Introduction
Knowing how to talk about time in Brazilian Portuguese helps you manage daily life, make plans, and understand schedules. This article covers essential vocabulary, common expressions, telling the clock, asking and answering about time, and natural phrases used in Brazil. Examples and short dialogues will help you practice real situations.
- Basic time vocabulary
- Telling the time: hours and minutes
- Asking about time
- Describing parts of the day
- Talking about schedules and appointments
- Expressions for duration and frequency
- Common idiomatic time expressions
- Natural dialogues: asking and answering about time
- Polite and casual variants
- Using the 24-hour clock and digital contexts
- Talking about past and future times
- Practical tips for learners
- More example sentences
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Useful mini-phrase list for quick reference
- Conclusion
Basic time vocabulary
Start with the core words that appear in almost every time-related sentence.
hora — hour; time of day
minuto — minute
segundo — second
meia — half (used for half past the hour)
quarto — quarter (used for quarter past or quarter to)
Use these words when telling time and when describing durations.
Telling the time: hours and minutes
Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses the 12-hour clock in informal speech with contexts like de manhã and da noite, and the 24-hour clock in formal settings such as timetables and official schedules.
Full hours
For full hours, say the number followed by horas or hora for one o’clock.
Examples:
São duas horas. — It is 2:00.
É uma hora. — It is 1:00.
Half past
Use meia after the hour to say half past.
Examples:
São três e meia. — It is 3:30.
É uma e meia. — It is 1:30.
Quarter past and quarter to
Use e um quarto or simply um quarto for quarter past, and para as or para as plus the next hour for quarter to.
Examples:
São quatro e quinze or São quatro e um quarto. — It is 4:15.
São cinco para as seis or Faltam quinze minutos para as seis. — It is 5:45.
Minutes past and to
To say minutes past the hour, use e plus the number of minutes. For minutes to the next hour, use faltam plus the number of minutes followed by para as and the next hour.
Examples:
São sete e vinte. — It is 7:20.
Faltam dez minutos para as oito. — It is 7:50.
Asking about time
Here are polite and common ways to ask the time and related questions.
Que horas são? — What time is it?
A que horas… ? — At what time… ? (used to ask when an event starts)
Você tem horas? — Do you have the time? (informal)
Examples:
Que horas são? — What time is it?
A que horas começa o filme? — At what time does the movie start?
Você tem horas? — Do you have the time?
Describing parts of the day
Use these expressions to give context to times and to ask about general schedules.
de manhã — in the morning
à tarde — in the afternoon
à noite — at night
da madrugada — early morning / pre-dawn
Examples:
Eu estudo de manhã. — I study in the morning.
Vamos nos encontrar à tarde. — Let’s meet in the afternoon.
Ele trabalha à noite. — He works at night.
Talking about schedules and appointments
When arranging meetings or appointments, Brazilians favor clear time phrases and sometimes add context like lugar (place) or tempo (duration).
marcar — to schedule; agendar — to book
compromisso — appointment; encontro — meeting
Examples:
Podemos marcar para as três? — Can we schedule it for three?
Tenho um compromisso às dez da manhã. — I have an appointment at 10 in the morning.
Você quer agendar para amanhã à tarde? — Do you want to book it for tomorrow afternoon?
Confirming and changing times
Useful verbs and phrases to confirm or reschedule.
confirmar — to confirm
adiar — to postpone; cancelar — to cancel
mudar — to change
Examples:
Você pode confirmar o horário? — Can you confirm the time?
Precisamos adiar o encontro para a próxima semana. — We need to postpone the meeting to next week.
Podemos mudar o horário para as quatro? — Can we change the time to four?
Expressions for duration and frequency
Talking about how long something lasts or how often it happens requires different vocabulary.
durante — during; por — for (duration)
todo dia — every day; sempre — always; às vezes — sometimes
Examples:
A reunião vai durar duas horas. — The meeting will last two hours.
Vou trabalhar por três horas. — I will work for three hours.
Ele corre toda manhã. — He runs every morning.
Common idiomatic time expressions
Brazilian Portuguese has many idiomatic expressions related to time. These are useful for sounding more natural.
de vez em quando — from time to time
na hora — on time; at the right time
em pouco tempo — soon; in a short time
por volta de — around; about (time approximation)
Examples:
Eu vou lá de vez em quando. — I go there from time to time.
Chegou na hora. — He arrived on time.
A festa começa por volta de oito. — The party starts around eight.
Natural dialogues: asking and answering about time
Short conversations introduce rhythm and connectors you will hear every day.
Dialogue 1:
— Que horas são?
— São nove e quinze.
Dialogue 2:
— A que horas sai o ônibus?
— Sai às dez, mas chega às nove e cinquenta no terminal.
Dialogue 3:
— Podemos nos encontrar hoje à tarde?
— Sim, que tal às três e meia?
— Perfeito, até mais.
Polite and casual variants
Brazilian Portuguese has both polite forms for formal interactions and casual options for friends.
Polite: Use conditional or future forms and polite markers.
Por favor, você pode me dizer que horas são? — Please, can you tell me the time?
Casual: Short and direct forms are common among friends.
Que horas são? — What time is it?
Note about pronouns: In formal contexts you might use senhor or senhora when addressing someone older or in customer service.
Using the 24-hour clock and digital contexts
In contexts like transportation, medicine, or official timetables, use the 24-hour clock. Brazilians will often say the hour number, especially when reading digital times.
Examples:
O voo sai às quatorze horas. — The flight leaves at 14:00.
O exame está marcado para as dezesseis horas. — The test is scheduled for 16:00.
Usage note: In speech, even when referring to 24-hour times, Brazilians often add da tarde or da noite to make it clearer in conversation.
Talking about past and future times
Use simple past and future constructions to place events in time.
ontem — yesterday; hoje — today; amanhã — tomorrow
For past: Use past tense verbs like chegou, partiu, começou.
For future: Use vai + infinitive or future tense like chegará.
Examples:
O show começou às dez da noite ontem. — The show started at 10 pm yesterday.
O filme vai começar às oito amanhã. — The movie will start at eight tomorrow.
Practical tips for learners
Use these suggestions to build confidence when talking about time.
1. Memorize numbers from 1 to 60 well, including irregular forms like vinte, cinquenta, and compound numbers such as vinte e três.
2. Practice saying times out loud with both e and faltam constructions to get natural rhythm.
3. Listen to Brazilian podcasts or watch TV to hear how people say times informally, including contractions and dropped sounds.
4. When in doubt, add context de manhã / à tarde / à noite to avoid confusion about AM/PM.
5. Pay attention to regional variations; some speakers may prefer certain idioms over others.
More example sentences
Extra examples to reinforce structures and vocabulary.
Eu chego ao trabalho às oito e meio. — I arrive at work at 8:30.
A aula termina às dez para as doze. — The class ends at 11:50.
Ele passa aqui por volta de sete.
Nós temos reunião toda segunda-feira às nove da manhã.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Beginners often confuse direct translations or misuse prepositions. Here are common pitfalls and quick fixes.
Mistake: Saying for minutes to the hour by using para without faltam.
Fix: Use Faltam x minutos para as + next hour for clarity. Example: Faltam quinze minutos para as seis.
Mistake: Omitting de when specifying time of day.
Fix: Include de manhã / da tarde / da noite when needed: às oito da noite.
Mistake: Mixing 12-hour and 24-hour forms casually in formal contexts.
Fix: Use 24-hour in timetables and 12-hour in everyday speech with period markers.
Useful mini-phrase list for quick reference
Keep these short phrases handy when you need to ask or say a time quickly.
Que horas são?
À que horas é o evento?
Temos aula às nove.
Chego em dez minutos.
A reunião foi adiada para amanhã.
Conclusion
Mastering time-related phrases in Brazilian Portuguese makes everyday conversation and planning much easier. Focus on key vocabulary, practice telling hours with e and faltam, and use period markers like de manhã or à noite to avoid confusion. With exposure to natural dialogues and routines, you will sound more confident and understand schedules and appointments quickly.
