, it will probably be in a compound tense, with the verb estar. Ele estava cheirando bem. (“He was smelling good.”)

20.

Sentir “To feel”

Vocês estão se sentindo bem? “Do you feel well?”

21.

Pensar “To think”

Penso, logo existo. “I think, therefore I am.”

22.

Achar “To find” “To think”

Achei a chave! “I found the key!” Eu não achei que importava. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

23.

Saber “To know”

Você saberá no momento certo. “You will know at the right moment.”

24.

Querer “To want”

Eles queriam tanto isto. “They wanted it so bad.”

25.

Ficar “To stay” “To get” “To be” (impermanent), when talking about location	Você vai ficar em casa hoje? “Will you stay home today?” Aqui fica frio rápido. “It gets cold quickly here.” O banheiro fica à esquerda. “The bathroom is to the left.”
Ficar translates to “to get” when it’s followed by an adjective. For example: Está ficando velhinha! (“You are getting a bit old!”)

26.

Precisar “To need”	Eu preciso tanto de um banho. “I need a shower so bad.”
Precisar acts as an auxiliary verb as well: Ele precisa entender que não é fácil assim. (“He needs to understand it’s not that easy.”)

27.

Praticar “To practice”

Eu estou praticando meu português com meu vizinho. “I am practicing my Portuguese with my neighbor.”

28.

Pôr “To put” “To place”

Você sempre põe os outros em primeiro lugar. “You always put others first.”

29.

Colocar “To put” “To place”	O paisagista colocou as flores exóticas no meio do jardim. “The landscaper placed the exotic flowers in the middle of the garden.”
In Portuguese, some verbs can be transformed into another one by adding the prefix re- in front. By doing so, the new verb gains the meaning of doing the action again.  For example, we have the verb colocar and the verb recolocar. Recolocar means “to replace.” Você pode recolocar os livros na estante, por favor? (“Can you replace the books on the shelf, please?”)

30.

Passar “To pass” “To iron (clothes)”

Pode me passar o sal? “Can you pass me the salt?” Tenho que passar esta blusa primeiro. “I have to iron this shirt first.”

31.

Chegar “To arrive”

Meu pai chega tarde em casa. “My dad arrives home late.”

32.

Entrar “To enter”

Só podemos entrar até à meia-noite. “We can only enter at midnight.”

33.

Chamar “To call” “To summon”	Ele me chamou super cedo hoje. “He called me super-early today.” Os alunos foram chamados ao escritório. “The students were summoned to the office.”
Chamar can also mean “to draw” in the expression “to draw attention”: O objetivo do protesto é chamar a atenção dos governantes. (“The protest’s goal is drawing the government’s attention.”)

34.

Mudar “To change” “To move”

Minha avó vai mudar as cortinas. “My grandmother will change the curtains.”

35.

Vir “To come (over)”

Vocês vieram jantar aqui no meu aniversário, lembram? “You came over for dinner on my birthday, remember?”

36.

Voltar “To come back” “To return”

Mocinho, volte aqui! “Young man, come back here!”

37.

Sair “To leave” “To go out”

Adoro sair com minhas amigas. “I love to go out with my friends.”

38.

Partir “To leave” “To depart” “To break” “To cut (into pieces)”

Desde que você partiu, estou tão só. “Since you left, I feel so alone.” Quem vai partir o bolo? “Who will cut the cake?”

39.

Deixar “To leave (something)” “To let”

Ela deixou a carteira aqui. “She left the wallet here.” Não vou deixar isso me magoar. “I won’t let that hurt me.”

40.

Encontrar “To meet” “To find”	E vocês dois vão se encontrar? “And you two are going to meet?” Não encontro as minhas chaves. “I can’t find my keys.”
Once again, by adding the prefix re- in front of the verb encontrar, we have another verb: reencontrar, meaning “to meet again.” Meus tios finalmente se reencontraram. (“My uncles finally met again.”)

41.

Levar “To take”

Vocês sempre esquecem de levar os presentes. “You always forget to take the gifts with you.”

42.

Começar “To start” “To begin”

Meus pais começaram as aulas de dança. “My parents started their dance lessons.”

43.

Terminar “To finish” “To end”

O jogo terminou empatado. “The match ended in a tie.”

44.

Apresentar “To present” “To introduce” “To perform”

O clube de teatro apresenta a nova peça. “The theater club presents the new play.” Gostaria de te apresentar ao meu namorado. “I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend.” Minha filha se apresentou sozinha. “My daughter performed by herself.”

45.

Conhecer “To know” “To meet” “To discover”	O motorista não conhecia aquela estrada. “The driver didn’t know that highway.” Eu quero conhecer seu irmão. “I want to meet your brother.” Ela ama conhecer novas culturas. “She loves to discover new cultures.”
Note that conhecer only means “to know” when referring to something familiar.  For example, you can use conhecer if you know a certain street or a certain person:  Você conhece a prima Luisa? (“Do you know cousin Luisa?”) But you can’t use conhecer if referring to something you know how to do. In this case, use saber. Eu sei cozinhar. (“I know how to cook.”)

46.

Conseguir “To get”  “To achieve (something)”

Eu não sei se ele vai conseguir o trabalho. “I don’t know if he will get the job.”

47.

Existir “To exist”	O futuro ainda não existe. “The future still does not exist.”
Existir can be translated as “there is” or “there are”: Nunca existiu alguém como você na minha vida. (“There was never someone like you in my life.”)

48.

Considerar “To consider”

É uma boa ideia considerar a oferta. “It’s a good idea to consider the offer.”

49.

Continuar “To continue”

Os peregrinos continuaram andando por mais dois dias. “The pilgrims continued walking for two more days.”

50.

Viver “To live”	Queria ter vivido na Renascença. “I wish I had lived during the Renaissance.”
In Portuguese, we use the verb viver to convey the idea of always doing something. For example: Eu vivo dizendo isso pra ele. (“I’m always telling him that.”) Ele vivia cantando esta música. (“He was always singing this song.”)

51.

Morrer “To die”

Todos vamos morrer um dia. “We will all die one day.”

52.

Tomar “To take” “To have (a drink)”	Você tomou seu remédio? “Did you take your medicine?” Vamos tomar uma cerveja! “Let’s go have a beer!”
Tomar can be used interchangeably with beber (“to drink”). Levar and tomar both mean “to take.” The difference is that levar implies taking something/someone somewhere: Leva este vestido na viagem. (“Take this dress on your trip.”) Tomar does not imply this concept of location: Vou tomar um banho. (“I’ll take a shower.”)

53.

Acabar “To end” “To finish”	Acabei meu projeto ontem. “I finished my project yesterday.”
Acabar is also used in some different situations. It can mean “is over” or “run out of”:  A comida já acabou. (“We’ve run out of food.”) It’s also very commonly used to express that something just happened:  Ele acabou de começar a pintura. (“He just started the painting.”)

54.

Pegar “To catch” “To grasp”

Tenta pegar a bola antes que ela caia no chão. “Try to catch the ball before it hits the floor.”

55.

Receber “To receive” “To get”

Meu irmão recebeu uma promoção no trabalho. “My brother received a promotion at work.”

56.

Andar “To walk”	Para de andar tão rápido. “Stop walking so fast.”
It’s common to see this verb being used to express something that one has been doing or feeling:  Eu ando lendo muito. (“I have been reading a lot.”)

57.

Trabalhar “To work”

Nosso vizinho trabalha até tarde. “Our neighbor works until late.”

58.

Criar “To create” “To make” “To raise”

O designer criou um pôster lindo. “The designer made a beautiful poster.” Minha mãe me criou sozinha. “My mom raised me by herself.”

59.

Pedir “To ask”

Minha amiga pediu um favor. “My friend asked for a favor.”

60.

Seguir “To follow” “To go”	O cachorro me seguiu o caminho todo. “The dog followed me all the way.” Pra chegar no mercado, é só seguir em frente. “To get to the market, just go straight ahead.”
Used in the expression seguir em frente (“to move on”): Quando eles terminaram, ela seguiu em frente. (“When they broke up, she moved on.”)

61.

Contar “To count” “To tell”

A professora contou os alunos. “The teacher counted the students.” A jornalista me contou que ninguém estava lá. “The journalist told me that nobody was there.”

62.

Acontecer “To happen”

Aconteceu exatamente assim. “It happened exactly like that.”

63.

Afirmar “To claim” “To affirm” “To state”

O diretor afirmou que tudo está funcionando bem. “The director stated that everything is working well.”

64.

Tratar “To treat”

O médico tratou o paciente. “The doctor treated the patient.”

65.

Esperar “To wait”

Eu esperei por muito tempo. “I waited for a long time.”

66.

Usar “To use”

Nós não usamos couro. “We don’t use leather.”

67.

Manter “To keep” “To maintain”

Vou manter a esperança acesa. “I’ll keep hope alive.”

68.

Realizar “To accomplish”

Finalmente ele realizou seu sonho. “He finally accomplished his dream.”

69.

Abrir “To open”

Só pode abrir a encomenda quando eu chegar! “Only open the package once I arrive!”

70.

Fechar “To close”	Quase que fecham a porta na nossa cara! “They almost closed the door right in our face!”
As in English, we also have the expression “to close a deal” using this verb: Fico feliz de fechar este negócio com você. (“I am happy to close this deal with you.”)

71.

Escrever “To write”

Eu irei escrever uma página todos os dias. “I will write a page everyday.”

72.

Permitir “To allow”

Seu pai jamais permitiria isso. “Your father would never allow that.”

73.

Acreditar “To believe”

Eu só acredito vendo. “I only believe it when I see it.”

74.

Mostrar “To show”

Será que pode me mostrar o carro? “Any chance you can show me the car?”

75.

Lembrar “To remember” “To remind”	Ele me lembrou de comprar. “He reminded me to buy it.” Eu lembrarei da nossa música. “I will remember our song.”
As in the other examples we already saw, we also have the verb relembrar, which means “to remember again.” It’s also used when talking about nostalgia and thinking about old times, as in the example: Este filme me faz relembrar minha infância. (“This movie makes me remember my childhood.”)

76.

Trazer “To bring”

Você trouxe o meu pote? “Did you bring my tupperware?”

77.

Procurar “To look for”

Era isso que eu procurava! “That’s what I was looking for!”

78.

Tentar “To try”

Não importa o quanto a gente falhe, vamos tentar de novo. “Doesn’t matter how much we fail, we will try again.”

79.

Formar “To form”

Formem uma fila, por favor. “Form a line, please.”

80.

Aparecer “To appear” “To show up”

Ele sempre aparece descalço. “He always shows up barefooted.”

81.

Comprar “To buy”

Comprou o liquidificador? “Did you buy the blender?”

82.

Cair “To fall”

Vocês quase caíram, eu vi. “You almost fell, I saw it.”

83.

Correr “To run”

Eu corri pra nada. “I ran for nothing.”

84.

Ganhar “To win” “To receive” “To get”

Nós sempre ganhamos a competição da escola. “We always win the school competition.” Vocês ganharam um presente! “You got a present!”

85.

Perder “To lose” “To miss”

Elas não vão perder. “They won’t lose.” Eu perdi meu vôo. “I missed my flight.”

86.

Vencer “To win”

Eles venceram aquele jogo. “They won that game.”

87.

Chover “To rain”

Ontem choveu o dia todo. “It rained all day yesterday.”

88.

Pagar “To pay”

Eles saíram sem pagar. “They left without paying.”

89.

Entender “To understand”

Eu não entendi nada. “I didn’t understand any of it.”

90.

Parecer “Seem” “Look (like)”

Ele não parecia muito feliz. “He didn’t seem very happy.”

91.

Ler “To read”

Você leu todos esses livros? “Did you read all these books?”

92.

Tirar “To take away” “To remove” “To get” (only with grades)

Vamos tirar isto daqui. “We will remove this from here.” Ele tirou 10 no teste. “He got an A on the test.”

93.

Responder “To answer” “To reply”

Eles nunca mais me responderam. “They never answered me again.”

94.

Explicar “To explain”

Vamos lá, me explica o que aconteceu. “C’mon, explain to me what happened.”

95.

Ensinar “To teach”

Nós ensinávamos muito bem.  “We used to teach very well.”

96.

Descobrir “To discover” “To find out”

Você não sabe o que eu descobri! “You don’t know what I found out!”

97.

Levantar “To lift” “To raise” “To get up”

Levantem as mãos. “Raise your hands.”

98.

Deitar “To lay down”

Só vou deitar um pouco. “I’ll just lay down a little.”

99.

Comer “To eat”

Ela comeu uma pizza de chocolate. “She ate a chocolate pizza.”

100.

Beber “To drink”

Eles bebem muito café. “They drink a lot of coffee.”

3. Continue Learning More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

This article had a lot of information about Portuguese language verbs, and we hope that the examples and explanations were helpful to you. This list will be here for you to review and refresh your memory whenever necessary. 

Did you like learning about common Portuguese verbs and conjugations? Are there any important ones we missed? Let us know in the comments. 

And now, it’s time to put it into practice. To start, you can compare the most common verbs in any language with their Portuguese translation. Or go ahead and choose your own vocabulary list or another free resource on PortuguesePod101.

If you want to take your learning experience further, members of PortuguesePod101.com get access to the largest language lesson library in the world, with thousands of real lessons by real teachers. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from anywhere, feel motivated, and be ready to speak Portuguese with confidence.

Happy Portuguese learning!

What’s your relationship with the clock like? Does it run your day from a morning alarm to a cut-off chime for bed, or are you more of a go-with-the-flow type, letting your mood and emotions decide how much you fall in line with time?

Understanding time in Portuguese is an important part of your studies. As humans, our lives are filled with habits and schedules. From waking up and going to work or gym, to missing rush hour traffic on our way home, we’re always aware of time. We have routines around coffee breaks, meetings, soccer games and vacations. In fact, time can seem rather capricious – going slowly, going fast, sometimes against us, other times on our side – like a force that has a life of its own.

In science, time is often referred to as a fourth dimension and many physicists and philosophers think that if we understood the physics of the universe, we would see that time is an illusion. We sense an ‘arrow’ or direction of time because we have memories, but really time is just a construct that humans have created to help make sense of the world. 

On the other hand, poets through the ages have written impassioned thoughts about time, depicting it as both a relentless thief and an immensely precious resource, not to be wasted at any cost.

Well, poets and scientists may have their views, but in our everyday lives there’s the question of practicality, isn’t there? I mean, if you have plans and want things to happen your way, there’s a certain amount of conforming to the human rules of time that you can’t avoid. 

In ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the prince has a rose that he falls in love with, and he tenderly protects it with a windscreen and places it under a glass dome on his tiny planet.  I love this quote from the book:  “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”  If we truly love something, we spend time with it and not a second of that time could ever be seen as wasted. I feel that way about horses, my children, travel and learning languages. 

With that in mind, I’d like to take you on a journey into ‘time’ from a Portuguese perspective. It’s fun, it’s informative and it’s a basic necessity if you’re learning the language – especially if you plan to travel. PortuguesePod101 has all the vocab you need to fall in love with telling time in Portuguese, and not a minute will be wasted.

Table of Contents

1. Talking about Time in Portuguese
2. How to Tell the Time in Portuguese
3. Conclusion

1. Talking about Time in Portuguese

As a traveler, your primary need for knowing how to read the hour in Portuguese will be for transportation schedules: the bus, train, airplane, ferry, taxi… whatever you plan to use to get from A to B, it won’t wait for you! Fortunately, it’s really not complicated. You already have a firm grasp of time in English and you know you’ll need to reset your watch and phone to the local time. Great – that means you’ll have the correct time on your person. 

We’re so used to just looking at our phones for the time, that it’s easy to take this convenience for granted and forget some travel basics: in a foreign country, times won’t always be written digitally. If you see the time written in words, it’ll be the same challenge to you as hearing it spoken: you’ll need to be familiar with the language. 

You may be surprised at how often ‘time’ comes into conversation. Learning the Portuguese terms for time will help you when you have to call a taxi, ask about opening and closing times of events and tourist attractions, restaurants and bars and even late-night food cafes.

My biggest annoyance when traveling is not being able to get coffee and amazingly, even at nice hotels this has happened more times than I care to think about. I’ll be up late planning something, writing my blog or chatting and when I go looking for coffee downstairs, I’m told the kitchen is closed or the ‘coffee lady’ has gone to sleep. Frustrating!

If you’re doing a homestay or at a youth hostel or backpackers, there will probably also be a limited timeframe for when you can grab dinner. Do you know how to ask when it’s time to eat in Portuguese? I’ve learned that it’s vital to know how to make my queries clearly understood to accommodation staff and for me to clearly understand their answers. Perfect your ‘time in Portuguese’ translations early on – you’ll thank me. 

At PortuguesePod101, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of Portuguese time words and phrases to get you going. 

1- Morning – manhã

Morning is the time when we wake up from our dreamworld, hopefully fully rested and restored; we brew the first delicious cup of coffee for the day and watch the sunrise as we prepare for another glorious twelve hours of life. No matter what happened the day before, a new morning is a chance to make everything right. 

I like these quiet hours for language practice, as my mind is clear and receptive to learning new things. I start by writing the Portuguese time, date and word of the day on my whiteboard, then get back under the covers for an engrossing lesson.

Time in the morning is written as AM or A.M., which stands for ante meridiem – meaning ‘before midday’ in Latin.

2- Evening – noite

Evening is the part of night when we’re still awake and doing things, winding down from the day. Whether you enjoy a tasty international dinner with friends, go out to see a show, or curl up on the couch with a Brazilian snack and your favorite TV series, evening is a good time to forget your worries and do something that relaxes you. If you’re checking in with your Facebook friends, say hi to us, too!  

Evening is also an ideal time to catch up on your Portuguese studies. The neighbourhood outside is likely to be quieter and time is yours, so grab a glass of wine or a delicious local tea, and see what’s new on your Mac App or Kindle. 

3- Daytime – dia

Daytime is defined as the period from early morning to early evening when the sun is visible outside. In other words: from sunrise to sunset.  Where you are in the world, as well as the season, will determine how many daylight hours you get. 

Interestingly, in locations north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle, in summertime the sun does not sink below the horizon within a 24-hour period, bringing the natural phenomenon of the midnight sun.  You could only experience this in the north, though, because there aren’t any permanent human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle.

4- Nighttime – noite

Nighttime is all the hours from sunset to sunrise and depending on where in the country you are, people may be partying all night, or asleep from full-dark. 

In the same northernmost and southernmost regions where you can experience a midnight sun, winter brings the opposite phenomenon: the polar night. Can you imagine a night that lasts for more than 24 hours? 

5- Hour – hora

An hour is a unit of time made up of 60 minutes and is a variable measure of one-24th of a day – also defined by geeks as 3 600 atomic seconds. Of all the ‘time’ words we use on a daily basis, the hour is the most important, as time of day is typically expressed in terms of hours. 

One of the interesting methods of keeping time that people have come up with is the hourglass. Although the origins are unclear, there’s evidence pointing to the hourglass being invented around 1000 – 1100 AD and one of the ways we know this, is from hourglasses being depicted in very old murals. These days, with clocks and watches in every direction we look, they’re really only used symbolically to represent the passage of time. Still – a powerful reminder of our mortality and to seize the day. In his private journal, the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, wrote: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

6- Minute – minuto

Use this word when you want to say a more precise time and express minutes in Portuguese. A minute is a unit of time equal to one sixtieth of an hour, or 60 seconds. A lot can happen in the next 60 seconds. For example, your blood will circulate three times through your entire vascular system and your heart will pump about 2.273 litres of blood. 

7- O’clock – hora

We use “o’clock” when there are no minutes and we’re saying the exact hour, as in “It’s two o’clock.” In Portuguese, this is essentially the same as saying “hour.”

The term “o’clock” is a contraction of the term “of the clock”. It comes from 15th-century references to medieval mechanical clocks. At the time, sundials were also common timekeepers. Therefore, to make clear one was referencing a clock’s time, they would say something like, “It is six of the clock” – now shortened to “six o’clock”.

We only use this term when talking about the 12 hour clock, though, not the 24 hour clock (more on that later!) The 12-hour clock can be traced back as far as Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Both an Egyptian sundial for daytime use and an Egyptian water clock for nighttime use were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep I. Dating to c.1500 BC, these clocks divided their respective times of use into 12 hours each. The Romans also used a 12-hour clock. Daylight was divided into 12 equal hours and the night was divided into four watches. 

These days, the internet has made it very easy to know what the time is in any part of the world.  Speaking of which, why not add the Portuguese time zone clock to your laptop?

8- Half past – e meia

When the time is thirty minutes past the hour, in English we say “half past”. Just like the hour, the half-hour is universally used as an orientation point; some languages speak of 30 minutes before the hour (subtraction), whereas others speak of 30 minutes after the hour (addition). 

9- AM – da manhã

As mentioned earlier, AM is the abbreviation of the Latin ante meridiem and means before midday. Using ‘AM’ as a tag on your time simply tells people you’re speaking about a time in the morning. In some countries, morning is abbreviated to “AM” and you’ll see this on shop signs everywhere, announcing the opening hour. A typical shop sign might read something like this:

“Business hours are from 7AM to 6PM.” 

10- PM – da noite

PM is the abbreviation of the Latin post meridiem and means after midday. Along with ‘AM’, you’ll usually find ‘PM’ on store signs and businesses, indicating the closing hours. It’s advisable to learn the difference between the two, since some establishments might only have one or the other on the sign. For example, a night club sign might say: 

“Open from 10 PM until late.” 

11- What time is it now? – Que horas são agora?

Here’s a very handy question you should memorize, as you can use it in any situation where you don’t have your watch or phone on you. This could be on the beach, in a club, or if you’re stuck anywhere with a flat phone battery. It happens at home, so it can happen when you’re traveling! 

12- One o’clock – uma hora

One o’clock, or 1 PM, is the average lunch time for many people around the world – at least, we try to get a meal in at some point between midday and 2 PM.  In terms of duration, the nations vary: Brazililans reportedly take the longest lunch breaks, averaging 48 minutes, whereas Greece reports an average break of only 19 minutes. Historically, Greeks were known for their very leisurely lunch breaks, so it just goes to show how fast the world is changing. If you’re curious about what to expect in Brazil, try asking our online community about lunch time in Portuguese.

13- Two o’clock – duas horas

In his last days, Napoleon Bonaparte famously spoke of “Two o’clock in the morning courage” – meaning unprepared, spontaneous  courage. He was talking about soldiers who are brave enough to tumble out of bed in an instant, straight into action, without time to think or strategize. Do you think you have what it takes? I’m pretty sure all mothers know this feeling!

14- Three o’clock – três horas

3 AM can be perceived as the coldest time of day and is not an hour we want to wake up, but meteorologists will tell you that the coldest time is actually half an hour after sunrise. Even though the sun is peeking over the horizon, the solar radiation is still weaker than the earth’s infrared cooling to space.

15- Four o’clock – quatro horas

Do you know anyone who purposely gets up at 4 o’clock in the morning? As crazy as it sounds, there is something to be said for rising at 4 AM while the rest of the world sleeps. If you live on a farm, it might even be normal for you. I know that whenever I’m staying in the countryside, rising early is a lot easier, because there’s a satisfying reason to do so: watching a sunrise from a rooftop, with uninterrupted views, can’t be beat! It’s also likely that you’ll be woken by a cock crowing, or other animals waking to graze in the fresh pre-dawn air. 

In the world of business, you’ll find a small group of ambitious individuals – many entrepreneurs – who swear by the 4 o’clock in the morning rise. I’m not sure I like that idea, but I’d wake up at 4 AM if it was summer and I had my car packed for a vacation!

16- Five o’clock – cinco horas

What better way to signal the transition between work and play than the clock hands striking 5 o’clock? It’s the hour most working people look forward to each day – at least, those who get to stop working at 5 PM.  Meanwhile, millions of retired folks are taking out the wine glasses, as 5 PM is widely accepted as an appropriate time to pour the first glass. I don’t know how traditional your families are, but for as long as I’ve been alive, my grandparents have counted down the milliseconds to five o’clock, and the hour is announced with glee.

17- Six o’clock – seis horas

This is the time many working people and school kids wake up in the morning. In many parts of the world, 6 o’clock is also a good time to watch the sunrise, go for a run or hit the hiking trails. 

18- Seven o’clock – sete horas

Health gurus will tell you that 7 o’clock in the morning is the best time to eat your first meal of the day, and 7 o’clock in the evening is the time you should eat your last meal. I’ve tried that and I agree, but it’s not always easy!

19- Eight o’clock – oito horas

8 o’clock in the morning is the time that most businesses open around the world, and the time most kids are in their first lesson at school – still full of energy and willing to participate. Interestingly, it’s also the time most babies are born in the world!  In the evening, 8 o’clock is many young children’s bedtime and the time for parents to watch the evening news. 

20- Nine o’clock – nove horas

It’s good to occasionally sleep late on a weekend and for me, this means waking up at 9 AM. If you’re traveling in Brazil and staying at a hotel, planning to sleep late means politely requesting to not be woken up by room service.

21- Ten o’clock – dez horas

10 o’clock in the morning is a popular time to conduct business meetings, and for first break time at schools. We’re usually wide awake and well into our day by then.  But what about the same hour at night? Modern people are often still awake and watching TV at 10 PM, but this isn’t exactly good for us. Experts say that the deepest and most regenerative sleep occurs between 10 PM and 2 AM, so we should already be sound asleep by ten o’clock. 

In advertising, have you ever noticed that the hands of the clock usually point to 10:10? Have a look next time you see a watch on a billboard or magazine. The reason? Aesthetics. Somehow, the human brain finds the symmetry pleasing. When the clock hands are at ten and two, they create a ‘smiley’ face and don’t cover any key details, like a logo, on the clock face. 

22- Eleven o’clock – onze horas

When I see this time written in words, it makes me think of the hilarious Academy Award-winning very short film, “The Eleven O’Clock”, in which the delusional patient of a psychiatrist believes that he is actually the doctor. 

Then there’s the tradition of ‘elevenses’ – tea time at eleven o’clock in the morning. Strongly ingrained in British culture, elevenses is typically a serving of hot tea or coffee with scones or pastries on the side. It’s a great way to stave off hunger pangs before lunch time arrives. In fact, if you were a hobbit, ‘Elevenses’ would be your third meal of the day!

23- Twelve o’clock – doze horas

Twelve o’clock in the daytime is considered midday, when the sun is at its zenith and the temperature reaches its highest for that day; it’s written as 12 noon or 12 PM. In most parts of the world, though, this doesn’t happen at precisely 12 PM. ‘Solar noon’ is the time when the sun is actually at its highest point in the sky. The local or clock time of solar noon depends on the longitude and date. If it’s summertime, it’s advisable to stay in the shade during this hour – or at least wear good quality sunblock.

Midnight is the other ‘twelve o’clock’, of course. Midnight is written as 12 AM and is technically the first minute of the morning. On the 24-hour clock, midnight is written as 00:00. 

2. How to Tell the Time in Portuguese

Using a clock to read the time in Brazil is going to be the same as in your own country, since you’re dealing with numbers and not words. You’ll know the time in your head and be able to say it in English, but will you be able to say it out loud in Portuguese? 

The first step to saying the time in Portuguese is knowing your numbers. How are you doing with that? If you can count to twelve in Portuguese, you’re halfway there! We’ve already covered the phrases you’ll need to say the exact hour, as in “five o’clock”, as well as how to say “half past”. What remains is the more specific phrases to describe what the minute hand is doing.

In everyday speech, it’s common to say the minutes past or before the hour. Often we round the minutes off to the nearest five. 

Then, there’s the 24-hour clock. Also known as ‘military time’, the 24-hour clock is used in most countries and, as such, is useful to understand. You’ll find that even in places where the 12-hour clock is standard, certain people will speak in military time or use a combination of the two.  No doubt you’ve also noticed that in written time, the 24-hour clock is commonly used.  One of the most prominent places you’ll have seen this is on airport flight schedules.

Knowing how to tell military time in Portuguese is really not complicated if you know your numbers up to twenty-four. One advantage of using the 24-hour clock in Portuguese, is there’s no chance of confusing AM and PM.

Once you know how to say the time, it will be pretty easy to also write the time in Portuguese. You’re already learning what the different hours and minutes look and sound like, so give yourself some writing practice of the same. 

3. Conclusion

Now that you understand the vocabulary for telling time in Portuguese, the best thing you can do to really lock it down is to just practice saying Portuguese time daily. Start by replacing English with Portuguese whenever you need to say the time; in fact, do this whenever you look at your watch. Say the time to yourself in Portuguese and it will become a habit. When learning a new language, the phrases you use habitually are the ones your brain will acquire. It feels amazing when that turning point comes!

To help yourself gain confidence, why don’t you make use of our various apps, downloadable for iPhone and iPad, as well as Android? Choose what works best for you. In addition, we have so many free resources available to supplement your learning, that you simply can’t go wrong. Some of these are:

• Free lessons on iTunes
• A free mini lesson every day with the Innovative Language Calendar.
• Free audio books for lessons on the go.

If you prefer watching your lessons on video, check out our YouTube channel – there are hundreds of videos to browse. For those of you with Roku, we also have a TV channel you can watch.

Well, it’s time for me to say goodbye and for you to practice saying the time in Portuguese. Look at the nearest clock and try to say the exact time, down to the seconds. See you again soon at PortuguesePod101!

What is the most defining moment you will face this year? From memories that you immortalize in a million photographs, to days you never wish to remember, one thing’s for certain: big life events change you. The great poet, Bukowski, said, “We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well, that death will tremble to take us.” The older I get, the more I agree with him!

Talking about significant events in our lives is part of every person’s journey, regardless of creed or culture. If you’re planning to stay in Brazil for more than a quick visit, you’re sure to need at least a few ‘life events’ phrases that you can use. After all, many of these are shared experiences, and it’s generally expected that we will show up with good manners and warm wishes.

Table of Contents

1. Life Events
2. Marriage Proposal Lines
3. Talking About Age
4. Conclusion

1. Life Events

Do you know how to say “Happy New Year” in Portuguese? Well, the New Year is a pretty big deal that the whole world is in on! We celebrate until midnight, make mindful resolutions, and fill the night sky with the same happy words in hundreds of languages. No doubt, then, that you’ll want to know how to say it like a local!

Big life events are not all about fun times, though. Real life happens even when you’re traveling, and certain terminology will be very helpful to know. From talking about your new job to wishing your neighbors “Merry Christmas” in Portuguese, here at PortuguesePod101, we’ve put together just the right vocabulary and phrases for you.

1- Birthday – aniversário

If you’re like me, any excuse to bring out a pen and scribble a note is a good one. When there’s a birthday, even better: hello, handwriting!

Your Brazilian friend will love hearing you wish them a “Happy birthday” in Portuguese, but how much more will they appreciate a thoughtful written message? Whether you write it on their Facebook wall or buy a cute card, your effort in Portuguese is sure to get them smiling! Write it like this:

Feliz Aniversário

Now that you know the words, I challenge you to put them to music and sing your own “Happy birthday” song in Portuguese! It’s not impossible to figure out even more lyrics, once you start discovering the language from scratch.

2- Buy – comprar

If there’s a special occasion, you might want to buy somebody a gift. As long as you’ve checked out Portuguese etiquette on gift-giving (do a Google search for this!), it will be a lovely gesture. If you’re not sure what to buy, how about the awesome and universally-appealing gift of language? That’s a gift that won’t stop giving!

3- Retire – aposentar-se

If you’re planning to expand your mind and retire in Brazil, you can use this word to tell people why you seem to be on a perpetual vacation!

Retirement is also a great time to learn a new language, don’t you think? And you don’t have to do it alone! These days it’s possible to connect to a vibrant learning community at the click of a button. The added benefit of a Daily Dose of Language is that it keeps your brain cells alive and curious about the world. After all, it’s never too late to realize those long-ignored dreams of traveling the globe…

4- Graduation – formatura

When attending a graduation ceremony in Brazil, be prepared for a lot of formal language! It will be a great opportunity to listen carefully and see if you can pick up differences from the everyday Portuguese you hear.

5- Promotion – promoção

Next to vacation time, receiving a promotion is the one career highlight almost everyone looks forward to. And why wouldn’t you? Sure, it means more responsibility, but it also means more money and benefits and – the part I love most – a change of scenery! Even something as simple as looking out a new office window would boost my mood.

6- Anniversary – aniversário

Some anniversaries we anticipate with excitement, others with apprehension. They are days marking significant events in our lives that can be shared with just one person, or with a whole nation. Whether it’s a special day for you and a loved one, or for someone else you know, this word is crucial to know if you want to wish them a happy anniversary in Portuguese.

7- Funeral – funeral

We tend to be uncomfortable talking about funerals in the west, but it’s an important conversation for families to have. Around the world, there are many different customs and rituals for saying goodbye to deceased loved ones – some vastly different to our own. When traveling in Brazil, if you happen to find yourself the unwitting observer of a funeral, take a quiet moment to appreciate the cultural ethos; even this can be an enriching experience for you.

8- Travel – viajar

Travel – my favorite thing to do! Everything about the experience is thrilling and the best cure for boredom, depression, and uncertainty about your future. You will surely be forever changed, fellow traveler! But you already know this, don’t you? Well, now that you’re on the road to total Portuguese immersion, I hope you’ve downloaded our IOS apps and have your Nook Book handy to keep yourself entertained on those long bus rides.

9- Graduate – formar-se

If you have yet to graduate from university, will you be job-hunting in Brazil afterward? Forward-looking companies sometimes recruit talented students who are still in their final year. Of course, you could also do your final year abroad as an international student – an amazing experience if you’d love to be intellectually challenged and make a rainbow of foreign friends!

10- Wedding – casamento

One of the most-loved traditions that humans have thought up, which you’ll encounter anywhere in the world, is a wedding. With all that romance in the air and months spent on preparations, a wedding is typically a feel-good affair. Two people pledge their eternal love to each other, ladies cry, single men look around for potential partners, and everybody has a happy day of merrymaking.

Ah, but how diverse we are in our expression of love! You will find more wedding traditions around the world than you can possibly imagine. From reciting love quotes to marrying a tree, the options leave no excuse to be boring!

11- Move – mudar-se

I love Brazil, but I’m a nomad and tend to move around a lot, even within one country. What are the biggest emotions you typically feel when moving house? The experts say moving is a highly stressful event, but I think that depends on the circumstances. Transitional periods in our lives are physically and mentally demanding, but changing your environment is also an exciting adventure that promises new tomorrows!

12- Be born – nascer

I was not born in 1993, nor was I born in Asia. I was born in the same year as Aishwarya Rai, Akon, and Monica Lewinsky, and on the same continent as Freddy Mercury. When and where were you born? More importantly – can you say it in Portuguese?

13- Get a job – conseguir um emprego

The thought of looking for a job in a new country can be daunting, but English speakers are in great demand in Brazil – you just have to do some research, make a few friends and get out there! Also, arming yourself with a few Portuguese introductions that you can both say and write will give you a confidence boost. For example, can you write your name in Portuguese?

14- Die – morrer

Death is a universal experience and the final curtain on all other life events. How important is it, then, to fully live before we die? If all you have is a passport, a bucket list, and a willingness to learn some lingo, you can manifest those dreams!

15- Home – casa

If home is where the heart is, then my home is on a jungle island completely surrounded by the turquoise ocean. Right now, though, home is an isolation room with a view of half a dry palm tree and a tangle of telephone wires.

If you’re traveling to Brazil for an extended stay, you’ll soon be moving into a new home quite unlike anything you’ve experienced before!

16- Job – trabalho

What job do you do? Does it allow you much time for travel, or for working on this fascinating language that has (so rightfully) grabbed your attention? Whatever your job, you are no doubt contributing to society in a unique way. If you’re doing what you love, you’re already on the road to your dream. If not, just remember that every single task is one more skill to add to your arsenal. With that attitude, your dream job is coming!

17- Birth – nascimento

Random question: do you know the birth rate of Brazil?

If you’re lucky enough to be invited to see a friend’s baby just after they are born, you’ll have all my respect and all my envy. There is nothing cuter! Depending on which part of the country you’re in, you may find yourself bearing witness to some pretty unexpected birth customs. Enjoy this privilege!

18- Engaged – comprometer-se

EE Cummings said, “Lovers alone wear sunlight,” and I think that’s most true at the moment she says “yes.” Getting engaged is something young girls dream of with stars in their eyes, and it truly is a magical experience – from the proposal, to wearing an engagement ring, to the big reveal!

In the world of Instagram, there’s no end to the antics as imaginative couples try more and more outrageous ways to share their engagement with the world. I love an airport flashmob, myself, but I’d rather be proposed to on a secluded beach – salt, sand, and all!

Engagement customs around the world vary greatly, and Brazil is no exception when it comes to interesting traditions. Learning their unique romantic ways will inspire you for when your turn comes.

Speaking of romance, do you know how to say “Happy Valentine’s Day” in Portuguese?

19- Marry – casar-se

The one you marry will be the gem on a shore full of pebbles. They will be the one who truly mirrors your affection, shares your visions for the future, and wants all of you – the good, the bad and the inexplicable.

From thinking up a one-of-a-kind wedding, to having children, to growing old together, finding a twin flame to share life with is quite an accomplishment! Speaking of which…

2. Marriage Proposal Lines

Ah, that heart-stopping moment when your true love gets down on one knee to ask for your hand in marriage, breathlessly hoping that you’ll say “Yes!” If you haven’t experienced that – well, it feels pretty darn good, is all I can say! If you’re the one doing the asking, though, you’ve probably had weeks of insomnia agonizing over the perfect time, location and words to use.

How much more care should be taken if your love is from a different culture to yours? Well, by now you know her so well, that most of it should be easy to figure out. As long as you’ve considered her personal commitment to tradition, all you really need is a few words from the heart. Are you brave enough to say them in Portuguese?

3. Talking About Age

Part of the wonder of learning a new language is having the ability to strike up simple conversations with strangers. Asking about age in this context feels natural, as your intention is to practice friendly phrases – just be mindful of their point of view!

When I was 22, I loved being asked my age. Nowadays, if someone asks, I say, “Well, I’ve just started my fifth cat life.” Let them ponder that for a while.

In Brazil, it’s generally not desirable to ask an older woman her age for no good reason, but chatting about age with your peers is perfectly normal. Besides, you have to mention your birthday if you want to be thrown a birthday party!

4. Conclusion

Well, there you have it! With so many great new Portuguese phrases to wish people with, can you think of someone who has a big event coming up? If you want to get even more creative, PortuguesePod101 has much to inspire you with – come and check it out! Here’s just some of what we have on offer at PortuguesePod101:

• Free Resources: Sharing is caring, and for this reason, we share many free resources with our students. For instance, start learning Portuguese with our basic online course by creating a lifetime account – for free! Also get free daily and iTunes lessons, free eBooks, free mobile apps, and free access to our blog and online community. Or how about free Vocabulary Lists? The Portuguese dictionary is for exclusive use by our students, also for free. There’s so much to love about PortuguesePod101…!
• Innovative Learning Tools and Apps: We make it our priority to offer you the best learning tools! These include apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac OSX; eBooks for Kindle, Nook, and iPad; audiobooks; Roku TV and so many more. This means that we took diverse lifestyles into account when we developed our courses, so you can learn anywhere, anytime on a device of your choice. How innovative!
• Live Hosts and One-on-One Learning: Knowledgeable, energetic hosts present recorded video lessons, and are available for live teaching experiences if you upgrade. This means that in the videos, you get to watch them pronounce those tongue-twisters, as if you’re learning live! Add octane to your learning by upgrading to Premium Plus, and learn two times faster. You can have your very own Portuguese teacher always with you, ensuring that you learn what you need, when you need to – what a wonderful opportunity to master a new language in record time!
• Start Where You Are: You don’t know a single Portuguese word? Not to worry, we’ve absolutely got this. Simply enroll in our Absolute Beginner Pathway and start speaking from Lesson 1! As your learning progresses, you can enroll in other pathways to match your Portuguese level, at your own pace, in your own time, in your own place!

Learning a new language can only enrich your life, and could even open doors towards great opportunities! So don’t wonder if you’ll regret enrolling in PortuguesePod101. It’s the most fun, easy way to learn Portuguese.

Did you know that every minute of the day, one billion tons of rain falls on the earth? Hard to believe, considering the climate crisis! Of course, all that rain is not equally shared across the planet.

So, would you mention this fascinating fact to your new Brazilian acquaintance? Well, small talk about local weather is actually a great conversation-starter. Everyone cares about the weather and you’re sure to hear a few interesting opinions! Seasons can be quite unpredictable these days and nobody knows the peculiarities of a region better than the locals.

PortuguesePod101 will equip you with all the weather vocabulary you need to plan your next adventure. The weather can even be an important discussion that influences your adventure plans. After all, you wouldn’t want to get caught on an inflatable boat with a two-horsepower motor in Hurricane Horrendous!

Table of Contents

1. Talking about the weather in Brazil
2. Words for the first day of spring
3. Do You Know the Essential Summer Vocabulary?
4. Must-Know Autumn vocabulary
5. Winter
6. PortuguesePod101 can prepare you for any season.

1. Talking about the weather in Brazil

If you’re like me, your day’s activity plan is likely to begin with a strong local coffee and a chat about what the sky is doing. After all, being prepared could be the difference between an amazing day and a miserable one! Luckily, it’s not difficult to comment on Brazilian weather – just start with these simple words and phrases.

1- The rain is falling on the street – Está chovendo na rua.

Watercolor artists, take out your paints! You might not be able to venture out on foot today, but just embrace the rain as part of your Brazilian experience. When the rain stops, the air will be clean and colours vibrant.

2- The snow has covered everything – A neve cobriu tudo.

A fresh blanket of snow is irresistibly beautiful. Pull on your boots and beanie, and leave your tracks in this foreign landscape. Don’t resist the urge to build a snowman – you need this!

3- Fluffy cloud – nuvem fofa

When you’re waiting for a warm beach day, fluffy white clouds in a blue sky are a good sign. Don’t forget your sunscreen, as clouds will intensify the UV rays hitting your skin.

4- The water froze on the glass – A água congelou no copo.

Night temperatures can get chilly and might freeze the condensation on your windows. A good way to clear them up is with warm salt water.

5- The heavy rain could cause flash flooding – Esta chuva forte poderia causar uma inundação repentina.

If you’re visiting Brazil in the wet season, it’s important to stay informed when heavy rain sets in, so keep an eye on the weather radar. Avoid river activities and rather spend this time making a home-cooked meal and brushing up on your Portuguese weather words.

6- Flood – inundação

If you do get caught in a flood, your destination should no longer be ‘home’, but the nearest high ground.

7- The typhoon has hit – O tufão chegou.

Not all countries experience typhoons, but you need to know when to prepare for one! It will be very scary if you’ve never experienced one before. Your local neighbours are the best people to advise you on where to take shelter, as they’ve been doing it for generations. Be sure to get the low-down at the first sign of rough weather!

8- Check the weather report before going sailing – Verifique o boletim metereológico antes de sair para velejar.

When planning an outdoor activity, especially on a body of water, always be prepared for a change in the weather. Ask your hotel receptionist or neighbour where you can get a reliable daily weather report, and don’t forget your sweater!

9- Today’s weather is sunny with occasional clouds – O tempo de hoje está ensolarado com nuvens eventuais.

Sunny weather is the dream when traveling in Brazil! Wake up early, pack the hats and sunblock and go and experience the terrain, sights and beautiful spots. You’ll be rewarded with happy vibes all around.

10- Rainy – chovendo

Remember when you said you’d save the Portuguese podcasts for a rainy day? Now’s that day!

11- Scenic rainbow – arco-íris cênico

The best part about the rain is that you can look forward to your first rainbow in Brazil. There’s magic in that!

12- Flashes of lightning can be beautiful, but are very dangerous – Os lampejos de relâmpago podem ser bonitos, mas são muito perigosos.

Lightning is one of the most fascinating weather phenomena you can witness without really being in danger – at least if you’re sensible and stay indoors! Did you know that lightning strikes the earth 40-50 times per second? Fortunately, not all countries experience heavy electric storms!

13- 25 degrees Celsius – vinte e cinco graus Celsius

Asking a local what the outside temperature will be is another useful question for planning your day. It’s easy if you know the Portuguese term for ‘degrees Celsius’.

14- His body temperature was far above the usual 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit – A temperatura corporal dele estava muito acima da temperatura normal de 98.6 graus Fahrenheit.

Although the Fahrenheit system has been replaced by Celsius in almost all countries, it’s still used in the US and a few other places. Learn this phrase in Portuguese in case one of your companions develops a raging fever.

15- Today the sky is clear – Hoje o céu está limpo.

Clear skies mean you’ll probably want to get the camera out and capture some nature shots – not to mention the great sunsets you’ll have later on. Twilight can lend an especially magical quality to a landscape on a clear sky day, when the light is not filtered through clouds.

16- Light drizzle – garoa leve

Days when it’s drizzling are perfect for taking in the cultural offerings of Brazil. You could go to the mall and watch a Brazilian film, visit museums and art galleries, explore indoor markets or even find the nearest climbing wall. Bring an umbrella!

17- Temperature on a thermometer – temperatura no termômetro

Because of the coronavirus, many airports are conducting temperature screening on passengers. Don’t worry though – it’s just a precaution. Your temperature might be taken with a no-touch thermometer, which measures infrared energy coming off the body.

18- Humid – úmido

I love humid days, but then I’m also a water baby and I think the two go
together like summer and rain. Find a pool or a stream to cool off in – preferably in the shade!

19- With low humidity the air feels dry – Com baixa umidade, o ar fica seco.

These are the best days to go walking the hills and vales. Just take at least one Brazilian friend with you so you don’t get lost!

20- The wind is really strong – O vento está muito forte.

A strong wind blows away the air pollution and is very healthy in that respect. Just avoid the mountain trails today, unless you fancy being blown across the continent like a hot air balloon.

21- Windy – ventando

Wind! My least favourite weather condition. Of course, if you’re a kitesurfer, a windy day is what you’ve been waiting for!

22- Wet roads can ice over when the temperature falls below freezing – As estradas molhadas podem se cobrir de gelo quando a temperatura cai abaixo do ponto de congelamento.

The roads will be dangerous in these conditions, so please don’t take chances. The ice will thaw as soon as the sun comes out, so be patient!

23- Today is very muggy – Hoje está muito abafado.

Muggy days make your skin feel sticky and sap your energy. They’re particular to high humidity. Cold shower, anyone? Ice vest? Whatever it takes to feel relief from the humidity!

24- Fog – neblina

Not a great time to be driving, especially in unknown territory, but keep your fog lights on and drive slowly.

25- Hurricane – ciclone

Your new Brazilian friends will know the signs, so grab some food and candles and prepare for a night of staying warm and chatting about wild weather in Brazil.

26- Big tornado – tornado grande

If you hear these words, it will probably be obvious already that everyone is preparing for the worst! Definitely do whatever your accommodation hosts tell you to do when a tornado is expected.

27- It’s cloudy today – Hoje está nublado.

While there won’t be any stargazing tonight, the magnificent clouds over Brazil will make impressive photographs. Caption them in Portuguese to impress your friends back home!

28- Below freezing temperatures – temperaturas abaixo do ponto de congelamento

When the temperature is below freezing, why not take an Uber and go shopping for some gorgeous Brazilian winter gear?

29- Wind chill is how cold it really feels outside – Sensação térmica é como realmente se sente em um lugar aberto.

Wind doesn’t change the ambient temperature of the air, it just changes your body temperature, so the air will feel colder to you than it actually is. Not all your Brazilian friends will know that, though, so learn this Portuguese phrase to sound really smart!

30- Water will freeze when the temperature falls below zero degrees celsius – A água congelará quando a temperatura estiver abaixo dos zero graus Celsius.

If you’re near a lake, frozen water is good news! Forgot your ice skates? Don’t despair – find out where you can hire some. Be cautious, though: the ice needs to be at least four inches thick for safe skating. Personally, I just slide around on frozen lakes in my boots!

31- Waiting to clear up – esperando limpar

Waiting for the weather to clear up so you can go exploring is frustrating, let’s be honest. That’s why you should always travel with two things: a scintillating novel and your Portuguese Nook Book.

32- Avoid the extreme heat – evite as ondas de calor

Is the heat trying to kill you? Unless you’re a hardened heatwave hero, definitely avoid activity, stay hydrated and drink electrolytes. Loose cotton or linen garb is the way to go!

33- Morning frost – geada pela manhã

Frost is water vapour that has turned to ice crystals and it happens when the earth cools so much in the night, that it gets colder than the air above it. Winter is coming!

34- Rain shower – chuva rápida

Rain showers are typically brief downpours that drench the earth with a good drink of water.

35- In the evening it will become cloudy and cold – À tarde vai ficar nublado e frio.

When I hear this on the Portuguese weather channel, I buy a bottle of wine (red, of course) and wood for the fireplace. A cold and cloudy evening needs its comforts!

36- Severe thunderstorm – tempestade de trovão forte

Keep an eye on the Brazilian weather maps if it looks like a big storm is coming, so you’ll be well-informed.

37- Ice has formed on the window – Gelo se formou na janela.

You could try this phrase out on the hotel’s helpful cleaning staff, or fix the problem yourself. Just add a scoop or two of salt to a spray bottle of water – that should work!

38- Large hailstones – Está caindo granizo.

As a kid, I found hail crazy exciting. Not so much now – especially if I’m on the road and large hailstones start pummeling my windscreen!

39- Rolling thunder – trovão ressonante

The rumble of rolling thunder is that low-volume, ominous background sound that goes on for some time. It’s strangely exciting if you’re safely in your hotel room; it could either suddenly clear up, or escalate to a storm.

40- Sleet – granizo

Sleet is tiny hard pieces of ice made from a mixture of rain and melted snow that froze. It can be messy, but doesn’t cause major damage the way hail does. Pretty cool to know this word in Portuguese!

2. Words for the first day of spring

You know the feeling: your heart skips a beat when you wake up and spring has sprung! Spring will reward you with new blossoms everywhere, birdsong in the air, kittens being born in the neighborhood and lovely views when you hit the trails. Pack a picnic and ask a new Brazilian friend to show you the more natural sights. Don’t forget a light sweater and a big smile. This is the perfect time to practice some Portuguese spring words!

3. Do You Know the Essential Summer Vocabulary?

Summer! Who doesn’t love that word? It conjures up images of blue skies, tan skin, vacations at the beach and cruising down the coast in an Alfa Romeo, sunglasses on and the breeze in your hair. Of course, in Brazil there are many ways to enjoy the summer – it all depends on what you love to do. One thing’s for sure: you will have opportunities to make friends, go on picnics, sample delicious local ice-cream and maybe even learn to sing some Portuguese songs. It’s up to you! Sail into Brazilian summer with this summer vocab list, and you’ll blend in with ease.

4. Must-Know Autumn vocabulary

Victoria Ericksen said, “If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour,” and I agree. Who can resist the beauty of fall foliage coloring the Brazilian landscape? Birds prepare to migrate; travelers prepare to arrive for the best weather in Brazil.

The autumnal equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator, making day and night almost equal in length. The cool thing about this event is that the moon gets really bright – the ‘harvest moon’, as it’s traditionally known.

So, as much as the change of season brings more windy and rainy days, it also brings celebration. Whether you honor Thanksgiving, Halloween or the Moon Festival, take some time to color your vocabulary with these Portuguese autumn words.

5. Winter

Winter is the time the natural world slows down to rest and regroup. I’m a summer girl, but there are fabulous things about winter that I really look forward to. For one, it’s the only season I get to accessorize with my gorgeous winter gloves and snug down coat!

Then, of course, there’s ice skating, holiday decorations and bonfires. As John Steinbeck said, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” Get ready for the cold season with our list of essential Winter words!

6. PortuguesePod101 can prepare you for any season.

Now that you know how to inquire and comment on the weather in Brazil, you
can confidently plan your weather-ready travel itinerary. How about this for an idea: the next
time you’re sitting in a Brazilian street café, try asking someone local this question:

“Do you think the weather will stay like this for a few days?” If you loved learning these cool Portuguese weather phrases with us, why not take it a step further and add to your repertoire? PortuguesePod101 is here to help!

When constructing sentences in any language, we tend to focus a lot on the big “building blocks,” like the subject, verb, and object. But there are many other small elements that have a part to play! Conjunctions are one of those essential parts, since they connect words and clauses, making sentences coherent. Portuguese conjunctions are handy words to learn, and you’ll soon be using them all the time!

Conjunctions might appear very simple at first. And the truth is, they are! But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a very important role in languages. After all, even if you understand all the grammar rules and acquire an impressive vocabulary, without conjunctions, you can’t communicate fluently.

Hopefully you agree with us that conjunctions are important. But perhaps now you’re wondering what those small yet powerful words are. Conjunctions are connecting words, such as “and,” “or,” “nor,” and “if.” There’s quite a large list of conjunctions, which are used in different contexts.

In this article, we’ll cover the different kinds of Portuguese conjunctions, help you understand the difference between simple conjunctions and conjunctive phrases, and show you a lot of examples! By the end, you’ll have the resources to express your thoughts in Portuguese with much more ease.

→ Before you continue, you may find it useful to study our short vocabulary list on Connecting Words!

Table of Contents

1. The Basics of Portuguese Conjunctions
2. Portuguese Conjunctions to Add Information
3. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Alternatives
4. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Condition
5. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Conclusion
6. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Opposition
7. Portuguese Conjunctions that Act as Complementizers
8. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Concessions
9. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Cause
10. Even More Portuguese Conjunctions
11. Continue Learning Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

1. The Basics of Portuguese Conjunctions

First things first. Let’s get to understand what conjunctions are and what you can expect from them.

1 – What are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions connect other words, phrases, and clauses. They tend to be invariable grammatical particles, which means they are not modified in number, gender, or mode. In other words, they’re very useful but quite simple!

As an English speaker, you’re already quite familiar with the role conjunctions play. Take a look at these examples:

• She likes to dance and sing.
• I am a good cook, but my desserts are not great.
• We had to sleep early, so we turned off the lights.

The words in blue are conjunctions in English. As you can see, they’re very commonly used words. You’ll use conjunctions in Portuguese the same way, although more often than in English.

Another important thing to note is that conjunctions express different things: cause, purpose, opposition, condition, and more. In this article, we’ll go through the most commonly used types of conjunctions, which will allow you to express your thoughts coherently.

2 – Simple Conjunctions and Conjunctive Phrases

Simple conjunctions are exactly what we were talking about before: single words that have a connective function. Conjunctive phrases are two or more words that, together, behave as a conjunction.

Here are some examples of sentences using conjunctive phrases:

• Farei uma reunião com os professores para que não haja nenhum mal-entendido.
  “I’ll have a meeting with all the professors so that there is no misunderstanding.”
• Já que você não quer mais, vou comer o bolo.
  “Since you don’t want it anymore, I’ll eat the cake.”
• Podemos sair agora, uma vez que a babá chegou.
  “We can go now, since the nanny has arrived.”

Pretty straightforward, right? Now that we’ve clarified what Portuguese conjunctions and conjunctive phrases are, let’s see the most common ones in our Portuguese conjunctions list!

2. Portuguese Conjunctions to Add Information

We’ll begin with the most common conjunctions in Portuguese. These words are called conjunções aditivas (“additive conjunctions”), and their purpose is to add more information to your sentence. Take a look:

1- E (“And” )

• Eu posso escutar podcasts e cozinhar ao mesmo tempo.
  “I can listen to podcasts and cook at the same time.”
• Você gosta do verão e da primavera, certo?
  “You like summer and spring, right?”

2- Nem (“Nor” )

• Sua mãe não ligou nem mandou mensagem.
  “Your mother hasn’t called nor sent a message.”
• Não como peixe nem frutos do mar.
  “I don’t eat fish nor seafood.”

3- Não só…mas também (“Not only…but also” )

• Ele não só ganhou o prêmio, mas também o bônus.
  “Not only did he get the prize, but also the bonus.”

You can also use another conjunctive phrase to express a similar idea: não só…como também (“not only…also” ).

• Vocês não só são bonitas, como também são muito engraçadas.
  “You are not only pretty, you are also very funny.” [plural feminine form]

Gosto de café e gosto de leite. (“I like coffee and I like milk.” )

3. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Alternatives

In life, we face a lot of choices. From what we’re having for breakfast to what movie we’ll watch tonight, alternatives are everywhere! Here are some of the conjunções alternativas (“alternative conjunctions” ) you will encounter every time you face those moments of choice.

1- Ou (“Or” )

• Você quer sair ou assistir a um filme?
  “Do you want to go out or watch a movie?”
• Eles preferem sopa ou salada?
  “[Do] they prefer soup or salad?”

2- Ou…ou (“Either…or” )

• Ou saímos agora ou perderemos o show.
  “Either we leave now or we miss the show.”
• Ou ela termina esse projeto ou aceita o emprego ou volta para a universidade.
  “Either she finishes this project or she accepts the job or she goes back to university.”

When repeating the word ou (“or” ) to indicate alternatives, it’s translated in two ways: as “either” the first time it’s used and as “or” the subsequent times.

3- Senão (“Otherwise” )

• Durma cedo, senão vai perder o ônibus.
  “Sleep early, otherwise you will miss the bus.”
• Coma tudo, senão não tem sobremesa.
  “Eat it all, otherwise there is no dessert.”

Senão can also act as another kind of conjunction, called an adversative conjunction, which we’ll see a bit later. In these cases, it works as “but.”

• Ele ganhou não por sua habilidade, senão por seu carisma.
  “He won not because of his abilities, but due to his charisma.”

4- Nem…nem (“Neither…nor” )

Nem is a versatile little word. We already saw it before, being used by itself as an additive conjunction. Now, take a look at how it can be used to talk about negative alternatives.

• Nem meu pai nem minha mãe sabem resolver esta questão.
  “Neither my father nor my mother know how to solve this question.”

As you can see, nem translates to both “neither” and “nor,” depending on the position of the word in the sentence. It can also be used several times within the sentence.

• Não bebo nem café nem chá nem bebidas alcóolicas.
  “I don’t drink neither coffee nor tea nor alcoholic beverages.”

5- Quer…quer (“Whether…or” )

• Quer você ganhe o prêmio, quer não, estou orgulhoso.
  “Whether you win the prize or not, I am proud.”
• Quer chova, quer faça sol, estaremos lá!
  “Whether there be rain or sunshine, we’ll be there!”

Vermelha ou verde? (“Red or green?” )

4. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Condition

Expressing condition is essential in social interactions. In conversations with friends, family, and loved ones, there are always circumstances where we have to employ a bit of quid pro quo, right? Maybe you need to convince someone to do the dishes after preparing a nice dinner, or vice-versa. For these kinds of situations, conjunções condicionais (“conditional conjunctions” ) are the way to go.

1- Se (“If” )

• Eu lavo a roupa se você varrer o chão.
  “I’ll do the laundry if you sweep the floor.”
• Se não tiver comida, posso pedir uma pizza.
  “If there is no food, I can order a pizza.”

→ Practice your pronunciation by listening to a Portuguese dialogue that uses the conjunction se, on PortuguesePod101.com!

2- Desde que (“As long as” )

• Compre o que quiser, desde que esteja dentro do orçamento.
  “Buy whatever you want, as long as it is within budget.”
• Ela vai organizar o evento, desde que você pague adiantado.
  “She will organize the event, as long as you pay in advance.”

The conjunctive phrase contanto que (“as long as” ) can be used interchangeably.

• Podemos assar um bolo, contanto que a cozinha continue arrumada.
  “We can bake a cake, as long as the kitchen remains tidy.”

3- A não ser que (“Unless” )

• Não me ligue a não ser que haja uma emergência.
  “Don’t call me unless there’s an emergency.”
• Preciso ir embora, a não ser que eu cancele a consulta.
  “I need to leave, unless I cancel the appointment.”

The conjunctive phrase a menos que (“unless” ) can also be used in these cases.

• Temos que sair, a menos que a aula tenha sido adiada.
  “We have to leave, unless the class has been postponed.”

5. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Conclusion

To wrap up an idea or a thought, use the conjunções conclusivas (“final conjunction” ).

1- Então (“So,” “Therefore” )

• Hoje é meu aniversário, então vamos comemorar.
  “Today is my birthday, so let’s celebrate.”
• Vamos dormir tarde, então então me ligue de manhã.
  “We’re going to sleep late, so don’t call me in the morning.”

2- Logo (“So,” “Therefore” )

• Não concordo com isso, logo prefiro não me envolver.
  “I don’t agree with that, so I prefer not to get involved.”
• Você conhece o Luís há anos, logo faz sentido que você faça o convite.
  “You have known Luís for years, therefore it makes sense that you invite him.”

3- Portanto (“Therefore,” “So” )

• Tenho muito trabalho para fazer, portanto, não espere por mim.
  “I have a lot of work to do, so don’t wait for me.”
• Esse carro é muito caro, portanto, não posso comprar agora.
  “This car is very expensive, therefore, I can’t buy it now.”

The conjunctions above can be used interchangeably most of the time. The most commonly used one is então, in both written and spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

Other conjunctions you can use in the same way and with the same meaning are: por isso, por conseguinte, and assim.

No story is complete without a conclusion!

6. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Opposition

Another very handy and commonly used group of conjunctions! After all, we can’t communicate without a dose of opposition, right? Take a look at the most useful conjunções adversativas (“adversative conjunctions” ) in Portuguese.

1- Mas (“But” )

• Ele gosta de bolo, mas não quis comer uma fatia.
  “He likes cake, but he didn’t want to eat a slice.”
• Vou me atrasar, mas chego para o jantar!
  “I’m going to be late, but I’m coming for dinner!”

2- Porém (“However,” “But” )

• Ela acordou cedo, porém chegou atrasada.
  “She woke up early, but arrived late.”
• A encomenda já foi enviada, porém não tenho o código de rastreamento.
  “The order has already been shipped, however, I don’t have the tracking code.”

3- Todavia (“However,” “Still,” “Yet” )

• Eles não acreditaram na história, todavia, ela manteve sua versão dos fatos.
  “They did not believe the story, yet she kept her version of the facts.”
• O acordo, todavia, não aconteceu.
  “The agreement, however, did not happen.”

This conjunction can also be used at the beginning of a sentence, without the comma.

• Todavia o acordo não aconteceu.
  “However, the agreement did not happen.”

The conjunction entretanto (“however” ) can be used in the same way.

• Não foi possível, entretanto, encontrar os documentos.
  “It was not possible, however, to find the documents.”
• Entretanto, não foi possível encontrar os documentos.
  “However, it was not possible to find the documents.”

→ Discover different ways to use mas (“but” ) in this vocabulary list on PortuguesePod101.com.

7. Portuguese Conjunctions that Act as Complementizers

“Complementizer” is just a fancy grammatical term for words that introduce a complement in sentences. In English, the most common complementizers are “that” and “if.” For example:

• I hope that she comes.
• I wonder if she will come.

Let’s look at their Portuguese counterparts, called conjunções integrantes.

1- Que (“That” )

• É importante que você diga a verdade.
  “It’s important (that) you tell the truth.”
• Eu acho que eles ganharam.
  “I think (that) they won.”

Unlike the English word “that,” que can’t be omitted in sentences. As a result, it’s used quite often. Que is also often used to replace other conjunctions, making it a handy go-to even for native speakers.

2- Se (“If,” “Whether” )

• Não sei se ele já chegou.
  “I’m not sure whether he’s arrived yet.”
• Vou perguntar se eles querem ir.
  “I will ask if they want to go.”

Instead of expressing alternatives, when se (“if” ) is used as a complementizer, it introduces an indirect question.

→ This vocabulary list by PortuguesePod101.com shows several examples of how que (“that” ) is used in sentences.

Think of complementizers as a bridge.

8. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Concessions

This group of conjunctions serve to introduce a contrasting or contradicting idea. As you can imagine, they’re very useful when trying to explain a decision or an unexpected event. In Portuguese, they’re called conjunções concessivas (“concessive conjunctions” ).

1- Ainda que (“Even if,” “Although” )

• Ainda que chova, vamos passear.
  “Even if it rains, we will go for a walk.”
• Ele vai no jantar, ainda que não esteja muito animado.
  “He will go to the dinner, although he is not very excited.”

You can also use the conjunctive phrase mesmo que interchangeably:

• Mesmo que chova, vamos passear.
  “Even if it rains, we will go for a walk.”
• Mesmo que as pessoas mudem, os amigos são para sempre.
  “Although people change, friends are forever.”

2- Embora (“Although,” “Even though” )

• Embora estivesse atrasado, ele preparou um delicioso lanche.
  “Although he was late, he prepared a delicious snack.”
• O dia estava agradável, embora tenha chovido.
  “The day was pleasant, even though it rained.”

3- Se bem que (“Even though,” “Although” )

• Ele não confirmou presença, se bem que parecia bem animado com a festa.
  “He didn’t confirm his presence, although he seemed very excited about the party.”
• As aulas estão boas, se bem que já foram melhores.
  “The classes are good, although they have been better.”

9. Portuguese Conjunctions to Express Cause

These conjunctions, called conjunções causais (“causal conjunctions” ) introduce a sentence or clause that explains the cause of what was stated before. Very handy for explaining how you came to a decision or took a certain action.

1- Porque (“Because” )

• Não pude esperar mais porque meu filho estava cansado.
  “I couldn’t wait any longer because my son was tired.”
• Ela tirou uma boa nota porque estudou muito.
  “She got a good grade because she studied hard.”

Notice the correct way of writing porque in these situations. In Portuguese, there are different ways of writing the word depending on the meaning or use. But the conjunction form should always be written like this, with no accent marks and no spaces.

2- Visto que (“Since,” “As,” “Seeing” )

• Não quero mais alugar o carro, visto que a taxa é muito alta.
  “I don’t want to rent the car anymore, since the rate is very high.”

You can also use the conjunctive phrases uma vez que (“since” ) and já que (“since” ) to express the same thing.

• Ela não quer viajar, uma vez que ainda está se recuperando.
  “She doesn’t want to travel, since she is still recovering.”
• Vocês podem dividir o prêmio, já que tiveram a mesma pontuação.
  “You can share the prize, since you had the same score.”

Now you know what conjunctions to use to explain what happened!

10. Even More Portuguese Conjunctions

We already saw a number of important conjunctions in Portuguese, organized by the function they have. Now, let’s take a look at some extra useful conjunctions that you might encounter.

1- Enquanto (“While” )

Expresses time.

• Vou tomar banho enquanto você cozinha.
  “I’ll take a shower while you cook.”

2- Desde que (“Since” )

Expresses time.

• Desde que comecei a trabalhar, não tenho tempo para a academia.
  “Since I started working, I haven’t had time for the gym.”

3- Conforme (“As” )

Expresses conformity.

• Eu resolvi o exercício conforme foi explicado.
  “I solved the exercise as was explained.”

4- Como (“As,” “Like,” “As well as” )

Como is another one of those versatile conjunctions. It can have different roles and is also part of several conjunctive phrases.

→ Expressing comparison:

• Alice, como sua mãe, gosta de plantar.
  “Alice, like her mother, likes to plant.”

The conjunctive phrases bem como and assim como have the same meaning.

• Alice, bem como sua mãe, gosta de plantar.
  “Alice, like her mother, likes to plant.”
• Alice, assim como sua mãe, gosta de de plantar.
  “Alice, like her mother, likes to plant.”

→ Expressing cause:

• Como perdi o ônibus, cheguei atrasada.
  “As I missed the bus, I was late.”

→ Expressing conformity:

• Hoje não haverá aula, como anunciado na segunda-feira.
  “There will be no class today, as announced on Monday.”

→ Expressing condition:

• Comprarei o livro como não seja muito caro.
  “I’ll buy the book if it isn’t too expensive.”

5- Quanto mais…mais (“The more…the more” )

Expresses the idea of proportionality.

• Quanto mais o tempo passa, mais eu gosto de você.
  “The more time passes by, the more I like you.”

Quanto mais me exercito, mais energia tenho. (“The more I exercise, the more energy I have.” )

11. Continue Learning Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

Now that you’re familiar with the most important Portuguese conjunctions and conjunctive phrases, get out in the world and put it into practice! You’re ready to create even more complex sentences, linking ideas and clauses in a coherent way. And remember, whenever you need to refresh your memory, come back to this article for a quick lesson.

Was this article helpful to you? Did we miss any important conjunction you were hoping to learn about? Let us know in the comments; we would really like to hear from you.

Now don’t stop learning! There are more free Portuguese resources and a variety of vocabulary lists to train your ear, all available on PortuguesePod101.com. Go ahead and choose your favorite tools to expand your learning opportunities.

If you want to take your learning experience further, members of PortuguesePod101.com get access to the largest language lesson library in the world, with thousands of real lessons by real teachers. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from anywhere, feel motivated, and be ready to speak Portuguese with confidence.

A tourist in Rio de Janeiro can ignore Brazil’s etiquette. A devoted learner can’t. In fact, understanding Brazil customs and etiquette—and some of their roots—is a solid path to richer contact with the language.

Because the etiquette of Brazil is fairly different from Portuguese etiquette, learning cultural etiquette in Brazil is a great opportunity to understand Brazilian people. After all, meeting new people and hearing different perspectives contributes to a richer life experience!

[The importance of family, and many more customs, are an open door to Brazilian culture.]

Traveling and getting to know different realities often reveals unthinkable life conditions and habits. Even though the cultures, concerns, and consumption habits worldwide tend to assume a growingly homogenic behavior in comparison to decades ago, there are so many countries in the world and still so many different people.

Getting to know new people and cultures always leads to surprises, both good and bad. That’s why we’ll present the do’s and don’ts of Brazilian etiquette and customs, also giving you a taste of each behavior’s roots and why things are done that way.

Table of Contents

1. Dining Etiquette in Brazil
2. Sightseeing Etiquette
3. Brazil Greetings Etiquette
4. Visiting a House
5. Public Transportation
6. Business Etiquette in Brazil
7. Celebrations Etiquette
8. Conclusion

1. Dining Etiquette in Brazil

Do: Take Your Time Eating

The first of our Brazil etiquette tips is to respect the meal. If you’re not eating fast food and aren’t late to an appointment, take your time.

Brazilians don’t usually have a solid meal structure like Italians do, with a full course, seven-dish dinner. But they’ll eat calmly, even during lunchtime on work days.

While there are exceptions, it’s generally best to eat and leave room for the coffee afterwards—and participate in the small talk after the meal.

Do: Embrace Coffee

Coffee is at the core of Brazilian culture. After the scourge of slavery, it was coffee production and exports that boosted the Brazilian economy. Across the decades, the commodity’s prices and planting cycle have created obstacles to a sustainable production of wealth.

In spite of that, the country is still the world’s top producer of coffee—with more than three times the production of the famous Colombian coffee in 2019. The world’s biggest coffee cooperative is located in Guaxupé, in the state of Minas Gerais.

So, drinking coffee is a widespread habit in Brazil, especially during breakfast and after other meals, both during the workweek and weekend.

Brazilians usually drink sweetened coffee. While this isn’t part of the rigid Brazil table manners and etiquette, it is a habit. If you don’t like your coffee sweetened and you’re in a restaurant, your cup of coffee will probably come from the kitchen unsweetened. But in a workspace, it’s quite possible that the sugar will have been added already. Ask the waiter or the person who prepared the beverage about this detail just to be sure.

In Brazil, it’s not very common to ask for coffee with cream and other ingredients. Black Coffee is king, with Coffee with Milk and Pingado (basically a cup of milk with a splash of coffee) being distant seconds.

If you’re not into coffee, no problem. Just hang around and talk a little until your mates finish drinking this dark elixir.

[This dark elixir awaits for you after every meal]

Don’t: Pay if You’re Invited

If you’re invited to eat, don’t dare to pay! This Brazilian dining etiquette rule is more frequent in familial contexts or among older people; younger people tend to earn less and split the bill without much care for etiquette.

Don’t: Sit at the Head of the Table

This is one of the basic Brazil dining etiquette rules. It’s not exclusively Brazilian, but should be kept in mind while in the country.

The head of the table is “reserved” for the house owner or chief of family, so you’re not supposed to sit there. Only proceed to take that place if you’re invited to do so.

Also, there’s the following saying: “The seater at the head of the table pays the bill.” So, be prepared for the consequences!

Bonus: Brazilian Tipping Etiquette

Tipping in Brazil is always optional. Still, the tradition is to tip the waiter ten percent of the meal’s value. Most restaurants bill the client with both the “rough” value of the meal and with the tip added—clearly showing the different values so that you can make the decision. In some places, the employee will ask if you want to pay the ten percent just to be polite; if you say no, this may be considered rude.

2. Sightseeing Etiquette

Do: Keep it Basic and Watch Out While in Public

This is the saddest of all our Brazilian etiquette tips and is very important. It’s a beautiful country with abysmal violence rates. The announcement of 30,864 homicides in the first seven months of 2019 was considered an achievement compared to the 39,527 homicides registered for the same period the year before.

That’s how absurd the situation is—and theft crimes are even more common.

So, it’s prudent to avoid flashy clothes and accessories if wandering through public spaces, such as a crowded street or the beach. The catch is: there are items that foreigners don’t even understand to be flashy—but are. Some examples include:

• A metallic watch
• A smartwatch
• Luggage
• A cool jacket
• Silver/gold jewelry
• Fancy sunglasses
• Fine shoes
• A cell phone

This means that the dress code for sightseeing should be urban and basic. If you’re riding in a car, you’re safer and thus can be a bit more flexible with styling. If you’re going to the beach, carry just a few items (since you’ll have to watch them all the time) and pick flip-flops instead of shoes.

Cell phones are the most wanted item for criminals; they’re easy to take and profitable in the black market. Avoid making phone calls or reading text messages for longer periods of time while in the street. You can take pictures and talk once in a while, but look around before and be discreet. You can also enter a shop or restaurant to do so.

Do: Take it Easy with Schedules

Some tourist attractions, appointments, or meetings can take longer than expected. Some nations and cultures recommend punctuality. Britons are a proverbial reference in this aspect. In contrast, Brazil customs and etiquette tend to relativize this asset.

People can be late for meetings and appointments. Being five, ten, or even fifteen minutes late is generally not a problem in informal contexts. If you’re thirty minutes late, send a message and your friends will usually understand. Of course, if you’re late for the cinema screening, forget about that session.

But don’t mix things up: Brazil dating etiquette recommends that you don’t leave the person hanging for half an hour. This is especially true if you’re going to meet in a public space, since it can be dangerous to hang out on an empty street, building, etc.

Likewise, delays are generally not part of business etiquette in Brazil. Being a little bit late may be okay for things like meeting a coworker for lunch, but showing up late for negotiations, tests, workshops, conferences, or job interviews is out of line.

3. Brazil Greetings Etiquette

Do: Kiss

A little kiss on the cheek is especially normal in man-woman and woman-woman greetings. The etiquette for some states (Rio de Janeiro) is to kiss both cheeks, while others (São Paulo) recommend one kiss. But you can also find state etiquette that recommends three kisses (Minas Gerais).

To resolve this controversy, the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism has developed a very useful Mapa do beijinho (literally: “Little kiss map”), showing how many kisses are the norm for each state. That one embarrassment of meeting someone is now finally behind you!

Another great strategy is to wait and see how people are greeting one another. If the kiss is too intrusive and intimate in that context, a handshake is enough!

Do: Shake Hands

In Brazilian social etiquette, shaking hands is the most common greeting for formal occasions. In informal situations, it’s normally employed between people of the same sex.

Don’t: Freak Out When Hugged

While the hug can send a bad message and even sexual overtones, it’s relatively normal in Brazil, even among people who aren’t that intimate.

However, there’s a subtle way to differentiate between intimate hugs between friends and greeting acquaintances with a hug.

A warm hug demands contact with the torso and lacing your arms around someone else. A “half-hug” will only demand lacing one arm around someone and making contact with part of the torso (or only the shoulder).

You can make the “half-hug” even more distant by converting it to a handshake and a tap on the shoulder or arm of the person you’re greeting. This is ideal for business and formal environments.

4. Visiting a House

Do: Greet Everyone

In Brazil, guest etiquette demands that you greet everyone. You may think it’s redundant to do this in a room with lots of people, but a person may become offended if you don’t greet them warmly.

Don’t: Stay in Your Safe Zone

If they’ve called you to be a guest in their house, it means they’re sharing their intimacy with you. So, you can loosen up a little bit.

Make sure you observe and respect the family code of the house, but don’t be shy to talk, share some of your ideas, or take part in family activities like watching TV—with a family that was completely strange to you five minutes ago.

A barbecue is the perfect context to exercise this piece of cultural etiquette in Brazil. Meeting a new family, getting to know them while eating good food, and enjoying the afternoon together, is a great experience.

People will be interested in knowing the guest (you) as well. If you observe a lot and act polite, you’ll probably do fine. When in Brazil, do as the Brazilians do.

Don’t: Flush the Toilet Paper

You know what they say: Brazil bathroom etiquette is the best Brazil etiquette—not. Indeed, this tip of Brazil bathroom etiquette is a little awkward, but very important.

Most Brazilians place a little trash can beside the toilet in their bathrooms. You may feel confused about it or even find yourself attracted to its mystery (don’t look inside!).

Instead of flushing used toilet paper, it’s common to dump it into this little trash can. The trash can in the bathroom is disgusting, but the sewer system in Brazil is worse. The condition of the pipes is often not good and the water pressure allows only a little help to flush.

So, get used to the can, because flushing the paper can lead to bad—and even more disgusting—episodes.

[Excuse me, my friend: where is the little trash can?]

5. Public Transportation

Do: Be Active to Call Your Bus

Brazilian public transportation emulates the law of the jungle in many aspects. You’ll struggle to find a seat. People are not very polite. Often, you’ve got to camouflage and find an attitude of balance between dismissing ambulant vendors and not being a jerk.

Well, you have to be inside the bus before managing these issues.

Many countries have only tightly scheduled rides, and people don’t have to signal to the driver to board the bus. This is not the case in Brazil.

Picture yourself at the bus stop. As soon as you identify the bus you want to ride:

• Raise your arm in the air.
• Bend it a little toward the street.
• Sustain your arm until you’re completely sure the driver has seen you.
• Now, you can get in.

[After the procedure, you’re free to hop in and find a seat…]

Do: Mind the Importance of the Sun

When you’re picking a seat on the bus, figure out which side of the bus receives the most sunlight. Solemnly avoid it and take a seat on the other side.

Brazil is a hot country, and riding the bus under the sun is one of the worst experiences of the local public transportation, especially if the bus gets filled with people.

Don’t: Rely on the Taxi Driver

I’m sorry if you’re a taxi driver or know someone who is. If you ride a taxi without knowing the directions to your destination, you may be inviting someone to the depths of your wallet—it’s possible that you’re being scammed.

Take a few minutes to understand the course of the ride before getting into the cab. Get a general notion of the main avenues, so you can notify the driver if you notice something strange.

The rise of Uber, and other companies that navigate with software that shows the course, have made this process more transparent. But there’s always some smart guy out there, eager to get in touch with your money.

6. Business Etiquette in Brazil

Do: Dress Accordingly

Brazil business dress etiquette is paramount in the working place. The clothes are not much different from those in other countries, but in Brazil, the presentation is really important.

Generally, look sharp and clean. If you’re a man, shave or take care of your beard. Brush your teeth, take a bath. And keep it classic:

Man: Shirt, tie, blazer or suit. Leather shoes. Wear a classy watch, if you want.

Woman: Shirt and social pants or skirt, woman’s blazer. High-heel shoes. Some basic jewelry may be suitable.

Sure, the dress code isn’t like that in every workplace. Dress conservatively, at least until you understand the dress code better. This is the basic business etiquette in Brazil (and everywhere else), and it allows you to blend into the team, stylewise.

Always remember: clean looks, fresh clothes, and perhaps a little cologne are welcome everywhere.

Don’t: Criticize Co-workers

This is an important point of Brazil business meeting etiquette. You can sometimes share your personal impressions during professional meetings. However, criticizing ex-co-workers, your old boss, or people in general, is often understood as a strong negative point for you.

[Don’t share the grudge you hold against that terrible boss.]

Do: Accept Help from Locals

One of Brazil’s business downsides is the scandalous number of bizarre regulations. From business restrictions to very specific tax rules (often conflicting between state and federal spheres), doing business in Brazil isn’t easy. In fact, it’s easier to do business in Malawi than in Brazil.

Thus, here’s another important topic of business etiquette in Brazil: gather people you trust to help you in your business. Lawyers, accountants, and people that show useful abilities and regional know-how in your area are precious assets.

7. Celebrations Etiquette

Do: Casual and Clean

Be tidy if you’re going to a social event, especially a party. You don’t have to dress fancy, except if the ambience asks for it.

A person’s appearance is very important in celebrations. Shave your body hair and cut your nails. People love perfume or cologne, and you can always chew on mint gum. It’s not a matter of appearance over substance; it’s just that you care about the event and want to look your best.

Don’t: Be Shy

Shy people can suffer a lot with Brazil customs and etiquette. In social interactions, it’s extremely important to demonstrate enthusiasm and to interact with others. You don’t necessarily have to feel it, but it’s better to show it. Speaking louder, performing gestures, and employing physical contact are a few ways to do this.

If you’re not willing to pretend or to interact much, at least be funny or well-humored. Otherwise, chances are high that you’ll be considered rude or arrogant by the standards of cultural etiquette in Brazil.

Also, don’t feel offended if you’re interrupted by someone at a party or dinner. This is rude among many cultures, but in Brazil, interrupting someone is often a way of showing interest.

Do: Party Hard

People in Brazil really enjoy celebrations. Barbecues, big dinners, and parties are the most common examples.

One aspect of Brazil customs and etiquette in parties that feels strange to foreigners is the length of the celebration. People take a long time to prepare for parties at home. Then, they go somewhere to drink and “warm-up” (called, literally, esquenta) for the festivities. Finally, they get to the party and it lasts a long time.

Some countries have strong restrictions regarding the functioning hours for bars and nightclubs, but this isn’t the case in Brazil. You may not be stepping into a rave, but dinners and parties generally demand some resistance, and even patience, during their later hours.

Also, gatherings in Brazil can get extremely loud. If you compare the volume of noise in a Brazilian restaurant to what you’d experience eating out in some other country, it doesn’t even make sense. There’s often the sound of the background music and the talking above it. It’s something unpleasant to overcome, especially for foreigners.

Do: Act Solemnly at Funerals

Some cultures are less formal when it comes to funerals, incorporating meals and the sharing of stories involving the deceased, like during in-house receptions. This is not the Brazilian funeral etiquette.

Be quiet, greet, and send condolences. Wear black. Prayers may be part of the process. If you’re not religious, you can consider taking part merely to transmit support and comfort to people who were close to the deceased. They’ll surely appreciate you being mindful of these Brazilian funeral etiquette rules.

8. Conclusion

Cultural etiquette in Brazil is complex, but it’s a matter that can be learned through daily experience.

Still, this article compiles some of the most relevant tips for Brazilian etiquette for foreigners. In order to broaden your cultural knowledge, we highly recommend that you take part in PortuguesePod101.com lessons.

This modern online platform gathers the most useful Portuguese lessons and blends them evenly with informal and cultural knowledge in a way that’s extremely hard to find elsewhere.

Explore PortuguesePod101 and find both free and paid resources on-demand for your learning appetite and practical needs. Brazilian customs and etiquette may be a long way from home, but PortuguesePod101 is only one click away!

Before you go, let us know in the comments how Brazilian etiquette differs from (or is similar to) etiquette in your country. We look forward to hearing from you!

Do you sometimes wish the weekends had more days? When are your next vacations? Do you know your best friend’s birthday? If you want to answer any of those questions in Portuguese, you first need to learn how to talk about dates in Portuguese. Then, you’ll be able to do many more things, like making plans, arranging meetings and celebrating anniversaries!

Talking about dates is a part of everyday interactions. Every time you need to solve some bureaucracy, you need to write your date of birth or indicate today’s date. When making plans with your friends, you better know the days of the week to avoid mix-ups. And if you are a history buff, then you know dates are a must-know! 

Today, you will learn how to write the date in Portuguese, as well as how to talk about it. And of course, if we are talking about dates, we also need to talk about numbers, so you will see plenty of them in this article. To make sure you know how to use all of that properly, we will also go through common phrases related to Portuguese dates and times, including useful questions and answers. 

If you are ready to celebrate important dates with your family, friends or significant other, or anxious to learn how to book appointments and meetings in Portuguese… let’s get started!

Learn how to talk about your busy schedule in Portuguese!

Table of Contents

1. How to Tell the Date
2. How to Say the Days
3. How to Say the Months
4. How to Say the Years
5. Fix the Date of Appointments in Portuguese
6. Must-Know Phrases to Talk about Dates
7. Continue Learning Portuguese With PortuguesePod101

1. How to Tell the Date

Depending on where you are from, you might be used to a different way of telling the date when compared to Brazil or Portugal. But once you get used to the correct format of Portuguese dates, things are straightforward enough.

2 – Format of Dates in Portuguese: Day/Month/Year

Before anything else, let’s take a look at the basic Portuguese vocabulary related to dates.

Dia	“Day”
Mês	“Month”
Ano	“Year”
Semana	“Week”
Dia da semana	“Weekday”
Fim de semana Final de semana	“Weekend”
Data	“Date”

When writing or talking about dates in Portuguese, the usual order is Day, Month and Year. If you are filling a form, you will usually see the date using slashes as separators: DD/MM/YY. 

In more formal texts, it is normally written down in the same way it is said: day + de (“of”) + month + de (“of”)  + year.

Here are some examples to make it clear:

• 07/09/1822 – Brazilian Independence Day
• 25 de abril de 1974 – Revolução dos Cravos (“Carnation Revolution” in Portugal)
• 12 de junho – Dia dos Namorados (“Valentine’s Day” in Brazil)

2 – Talking About Dates

Imagine you are in the doctor’s office, and she asks you what your date of birth is. In this case, you could simply answer using the format discussed above: day, month, year.

But in most situations, you’ll probably be using the date in the middle of a sentence. In those situations, there are some things to pay attention to:

1. Preposition
2. Use of the word dia (“day”)
3. How to say the numbers
4. Consider adding the day of the week

We will go point by point to make sure each item is clear.

1. Preposition

Take a look at the sentences below.

• Eu nasci em 15 de abril de 1995. 
  “I was born on April 15, 1995.”

• Eles se conheceram no dia 25 de dezembro.
  Literally: “They met on the (day) 25th of December.”

• Eles viajarão em maio. 
  “They will travel in May.”

• Minha mãe nasceu em 1960. 
  “My mother was born in 1960.”

Did you notice what these sentences have in common? Hint: look at the preposition.

In Portuguese, before each date, we use the preposition em (“in”) or its contraction em + o = no (“in” + masculine definite article “the”).

2. Add the Word Dia

It’s very common to use the word dia (“day”) before the date if talking about a particular day. 

• Eu tenho consulta no dia 14 [deste mês]. 
  “I have an appointment on the (day) 14th [of this month].”

Just like in English, if you only say the day without any extra information, people will assume you are talking about the 14th of this month – or the next month, if we are already past the 14th.  

Also note that dia is a masculine word. For this reason, you need to use no (contraction em + o) before the word dia.

3. How to Say the Numbers

In Portuguese, we almost always use cardinal numbers to talk about dates (both days and years). The only exception is the first day of each month, for which we use the ordinal number.

• Dia 24 (vinte e quatro) de janeiro.
  “Day 24 (twenty-four) of January ”

• Dia 1º (primeiro) de abril –  Dia da Mentira
  “Day 1st (first) of April – April Fool’s day”

4. Add the day of the week

Sometimes it is a good idea to add the day of the week to make things clearer. For example, if you are scheduling a lunch with a friend or a job interview, you can say the day of the week before the date.

• Está marcado para quarta-feira, dia 02 de junho.
  Literally: “It is scheduled for Wednesday, (day) 2nd of June.”

• Nos encontraremos na segunda-feira, dia 31 de outubro.
  “We will meet on Monday, (day) 31st of October.”

When using the day of the week in front of the date, the preposition may change a bit. In most cases, you will still use the preposition em. However, it needs to agree on gender with the day of the week. We will look into the days of the week in-depth later in this article. For now, just remember that for feminine days of the week, the contraction is na (em + a), and for the masculine days, use the contraction no (em + o).

➜ Hint: when you can substitute the preposition for “in” or “on” in English, it is a safe bet to use em and its contractions.

In some other cases, you will need to use the preposition para (“to”). 

➜ Hint: use para + article when you would use “to” in English. 

3 – Mixing and Matching

Here are some of the several ways you can talk about dates using the information we’ve seen so far.

Talking about the day:

• Hoje é o dia 09.
  “Today is the 9th.” or literally: “Today is the day 9.”

• Amanhã é domingo.
  “Tomorrow is Sunday.”

• Nas quartas-feiras, ele vai ao teatro.
  “On Wednesdays, he goes to the theater.”

Talking about the month:

• Estamos em maio.
  “We are in May.” or “It is May.”

• Ele nasceu em novembro.
  “He was born in November.”

Talking about the year:

• Estamos em 1845. 
  “We are in 1845.” or “It is 1845.”

• Eu me formei em 2020.
  “I graduated in 2020.”

• No ano de 1990, muitas coisas aconteceram.
  “In the year 1990, many things happened.”

And putting it together, we have:

• Hoje é dia 15 de novembro.
  Literally: “Today is day 15 of November.”

• Estamos em julho de 2009.
  “It is July 2009.” or literally: “We are in July of 2009.”

• Nos mudamos em 9 de março de 2019.
  “We moved on March 9th, 2009.” or literally: “We moved on 9 of March of 2019.”

Tenho que terminar este projeto até dia 10, sexta-feira. (“I have to finish this project by 10th, Friday.”)

2. How to Say the Days

1 – The Numbers

The first thing you need to know to talk about days is the numbers from 1 to 31.

As mentioned before, in Portuguese we use cardinal numbers (the most basic form of the numbers). The only exception is when referring to the first day of the month. In this case, we use the ordinal form: primeiro (“first”).

Number	1	2	3	4	5
Dia (“Day”)	Primeiro	Dois	Três	Quatro	Cinco

Number	6	7	8	9	10
Dia (“Day”)	Seis	Sete	Oito	Nove	Dez

Number	11	12	13	14	15
Dia (“Day”)	Onze	Doze	Treze	Quatorze	Quinze

Number	16	17	18	19	20
Dia (“Day”)	Dezesseis	Dezessete	Dezoito	Dezenove	Vinte

Number	21	22	23	24	25
Dia (“Day”)	Vinte e um	Vinte e dois	Vinte e três	Vinte e quatro	Vinte e cinco

Number	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dia (“Day”)	Vinte e seis	Vinte e sete	Vinte e oito	Vinte e nove	Trinta	Trinta e um

➜ Listen to how you can pronounce the Numbers 1-10 and Numbers 11-100 with PortuguesePod101.

2 – Weekdays and Weekends

Now that you know how to say the days, what about the dias da semana (“days of the week”)?

You will see that it’s very easy to remember these days of the week in Portuguese, since they follow a simple format. For Monday through Friday, simply use the ordinal numbers! Since Sunday is the first day of the week, Monday is the second, and so on. 

Let’s start with the weekdays, called dias úteis in Portuguese (literally meaning “useful days”).

Dias úteis	Weekdays	Common abbreviation
segunda-feira	Monday	2a
terça-feira	Tuesday	3a
quarta-feira	Wednesday	4a
quinta-feira	Thursday	5a
sexta-feira	Friday	6a

Some things to note:

• Monday through Friday are feminine words in Portuguese.
• Days of the week are written in lower case in Portuguese, as shown in the table.
• Weekdays always end up with -feira (a word that comes from the Latin feria, and refers to days other than Sunday). Most romance languages use the Latin names for the days of the week, which make reference to pagan gods. Portuguese is an exception, due to Christian influence in Portugal.
• However, in everyday situations, it’s quite common to also say only the first part: segunda, terça, quarta, quinta and sexta. 

Now, time to learn about the best part of the week: o fim de semana or o final de semana (“the weekend”). Note that both words below are masculine.

Fim de semana	Weekend	Common abbreviation
sábado	Saturday	sab.
domingo	Sunday	dom.

Sábado comes from the Sabbath. Domingo comes from the latin Dominicus (Dominica), meaning “the Lord’s Day”.

Dia 17 é uma quinta-feira. (“The 17th is a Thursday.”)

➜ Practice the pronunciation for the days of the week  and superpower your Portuguese language learning with this free vocabulary list on Talking about the Days on PortuguesePod101.

3. How to Say the Months

Now, it’s time to get acquainted with the 12 months of the year. Notice that, just like the days of the week, months do not begin with a capital letter in Portuguese. 

Meses	Months
janeiro	January
fevereiro	February
março	March
abril	April
maio	May
junho	June
julho	July
agosto	August
setembro	September
outubro	October
novembro	November
dezembro	December

Some other good-to-know Portuguese words related to months are:

• Trimestre (“Quarter”)
• Semestre (“Semester”) 
• Estação, estações (“Season”, “seasons”)

And here are some examples of Portuguese sentences using the months:

• Meu aniversário é em dezembro.
  “My birthday is in December.”

• Ele viajou em janeiro.
  “He traveled in January.”

• A minha estação do ano favorita começa em março.
  “My favorite season starts in March.”

• Nós nos formamos em julho de 2025.
  “We graduated in July 2025.”

O verão começa no dia 21 de dezembro. (“Summer starts on December 21st.”)

➜ Do you want to hear how each month is pronounced in Portuguese? Head to this vocabulary list on Talking About Months in Portuguese. 

4. How to Say the Years

We are back to numbers! When talking about years, there is a large variety of possible numbers, so we can’t cover each one individually. Luckily, the same format applies to most numbers – and consequently, to years. 

We will cover some examples of how to pronounce some different years. If you need more information, you can always check our in-depth article on Numbers in Portuguese.

Year	Portuguese Pronunciation
753	Setecentos e cinquenta e três
1500	Mil e quinhentos
1712	Mil setecentos e doze
1989	Mil novecentos e oitenta e nove
2021	Dois mil e vinte e um

As you can see by the examples above, the years are pronounced as any other cardinal number. Unlike in English, in Portuguese, we do not combine smaller numbers. For example:

• 1912 can be pronounced as “nineteen twelve” in English. In Portuguese, that does not happen.

However, years in the 20th century can be shortened, as in the examples below:

• Nos anos 80… (“In the 80s…”)
• Ele lançou seu primeiro álbum em 95. (“He released his first album in 95.”)

And since we just mentioned centuries, here is another difference between Portuguese and English. In English, we use ordinal numbers followed by the word “century”. In Portuguese, we start with the word século (“century”) followed by the number. The number can be ordinal or cardinal, depending on the following rules.

• For numbers smaller than, and including, 10: the century is read as an ordinal number.
• For numbers above 10: the century is read as a cardinal number.

Traditionally, Roman numerals are used to talk about centuries. However, it is becoming increasingly more common to use our good old Arabic numbers. Let’s look at some examples.

• Os acontecimentos do século 10º (pronounced as décimo).
  Os acontecimentos do século X (pronounced as décimo).
  “The events of the 10th century.”

• No começo do século 21 (pronounced as vinte e um).
  No começo do século XVIII (pronounced as vinte e um).
  “At the beginning of the 21st century.”

• O Brasil foi colonizado no século 16 (pronounced as dezesseis).
  O Brasil foi colonizado no século XVI (pronounced as dezesseis).
  “Brazil was colonized in the 16th century.”

Finally, here are some extra sample sentences using years in Portuguese. 

• 2020 foi um ano bissexto. 
  “2020 was a leap year.”

• Meu filho nasceu em 1999. 
  “My son was born in 1999.”

• Meus filmes preferidos são da década de 1980. 
  “My favorite movies are from the decade of 1980.”

• Se eu pudesse viajar no tempo, iria para os anos 30. 
  “If I could travel back in time, I would go back to the 30s.”

• Nos casamos em 2010. Já faz quase 15 anos! 
  “We got married in 2010. It’s been almost 15 years!”

Nos casamos em Abril de 2010, cinco anos atrás. (“We got married in April 2010, five years ago.”)

5. Fix the Date of Appointments in Portuguese

Now that you know how to talk about dates, it’s time to put it to use. There are many practical applications to dates in everyday life, like booking appointments and making plans. 

Here are some important Portuguese words and phrases to do so:

• Consulta (“Appointment”)
• Agendamento (“Scheduling”, “appointment”)
• Reserva (“Booking”)
• Encontro (“Date”, romantic)
• Reunião (“Meeting”)
• Disponibilidade (“Availability”)
• Marcar (“To book”, “to schedule”)
• Agendar (“To schedule”)

• Gostaria de marcar uma consulta com o doutor na próxima semana.
  “I would like to make an appointment with the doctor next week.”

• Vocês têm disponibilidade para o próximo mês?
  “Do you have availability for the next month?”

• Qual é a data mais próxima para um agendamento?
  “What is the closest date for an appointment?”

• Gostaria de agendar uma mesa para sexta-feira. 
  “I would like to schedule a table for Friday.”

• É possível reservar um quarto para duas pessoas para o fim de semana que vem? 
  “Is it possible to book a room for two people for next weekend?”

• Tenho um encontro amanhã.
  “I have a date tomorrow.”

• Já podemos marcar a próxima reunião para Dezembro. 
  “We can already schedule the next meeting for December.”

A simple phone conversation to schedule an appointment with your doctor could go like this: 

• Alô, boa tarde. Eu gostaria de marcar uma consulta com a doutora Ana. (“Hello, good afternoon. I would like to make an appointment with Dr. Ana. (feminine)”)
• Claro. Para que dia? (“Of course. For what day?”)
• Ela tem disponibilidade para a próxima semana? (“Does she have availability for next week?”)
• Não, a primeira data disponível é o dia 10 do mês que vem. (“No, the first available date is the 10th of next month.”)
• Dia 10 é uma quarta-feira? (“Is the 10th a Wednesday?”)
• Exatamente. Ela tem disponibilidade de manhã e de tarde. (“Exactly. She has availability in the morning and in the afternoon.”)
• Ok, então podemos marcar para o dia 10, às 11 horas. (“Okay, so we can schedule it for the 10th, at 11 o’clock.”)
• Perfeito. Está marcado. (“Perfect. It is scheduled.”)
• Obrigado! (“Thank you! (masculine)”)

Schedule your appointments like a pro!

6. Must-Know Phrases to Talk about Dates

1 – Talking about Past and Upcoming Dates

We have already seen several ways to say “the next” in the previous examples in this article. But to make it easier for you, here are all the ways to talk about the upcoming dates. 

• Amanhã (“Tomorrow”)
• Depois de amanhã (“Day after tomorrow”)
• Na próxima semana, no próximo mês, no próximo ano (“Next week, next month, next year”)
• Na semana seguinte, no sábado seguinte (“The following week, the following Saturday”)

What about past dates? Here are the most important words and expressions to use:

• Ontem (“Yesterday”)
• Anteontem (“Day before yesterday”)
• Na semana passada, no mês passado, no ano passado (“Last week, last month, last year”)
• Dias atrás, meses atrás, anos atrás (“Days ago, months ago, years ago”)

2 – Important Everyday Phrases

In daily interactions, you will probably ask and answer questions related to dates in Portuguese. You will see that it isn’t too hard at all – especially once you learn these basic Portuguese phrases.

• Que dia é hoje? (“What day is today?”)
• Hoje é o dia 25. (“Today is the 25th.”)

• Que dia da semana é hoje? (“What day of the week is today?”)
• Hoje é quinta-feira. (“Today is Thursday.”)

• Quando as suas aulas começam? (“When do your classes start?”)
• Elas já começaram na semana passada. (“They already started last week.”)

• Quando você estará de férias? (“When will you be on vacation?”)
• No mês que vem, daqui a duas semanas. (“Next month, in two weeks.”)

• Quando é o seu aniversário? (“When is your birthday?”)
• Meu aniversário é em maio. (“My birthday is in May.”)

• Qual é a sua data de nascimento? (“What is your date of birth?”) – formal situations
• Dia 30 de outubro de 1990. (“October 30th, 1990.”)

• Que dia podemos nos encontrar? (“What day can we meet?”)
• Pode ser depois de amanhã. (“It can be the day after tomorrow.”)

3 – Important Dates in Brazil

Now you know all the most important vocabulary, phrases and expressions to talk about Portuguese dates! But before you go, learn the name of some of the most relevant holidays in Brazil.

• Carnaval (“Carnival”)
  Date changes every year

• Páscoa (“Easter”)
  Date changes every year

• Dia das Mães (“Mother’s Day”)
  Segundo domingo de maio (“Second Sunday of May”)

• Férias de Julho (“July vacations”)

• Dia dos Pais (“Father’s Day”)
  Segundo domingo de agosto (“Second Sunday of August”)

• Férias de final de ano (“End-of-year vacations”)

• Natal (“Christmas”)
  25 de dezembro (“December 25th”)

• Virada de ano, Réveillon (“New Year’s Eve”)
  31 de dezembro (“December 31st”)

• Ano-Novo (“New Year”)
  Dia 1º de janeiro (“January 1st”)

Desfile de Carnaval. (“The Carnival parade.”)

7. Continue Learning Portuguese With PortuguesePod101

In this complete guide on Portuguese dates, we covered how to talk about days, days of the week, months and years. You can now ask and answer common questions on the topic, make plans and book appointments. Hopefully, you also learned how to write the date in Portuguese, so you can deal with date-related bureaucracy. 

Do you feel ready to have conversations about Portuguese dates and times? Do you think the article covered everything you needed to know about the topic? Please let us know in the comments!

Now, continue learning Portuguese with the hundreds of free Portuguese resources and the many vocabulary lists available on PortuguesePod101.com. Go ahead and choose your favorite tools to expand your learning opportunities.

If you want to take your Portuguese language learning experience further, members of PortuguesePod101.com get access to the largest language lesson library in the world, with thousands of real lessons by real teachers. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from anywhere, feel motivated, and be ready to speak Portuguese with confidence. And in the meantime, continue exploring PortuguesePod101!

Whether it’s a Christmas celebration, a birthday party, or a simple barbecue (churrasco!), there’s a family gathering just about every month in Brazil. Yes, those events where small cousins are running around, grandmother asks about your love life, and there’s more food than people can handle.

Learning how to talk about family in Portuguese is essential, even if you don’t attend one of these family gatherings in Brazil (which we recommend you do!). After all, this is a topic that always comes up in conversations. People will ask you about your family, or tell you stories about their own family involving multiple relatives.

In this article, we’ll go over the vocabulary you need to know to talk about all kinds of families, as well as family-related words in Portuguese. We’ll also see some examples of sentences and questions related to family in Portuguese. But first, let’s go over family values in Portuguese-speaking Brazil and more information on family structures. Ready?

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Brazilian Families
2. The Basics of the Nuclear Family
3. The Relatives You See at Christmas
4. The New Family: Couples
5. Extending the New Family: In-laws
6. Blended Families
7. Showing Affection: Endearment Terms
8. Learn More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

1. An Introduction to Brazilian Families

Brazilians tend to have very tight-knit relationships with their families. Family definitely continues to be a strong institution in Brazil, and that’s why it’s always one of the first topics in a conversation. Overall, Brazilians are collectivistic, and it’s not uncommon to see several generations living in the same household or very close by.

Of course, we can’t forget that the local culture also lends a lot of importance to celebrations where the whole family comes together to enjoy each other’s company, great food, and music.

Although the family size in Brazil has diminished over the past several years, it’s still common to see numerous families with plenty of children, cousins, uncles, and aunts. This is especially true in smaller cities and rural areas; families in cosmopolitan regions tend to have fewer children.

Unlike in some other cultures, there aren’t different ways to refer to family members in Portuguese based on their age. What does happen a lot in Brazil is the use of a diminutive suffix at the end of words to indicate affection. You’ll see some examples further along. In addition to that, there are other endearment terms and nicknames that Brazilians use to refer to family members with extra fondness.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Portuguese is a language that tends to use the masculine form when dealing with plurals. This characteristic relates directly to Brazilian society, which is largely patriarchal. We’ll discuss the plurals a bit later in this article as well!

Three generations: avô (“grandfather”), pai (“father”), and filho (“son”).

2. The Basics of the Nuclear Family

Let’s start with the basic vocabulary for talking about your immediate family in Portuguese. It might look like a lot of new words, but we’ll put it all in context with some example sentences!

We’ll start by answering the most important question: How do you say “family” in Portuguese?

Família	“Family”
Parentes	“Relatives”
Mãe	“Mother”
Pai	“Father”
Pais	“Parents”
Irmã	“Sister”
Irmão	“Brother”
Irmãos	“Siblings”
Filho	“Son”
Filha	“Daughter”
Filhos	“Children”

As you can see in the vocabulary table above, when we’re talking about the plural for parents, children, or siblings, we use the masculine form:

• Pai (“father” ) → Pais (“parents” )
• Irmão (“brother” ) → Irmãos (“brothers” or “siblings” )
• Filho (“son” )→ Filhos (“sons” or “children” )

However, if you already know that the siblings or children are all female, then you can use the feminine plural irmãs (“sisters”). If you don’t know, or if there are both male and female siblings, then use the masculine form irmãos (“brothers”). In fact, this plural rule applies to all plurals in Portuguese, so keep that in mind going forward!

Now that you already know the family terms in Portuguese for talking about siblings or children, how can you add more details? Take a look at the words and expressions below.

Mais novo / nova	“Younger”
O mais novo/a mais nova, caçula	“The youngest”
Mais velho / velha	“Eldest”
O mais velho / a mais velha	“The eldest”
Do meio	“Middle” (child or sibling)
Filho único / filha única	“Single child” (male) / (female)
Gêmeos / gêmeas	“Twins”

Great, you’ve just learned a bunch of new vocabulary! You might be wondering how these new words look in a real-life sentence. We’ve got you covered:

• Meu filho mais novo (“My youngest son” )
• Ele é o caçula. (“He is the youngest.” )
• Eu sou a irmã do meio. (“I am the middle daughter.” )
• Ela é a filha mais velha. (“She is the oldest daughter.” )
• Tenho dois irmãos mais velhos. (“I have two older siblings/brothers.” )
• Eu vivo com meus pais. (“I live with my parents.” )
• Ele não tem filhos. (“He doesn’t have children.” )
• Os almoços de família são sempre cheios de parentes. (“The family lunches are always full of relatives.” )

When talking to a Portuguese speaker, the conversation about family could go a bit like this:

A: Como está a sua família? (“How’s your family?” )
B: Estão todos bem. E sua mãe? (“Everyone is doing well. How about your mother?l” )
A: Ela está melhor, obrigado. Você tem irmãos, não é? (“She is better, thank you. You have siblings, right?” )
B: Tenho sim! Um irmão mais novo e uma irmã mais velha. (“I do! A younger brother and an older sister.” )
A: Legal! Eu sou filho único. Meus pais nunca quiseram mais filhos. (“Cool! I am an only child. My parents never wanted more children.” )

3. The Relatives You See at Christmas

As we explained before, Brazilians tend to be very close to their relatives, and family gatherings or reunions are a big affair.

Avó	“Grandmother”
Avô	“Grandfather”
Avós	“Grandparents”
Bisavó	“Great-grandmother”
Bisavô	“Great-grandfather”
Bisavós	“Great-grandparents”
Neto	“Grandson”
Neta	“Granddaughter”
Netos/Netas	“Grandchildren”
Tio	“Uncle”
Tia	“Aunt”
Tios	“Uncles” or plural form of “uncles + aunts”
Tias	“Aunts”

Note that the first plurals in the table above sound “feminine,” even though the plural favors males as explained previously. This is only a matter of making the word sound more pleasant.

/!\ Tio (“uncle” ) and tia (“aunt” ) are also used to informally refer to friends’ parents or other adults.

Primo	“Cousin” (male)
Prima	“Cousin” (female)
Primos	“Cousins”
Sobrinho	“Nephew”
Sobrinha	“Niece”
Sobrinhos	“Nephews” or plural form of “nephews + nieces”
Sobrinhas	“Nieces”
Madrinha	“Godmother”v
Padrinho	“Godfather”
Padrinhos	“Godparents”
Afilhado	“Godson”
Afilhada	“Goddaughter”

Check out some examples of dialogues including questions and answers using the new vocabulary.

A: Você tem padrinhos? (“Do you have godparents?” )
B: Sim! Minha madrinha é uma amiga da minha avó. Meu padrinho é meu tio, irmão mais velho do meu pai. (“Yes! My godmother is one of my grandmother’s friends. My godfather is my uncle, my father’s oldest brother.” )
A: Legal! Quantos tios você tem, só um? (“Cool! How many uncles do you have, only one?” )
B: Por parte de pai, só um. Por parte de mãe, tenho um tio e dua tias. (“From my father’s side, only one. From my mother’s side, I have one uncle and two aunts.” )

Another example dialogue:

A: Como foi a festa de aniversário do seu sobrinho? (“How was your nephew’s birthday party?” )
B: Foi muito boa! Todos meus primos estavam lá, então deu pra ver todo mundo! (“It was very good! All of my cousins were there, so I could see everyone!” )
A: E seus avós, eles foram? (“How about your grandparents, did they go?” )
B: Minha avó, sim. Mas meu avô ficou em casa cuidando da minha bisavó. (“My grandmother did. But my grandfather stayed home taking care of my great-grandmother.” )
A: Ah, entendi. (“Oh, I see.” )
B: Mas minha avó ficou feliz de ver todos os netos e netas. (“But my grandmother was happy to see all of her grandchildren.” )

Avó e netos (“Grandmother and grandchildren” )

→ Listen to the pronunciation for the must-know family terms on PortuguesePod101!

4. The New Family: Couples

Beyond the immediate family ties, you also have to learn how to talk about the new family members a married person acquires!

With the new words you’ll see below, you’ll be able to talk about love and passionate relationships. This way, if you need to DTR (define the relationship) in Portuguese, you’ll have nothing to fear!

Here’s how to talk about newly acquired members of the family in Portuguese, and how to define certain relationships.

Casal	“Couple”
Esposo / Marido	“Husband”
Esposa / Mulher	“Wife”
Casados	“Married”
Noivo	“Fiancé” / “Groom”
Noiva	“Fiancée” / “Bride”
Noivos	“Engaged couple”
Namorado	“Boyfriend”
Namorada	“Girlfriend”
Namorados	“Dating couple”
Parceiro	“Partner” (male)
Parceira	“Partner” (female)
Ex	“Ex”
Divorciado	“Divorced” (male)
Divorciada	“Divorced” (female)
Amante	“Lover”
Amantes	“Lovers”
Viúvo	“Widower”
Viúva	“Widow”

Here’s a dialogue example filled with real-life phrases you might hear in Portuguese:

A: Finalmente vou conhecer a sua namorada? (“Will I finally meet your girlfriend?” )
B: Namorada, não. Mas a minha noiva sim! (“Girlfriend, no. But my fiancée, yes!” )
A: Não acredito! (“I don’t believe it!” )
B: Acredite! Tenho uma foto dela, olha. (“Believe it! I have a picture of her, look.” )
A: Ah, muito mais bonita do que sua ex-esposa. Fazem um casal lindo! (“Oh, she is much prettier than your ex-wife. You make a beautiful couple!” )

O casal chegou! (“The couple arrived!” )

→ If love is in the air, you might want to learn these love phrases with PortuguesePod101!

5. Extending the New Family: In-laws

Once the family expands, you’ll have to get used to many more family members! Nothing to worry about, though. In real life, the in-laws tend to be less scary than in the movies.

In Portuguese, it’s not as easy as simply adding “-in-law” to already familiar words. So take your time to practice and understand these different words for the extended family in Portuguese!

Sogro	“Father-in-law”
Sogra	“Mother-in-law”
Sogros	“Parents-in-law” or plural for “father-in-law + mother-in-law”

Genro	“Son-in-law”
Nora	“Daughter-in-law”
Cunhado	“Brother-in-law”
Cunhada	“Sister-in-law”

For example:

• Manda um beijo para a sua sogra. (“Send a kiss to your mother-in-law.” )
• Quantos cunhados você tem? (“How many brothers-in-law do you have?” )
• Meu genro é muito inteligente. (“My son-in-law is very smart.” )

5. Blended Families

Like in many other countries, the family structure is changing rapidly in Brazil. The term “blended family” refers to cases where one or both of the spouses have children from other relationships. That means more family relations and more words to discover!

Here’s a list of words you can use to describe these family ties in Portuguese:

Padrasto	“Stepfather”
Madrasta	“Stepmother”
Enteado	“Stepson”
Enteada	“Stepdaughter”
Enteados	“Stepchildren”
Meia-irmã	“Half-sister”
Meio-irmão	“Half-brother”
Meio-irmãos	“Half-siblings”
Irmã do outro casamento	“Stepsister,” literally translating to “sister from another marriage”
Irmão do outro casamento	“Stepbrother,” literally translating to “brother from another marriage”
Irmãos do outro casamento	“Step-siblings”

As you can see, the terms for step-siblings are a mouthful. As a result, they’re not used very often, and it’s common to just use the words irmão (“brother”), irmã (“sister”), or irmãos (“siblings” ) to refer to step-siblings.

Here are some examples:

• Eu gosto da minha madrasta. (“I like my stepmother.” )
• Nossos meio-irmãos são mais novos. (“Our half-siblings are younger.” )
• A sua enteada tem quantos anos? (“How old is your stepdaughter?” )

A família foi para a praia (“The family went to the beach” )

6. Showing Affection: Endearment Terms

As we said before, family relations are very important and central to Brazilian culture. Therefore, it’s not surprising that there are plenty of endearment terms used to refer to some of the family members we covered in this article.

Why don’t we play a game, then? Take a look at the words below and try to guess what family member each term refers to. After you’re done, scroll down to get the answers!

Mamãe

Papai

Vovó

Vovô

Dinda

Dindo

Bisa

Biso

Titio

Titia

Hey, no cheating!

But if you’re done, here’s the translation for each word:

Mamãe	“Mommy”
Papai	“Dad”
Vovó	“Grandma”
Vovô	“Grandpa”
Dinda	Endearment term for “godmother”
Dindo	Endearment term for “godfather”
Bisa	Endearment term for “great-grandmother”
Biso	Endearment term for “great-grandfather”
Titio	Endearment term for “uncle”
Titia	“Auntie,” endearment term for “aunt”

In addition to the terms listed above, it’s very common to use the diminutive ending to convey affection. For the cases we’re discussing in this article, the endings are:

• -inho for masculine words
• -inha for feminine words

And here are some examples of endearment terms with the diminutive ending.

• Mãe (“mother” ) → Mãezinha
• Pai (“father” ) → Paizinho
• Avó (“grandmother” ) → Vózinha
• Avô (“grandfather” ) → Vôzinho
• Vovó (“grandma” ) → Vovózinha
• Vovô (“grandpa” ) → Vovôzinho
• Prima (“cousin” female ) → Priminha
• Primo (“cousin” male ) → Priminho
• Tia (“aunt” ) → Tiazinha
• Tio (“uncle” ) → Tiozinho
• Neta (“granddaughter” ) → Netinha
• Neto (“grandson” ) → Netinho

In some places in the north and/or the northeast of Brazil, you can also hear the following endearment terms:

• Mainha (“mom”; exclusive to the Northeast)
• Painho (“dad”; exclusive to the Northeast)
• Mana / Maninha (“sis” / “sister” )
• Mano / Maninho (“bro” / “brother” )
• Maninha (“little sister” )
• Maninho (“little brother” )

/!\ While in the north and northeast of Brazil, mano and mana are used to refer to blood relations, those words can also be used as slang throughout Brazil. Context will be your best friend when you encounter those words!

Avôzinho e netinho (“Grandfather and his little grandson” )

7. Learn More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

We hope this complete guide to talking about family in Portuguese was helpful to you! Now you’re ready to engage in conversation about family members and tell old family tales like a native Portuguese speaker. If you want to take it a step further, practice the pronunciation of the terms and words you learned today.

Were the examples we presented useful? Did we miss any important words you wanted to learn? Let us know in the comments! And remember that you can come back to this article whenever you need to and refresh your memory.

Now it’s time to continue on your language-learning journey! There are more free Portuguese resources and a variety of vocabulary lists available on PortuguesePod101.com. Go ahead and choose your favorite tools to expand your learning opportunities.

If you want to take your learning experience further, members of PortuguesePod101.com get access to the largest language lesson library in the world, with thousands of real lessons by real teachers. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from anywhere, feel motivated, and be ready to speak Portuguese with confidence. And in the meantime, continue exploring PortuguesePod101!