Introduction
Learning how to use numbers in Brazilian Portuguese is one of the fastest ways to become functional in everyday situations. This guide focuses on numbers for age, time, dates, and prices, providing vocabulary, practical phrases, and clear examples that beginners can use right away.
Numbers: the basics
Before diving into specific contexts, review cardinal numbers from 0 to 100 and a few key higher numbers. Pronunciation and spelling matter, so see the most common forms below.
0 zero
1 um (masculine), uma (feminine)
2 dois, duas
3 três
4 quatro
5 cinco
6 seis
7 sete
8 oito
9 nove
10 dez
11 onze
12 doze
13 treze
14 quatorze (or catorze in some Brazilian regions)
15 quinze
16 dezesseis
17 dezessete
18 dezoito
19 dezenove
20 vinte
21 vinte e um
30 trinta
40 quarenta
50 cinquenta
60 sessenta
70 setenta
80 oitenta
90 noventa
100 cem (or cento when followed by other numbers)
Hundreds, thousands and larger follow similar patterns: duzentos (200), trezentos (300), mil (1.000).
Talking about age
Age in Portuguese uses the verb ter rather than to be. The literal translation is to have years. This is a crucial difference for beginners.
Use the structure: subject + ter + number + anos.
Eu tenho 25 anos. I am 25 years old.
Ela tem 30 anos. She is 30 years old.
Você tem quantos anos? How old are you?
Helpful words:
anos years
idade age
When referring to babies or very young children, Brazilians often say meses for months.
Meu bebê tem 6 meses. My baby is 6 months old.
Common phrases and mistakes about age
Tenho is used with first-person singular; do not say eu sou 25 anos. Use tenho not sou for age.
If someone asks politely for your age on forms, they may write Idade: and you respond with a number, for example 42 or 18.
Telling time
Time in Brazilian Portuguese has formal and informal ways. Digital clocks and schedules often use 24-hour notation, but everyday speech uses 12-hour expressions with manhã, tarde, noite.
Basic structure: são + hours for plural hours; é + uma hora for 1:00.
São duas horas. It is two o’clock.
É uma hora. It is one o’clock.
To say minutes, use e (and) or menos (to) for minutes before the next hour.
São três e dez. It is 3:10.
São cinco e quinze. It is 5:15.
São oito e meia. It is 8:30.
Faltam dez minutos para as sete. It is ten minutes to seven.
Specify periods of day:
de manhã in the morning
da tarde in the afternoon
da noite at night
Examples:
Vou trabalhar às nove da manhã.
I will work at 9 in the morning.
O jantar é às oito da noite.
Dinner is at 8 in the evening.
Digital times and schedules
On timetables, you will often see 14:30 which reads quatorze e trinta or simply quatorze e trinta, but in speech Brazilians often say duas e meia da tarde for 14:30.
Use meia for half past in speech: duas e meia (2:30).
For quarter past and quarter to: quinze, quinze para, or use quarto in informal speech: uma e quarto (1:15) and duas menos um quarto (1:45).
Dates and calendar vocabulary
Dates in Brazil are written day/month/year. Spoken dates use de between day and month: first of June 2024 is primeiro de junho de 2024.
Months (Brazilian Portuguese):
janeiro January
fevereiro February
março March
abril April
maio May
junho June
julho July
agosto August
setembro September
outubro October
novembro November
dezembro December
Days of the week:
segunda-feira Monday
terça-feira Tuesday
quarta-feira Wednesday
quinta-feira Thursday
sexta-feira Friday
sábado Saturday
domingo Sunday
How to say specific dates
Structure: day + de + month + de + year.
12 de outubro de 2025 12th of October 2025
1º de janeiro first of January — note the ordinal primeiro for first.
When writing informal dates in speech, Brazilians often say the day and month only: vinte e cinco de dezembro for 25 December.
Prices and money
Brazil uses the real, symbol R$ and the currency name real for singular, reais for plural. Prices are spoken and written with a comma for decimals and a period for thousands in Brazilian Portuguese notation, but when speaking use reais e centavos.
R$ 10,50 dez reais e cinquenta centavos
R$ 1.200,00 mil e duzentos reais
Useful words:
reais reais (plural of real)
centavos cents
quanto custa? How much does it cost?
Quanto é? How much is it?
Examples you might hear or read:
Quanto custa esta camisa?
How much is this shirt?
Essa garrafa custa vinte e cinco reais.
That bottle costs 25 reais.
O ingresso está por R$ 45,00.
The ticket is R$45,00.
Paying and bargaining
In stores you may see tags with numbers only. Remember that a comma is the decimal separator: R$ 3,50 means three reais and fifty centavos, not three thousand fifty.
When paying, common phrases include:
Posso pagar com cartão? Can I pay with card?
Aceita cartão? Do you accept card?
Tenho só dinheiro. I only have cash.
Practical tips and common beginner mistakes
1. Use ter for age. Saying eu sou 20 anos is incorrect. Correct: Eu tenho 20 anos.
2. Remember comma vs. period in written prices. R$ 2,50 is two reais fifty centavos. In English-style notation R$ 2.50 could confuse a native reader.
3. For time, use são for plural hours and é for 1:00. São duas horas vs É uma hora.
4. Months are not capitalized in Portuguese: janeiro, fevereiro, março.
5. Match gender of numbers when they modify nouns that require agreement: duzentos carros, duzentas pessoas. When the number stands alone, use the masculine form by default for mixed or unspecified groups.
Quick practice scenarios
At a café: You see a sign R$ 8,00 and ask the barista Quanto é este café? They answer O café custa oito reais.
On a form: You read Idade and write 29 or respond Tenho 29 anos when asked in speech.
On a bus timetable: The board shows 14:45. You can say o ônibus sai às duas e quarenta e cinco da tarde or o ônibus sai às três menos quinze da tarde depending on local speech.
Making plans: Você pode às sete da noite? means Can you at 7 PM? Respond Sim, às sete está bom for Yes, 7 works.
Conclusion
Mastering numbers for age, time, dates, and prices in Brazilian Portuguese opens many doors for real-life interaction. Focus on the key verbs and structures ter for age, são/é for time, day-de-month for dates, and reais/centavos for prices. Practice with the short phrases in this guide, and you will quickly become comfortable handling everyday situations in Brazil.
