Asking interesting questions is one of the secrets to a good conversation. Regardless of the language, questions are an essential tool in your conversation toolbox. They can help you learn basic information about the person you’ve just met or dive deep into what makes them unique! Pretty cool, huh?

That’s why knowing how to ask and answer a question in Portuguese will take you a long way toward mastering the language. By practicing the sentences and patterns you’ll see in this article, you’ll begin to feel comfortable during interactions with native speakers. Simply ask interesting questions every now and again, and see how smoothly your conversation will flow.

To help you navigate the world of questions in Portuguese, we’ll introduce you to the top ten questions you can ask, alongside the translation of each word used in the sentences. You’ll also see how to answer them, broken down by the pattern so you can create your own answers. And of course, there will be plenty of examples along the way, to make sure you really grasp the concepts. Ready?

Table of Contents

1. The Building Blocks
2. The Top 10 Portuguese Questions and Answers to Learn
3. Learn More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

Get ready to ask and answer questions like a pro!

1. The Building Blocks

Before we see how to ask questions in Portuguese, let’s take a quick look at the building blocks to do so: the question patterns and the Portuguese question words. By learning these elements, you’ll better understand the sentences in this article, and you’ll also be able to create your own questions in the future.

1 – Portuguese Question Words

These are the most common question words in Portuguese that you can use to form direct questions.

“What”	O que O quê (if it’s at the end of the sentence)	O que você quer comer? (“What do you want to eat?”) Você quer comer o quê? (“What do you want to eat?”)
“Why”	Por que Por quê (if it’s at the end of the sentence)	Por que vamos sair? (“Why are we leaving?”) Vamos sair por quê? (“Why are we leaving?”)
“Where”	Onde (used if the subject is not moving) Aonde (used if the subject is moving)	Onde está meu remédio? (“Where is my medicine?”) Aonde você vai? (“Where are you going?”)
“When”	Quando	Quando é a festa? (“When is the party?”)
“Who”	Quem	Quem era aquele homem? (“Who was that man?”)
“How”	Como	Como elas chegaram aqui? (“How did they get here?”)
“Which”	Qual Quais (plural)	Qual é o seu sabor de sorvete favorito? (“What is your favorite ice cream flavor?”) Quais são os seus livros? (“Which ones are your books?”)
“How much” / “How many”	Quanto (male singular form) Quanta (female singular form) Quantos (male plural form) Quantas (female plural form)	Quanto custa esse livro? (“How much does this book cost?”) Quanta água você tem? (“How much water do you have?”) Quantos bebês nasceram hoje? (“How many babies were born today?”) Quantas pessoas vieram? (“How many people came?”)
“Whose”	De quem	De quem é esse carro? (“Whose car is this?”)

2 – Portuguese Question Patterns

There are two main patterns for asking questions in Portuguese that you need to be familiar with.

Question word + subject + verb + complement

Using this pattern, you can ask a huge variety of questions. It follows the same word order as a declarative sentence does. The difference is that you add a question word to the beginning and a question mark at the end. Most of the sample Portuguese questions we saw in the previous table feature this sentence pattern.

Examples:

• Quando vocês chegam? (“When do you arrive?”) – plural
• Onde posso deixar minha mala? (“Where can I leave my luggage?”)

In some cases, you can also see the question word at the end of the sentence, instead of at the beginning. For example:

• A festa é quando? (“The party is when?”)

Subject + verb + complement

This sentence pattern is basically a statement followed by a question mark. Intonation is an essential aspect of asking questions with this pattern, since it’s the only thing differentiating it from a declarative statement. 

The intonation is fairly similar to the one used to ask questions in English. Simply raise your voice slightly at the end of the sentence.

Examples:

• Você vai sair hoje? (“Are you going out today?”)
• Podemos começar? (“May we begin?”)

Regardless of the question pattern, keep in mind that, sometimes, the subject is implicit. This happens fairly often in Portuguese, and you might see question examples in which the subject doesn’t appear. In cases like this, the subject can be inferred by looking at the verb. Take this sentence, for example:

• Vamos sair agora? (“Are we leaving now?”)

The subject in this sentence is nós (“we”), as the conjugation of the verb indicates. You can opt to include the word nós in the sentence or leave it out.

Vamos estudar? (“Let’s study?”)

2. The Top 10 Portuguese Questions and Answers to Learn

From the more basic Portuguese questions you can ask during a first meeting to questions that can take the conversation to the next level, you’ll see it all in this article. Pay attention to how the answers normally use elements from the questions—this can help you get your bearings when you’re asked a brand-new question!

1 – What’s your name?

This is probably the first question you’ll hear or ask a Portuguese-speaker. Take your time to learn this question by heart. 

Question

• Qual é o seu nome? 

Qual	é	o seu	nome?
What (in this case, qual translates to “what,” and not “which”)	is	your	name?

• Como você se chama?

Como	você	se chama?
How	do you	call yourself?

Answer

• Meu nome é [nome].

Meu	nome	é	[nome].
My	name	is	[name].

You can use this same structure to answer what your nickname or family name is.

• Meu apelido é [apelido]. (“My nickname is [nickname].”)
• Meu sobrenome é [sobrenome]. (“My family name is [family name].”)

• Eu me chamo [nome].

Eu	me chamo	[nome].
I	call myself	[name].

Putting it all together

• Q: Qual é o seu nome? (“What is your name?”) 
• A: Meu nome é Maria. (“My name is Maria.”)

• Q: Como você se chama? (“What are you called?”)
• A: Eu me chamo Gustavo. (“I’m called Gustavo.”)

2 – Where are you from?

Here’s another great icebreaker question for getting to know people!

Question

• De onde você é?

De	onde	você	é?
From	where	you	are?

• De onde você vem?

De	onde	você	vem?
From	where	you	come?

Answer

• Eu sou de [local].

Eu	sou	de	[local].
I	am	from	[place].

• Eu venho de [local].

Eu	venho	de	[local].
I	come	from	[place].

Note that, in both cases, the preposition de (“of” / “from”) should agree with the following word in gender and number. Check it out:

• Eu sou de Portugal. (“I am from Portugal.”)
• Eu venho da África do Sul. (“I come from South Africa.”)
• Eu sou dos Estados Unidos. (“I am from the United States.”)

You can also answer the question by stating your nationality:

• Eu sou brasileiro. (“I am Brazilian.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: De onde você é? (“Where are you from?”)
• A: Eu sou do Rio de Janeiro. (“I’m from Rio de Janeiro.”) 

• Q: De onde você vem? (“Where do you come from?”) 
• A: Eu venho da Índia. (“I come from India.”)

3 – Do you speak Portuguese?

People in Brazil will likely be very curious to know more about your Portuguese-learning experience. Expect to hear some questions about it!

Question

• Você fala [idioma]?

Você	fala	[idioma]?
You	speak	Portuguese?

You can also add more details to your question at the end of the sentence. For example:

• Você fala inglês fluentemente? (“Do you speak English fluently?”)
• Você fala francês há muito tempo? (“Have you spoken French long?”)

Answer

• Eu falo [idioma].

Eu	falo	[idioma].
I	speak	Portuguese.

You can begin the sentence with sim (“yes”) or não (“no”), and then complete your answer with the pattern above.

• Sim, eu falo Português. (“Yes, I speak Portuguese.”)
• Não, eu não falo Espanhol. (“No, I don’t speak Spanish.”)

And, just like before, you can add more details to your answer using adverbs and adjectives.

• Eu falo um pouco de Português. (“I speak a bit of Portuguese.”)
• Eu falo Espanhol muito bem. (“I speak Spanish very well.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Você fala Italiano? (“Do you speak Italian?”)
• A: Sim, eu falo Italiano. (“Yes, I speak Italian.”)

• Q: Ela fala português? (“Does she speak Portuguese?”)
• A: Não, ela não fala português. (“No, she doesn’t speak Portuguese.”)

Você fala todas essas línguas? (“Do you speak all of those languages?”)

4 – How long have you been studying Portuguese?

After successfully explaining what languages you speak, it’s time to show off your skills. After all, it takes a while to master a new language, and you deserve to brag a little!

Question

• Você estuda [idioma] há quanto tempo?

Você	estuda	[idioma]	há	quanto tempo?
You	study	Portuguese	have been	how long?

The translation you see above might confuse you a bit, so let’s unpack it. When we use the verb haver (“to have”) with another verb in the present tense (like estuda), it describes an action that started in the past and continues in the present.

The verb haver can be substituted by the verb fazer (“to make”), which in this case, will have the same meaning as haver:

• Você estuda [idioma] faz quanto tempo?

It’s also common to see this question pattern inverted:

• Há quanto tempo que você estuda [idioma]?
• Faz quanto tempo que você estuda [idioma]?

Answer

You can answer this Portuguese question in a more complete way by repeating part of the question, or in a more direct way, just using the verb and the amount of time.

• Eu estudo [idioma] faz / há [tempo].

Eu	estudo	[idioma]	faz / há	[tempo].
I	study	Portuguese	for	[time].

• Faz / há [tempo].

Faz / há	[tempo].
For	[time].

Note that, regardless of the number of years or months you answer with, the verb is always in the singular form. That happens because, when referring to actions that started in the past and continue in the present, the verb doesn’t vary in number.

• Faz um ano. (“For one year.”)
• Eu estudo inglês faz dez anos. (“I have been studying English for ten years.”)
• Eu estudo japonês há um ano. (“I have been studying Japanese for one year.”)
• Há dez anos. (“For ten years.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Você estuda coreano faz quanto tempo? (“How long have you been studying Korean?”)
• A: Faz três anos. (“For three years.”)

• Q: Você estuda português faz quanto tempo? (“How long have you been studying Portuguese?”)
• A: Eu estudo português há dois meses. (“I have been studying Portuguese for two months.”)

5 – Have you been to [place]?

Traveling is always an interesting topic for conversation, and some of the most common Portuguese questions for foreigners are related to this topic.

Question

• Você já foi para [lugar]?

Você	já	foi	para	[lugar]?
You	already	have been	to	[place]?

After the preposition para (“to”), it might be necessary to add articles that agree with the gender and number of the place.

• Você já foi para São Paulo? (“Have you been to São Paulo?”)
• Você já foi para o Rio de Janeiro? (“Have you been to Rio de Janeiro?”)
• Você já foi para a China? (“Have you been to China?”)
• Você já foi para os Países Baixos? (“Have you been to the Netherlands?”)

Answer

This question can be answered with a simple sim (“yes”) or não (“no”). However, to really make it count, you can add information about how many times you’ve been or when you went there. You can add this information at the end of the sentence.

Sim / Não,	eu	(não) fui	[complemento].
Yes / No,	I	have (not) been	[complement].

• Sim, eu fui uma vez. (“Yes, I’ve been once.”)
• Não, eu nunca fui. (“No, I’ve never been.”)
• Sim, eu fui lá ano passado. (“Yes, I went there last year.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Você já foi para Roma? (“Have you already been to Rome?”) 
• A: Sim, eu fui para Roma várias vezes. (“Yes, I’ve been to Rome several times.”)

• Q: Ele já foi para o nordeste? (“Has he already been to the northeast [of Brazil]?”) 
• A: Não, ele não foi. (“No, he has not.”)

→ Explore more travel-related vocabulary and essential phrases with PortuguesePod101!

Você já foi para Paris? Sim, já fui! (“Have you been to Paris? Yes, I’ve been!”)

6 – Do you like [country’s] food?

You can’t talk about traveling without bringing up all of the delicious local cuisine! And you can bet that Brazilians will ask you about your thoughts on Brazilian food. 

Question

• Você gosta da comida de [país]?

Você	gosta da	comida	de	[país]?
Do you	like	food	of	Brazil?

Once again, the preposition de (“of”) has to agree with the country or place. 

• Você gosta da comida do Brasil? (“Do you like Brazil’s food?”)
• Você gosta da comida da França? (“Do you like France’s food?”)

Instead of using “de + country,” you can also use the adjective that refers to that country. For example:

• Você gosta da comida brasileira? (“Do you like Brazilian food?”)
• Você gosta da comida francesa? (“Do you like French food?”)

If you want to make the question more specific, you can add adjectives after the word comida (“food”):

• Ela gosta da comida tradicional japonesa? (“Do you like traditional Japanese food?”)
• Você gosta da comida vegetariana da Índia? (“Do you like vegetarian Indian food?”)

Answer

The answer pattern here is very similar to the one we saw for the previous question. You can start with sim (“yes”) or não (“no”), and then add more information to make your answer complete.

Sim / Não,	eu	(não) gosto	[complemento].
Yes / No,	I	(don’t) like	[complement].

• Sim, eu gosto. (“Yes, I like it.”)
• Sim, eu gosto da comida peruana. (“Yes, I like Peruvian food.”)
• Não, eu não gosto muito. (“No, I don’t like it very much.”)
• Não, eu não gosto da comida daqui. (“No, I don’t like the food from here.”) 

To emphasize how much you like (or don’t like) the local food, you can use stronger verbs than gostar (“to like”).

• Sim, eu adoro. (“Yes, I adore it.”)
• Sim, eu amo a comida da Colômbia. (“Yes, I love Colombian food.”)
• Não, eu odeio a comida alemã. (“No, I hate German food.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Você gosta da comida da Tailândia? (“Do you like Thailand’s food?”) 
• A: Sim, eu gosto da comida tailandesa. (“Yes, I like Thai food.”)

• Q: Você gosta da comida do Chile? (“Do you like Chile’s food?”)
• A: Não, eu odeio. (“No, I hate it.”)

7 – How is ___?

This is a versatile question pattern for you to learn. Let’s say you just made a delicious batch of cookies and offered some to your brand-new acquaintances. Now, you want to know what they think about them. What do you say?

Another scenario: You’re going to visit a friend in another city, but before packing, you want to know what the weather is like there. How can you ask? 

In both cases, the question is about how something is at the moment. For this reason, you should use the temporary form of the verb “to be” in Portuguese: estar.

• Como está o / a [complemento]? 

Como	está	o / a	[complemento]?
How	is	the	[complement]?

Use this question pattern to ask how a singular thing or event is. The articles will change depending on the gender of the thing or event. Take a look at the examples:

• Como está o bolo? (“How is the cake?”)
• Como está a comida? (“How is the food?”)
• Como está o clima aí? (“How is the weather there?”)
• Como está a festa? (“How is the party?”)

• Como estão os / as [complemento]?

Como	estão	os / as	[complemento]?
How	are	the	[complement]?

Use this second pattern to talk about plural things or events. Once again, make sure the article agrees with the thing or event.

• Como estão os biscoitos? (“How are the cookies?”)
• Como estão as férias? (“How is the vacation?”)

But what about asking a question about the essence or a permanent characteristic of something? In this case, you should use the permanent “to be” verb, which is ser. 

• Como é o/a [complemento]?

Como	é	o / a	[complemento]?
How	is	the	[complement]?

• Como é a casa nova? (“How is the new house?”)
• Como é a sua vizinha/ o seu vizinho? (“How is your neighbor?”)
• Como é o gato? (“How is the cat?”)

• Como são os/as [complemento]?

Como	são	os / as	[complemento]?
How	are	the	[complement]?

• Como são as pessoas da cidade? (“How are the people of the city?”)
• Como são os móveis novos? (“How is the new furniture?”)

If you need to refresh your memory, check the conjugation for the verbs ser and estar.

Answer

It’s fairly simple to answer these types of questions. Use the same verb that was used in the question (paying attention to the conjugation), and add the adjectives and/or adverbs you want. To make it more complete, you could also add the subject before the verb.

Sujeito	verbo	complemento.
Subject	verb	complement.

• Está boa. (“It’s good.”)
• A comida está boa. (“The food is good.”)

• Estão gostosos. (“They’re tasty.”)
• Os biscoitos estão gostosos. (“The cookies are tasty.”)

• É fofo. (“It’s cute.”)
• O gato é fofo. (“The cat is cute.”)

• São simpáticas. (“They’re friendly.”) 
• As pessoas são simpáticas. (“The people are friendly.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Como está o namoro? (“How is the relationship?”)
• A: Está muito bem, obrigado! (“It is very well, thank you!”)

• Q: Como são os novos colegas? (“How are the new colleagues?”)
• A: São muito simpáticos. (“They’re very friendly.”)

• Q: Como está a sopa? (“How is the soup?”)
• A: A sopa está muito salgada. (“The soup is very salty.”)

Como está o sorvete? (“How is the ice cream?”)

8 – What are you doing?

Here’s another versatile Portuguese question that, with just a few tweaks, can be used in a variety of situations.

Question

• O que você está fazendo?

O que	você	está	fazendo?
What	you	are	doing?

By adding more information at the end of the sentence, you can ask more-specific questions. 

• O que você está fazendo agora? (“What are you doing now?”)
• O que você está fazendo hoje? (“What are you doing today?”)
• O que você está fazendo sozinho aqui? (“What are you doing alone here?”)
• O que você está fazendo na sala? (“What are you doing in the living room?”)

In Portuguese, you can use this exact pattern to ask what someone is making in the kitchen:

• O que você está fazendo para o almoço? (“What are you making for lunch?”)
• O que você está fazendo no forno? (“What are you making in the oven?”)

You don’t need to be stuck with the verb fazer (“to do” / “to make”). By using other verbs in the gerund form, you open up many more possibilities:

• O que você está assistindo? (“What are you watching?”)
• O que você está cortando? (“What are you cutting?”)
• O que você está ouvindo? (“What are you listening to?”)
• O que você está assando? (“What are you baking?”)

Answer

To answer, you’ll need to describe the action you’re doing in the gerund form.

Eu	estou	[verbo no gerúndio]	[complemento].
I	am	[verb in gerund form]	[complement].

• Eu estou lendo um livro. (“I am reading a book.”)
• Eu estou limpando o quarto. (“I am cleaning the room.”)
• Eu estou assando um bolo. (“I am baking a cake.”)
• Eu estou tomando banho. (“I am taking a shower.”)
• Eu estou correndo. (“I am running.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: O que você está fazendo? (“What are you doing?”) 
• A: Estou arrumando a garagem. (“I am organizing the garage.”)

• Q: O que você está fazendo no quarto? (“What are you doing in the bedroom?”) 
• A: Estou estudando. (“I am studying.”)

• Q: O que vocês estão fazendo? (“What are you doing?”) – plural
• A: Estamos assistindo um filme. (“We are watching a movie.”)

Estamos assistindo futebol. (“We are watching soccer.”)

9 – Are you all right?

This is certainly an essential question in our daily interactions with friends, colleagues, loved ones, and relatives!

• Você está bem?

Você	está	bem?
You	are	alright?

If you want to ask this question about somebody else, it’s easy: simply use the name or the pronoun instead of você (“you”).

• Ela está bem? (“Is she alright?”)
• Luís está bem? (“Is Luís alright?”)

You may also hear a simple: Tudo bem? (“Alright?”). It means the same thing!

Alternatively, there’s another question you can ask to discover how a person is. The pattern might look familiar to you.

• Como você está?

Como	você	está?
How	you	are?

Once again, you can ask the same question using other subjects:

• Como ele está? (“How is he?”)

Answer

Eu	estou	[complemento].
I	am	[complement].

It’s common to see these sentences without the subject, as well.

• Estou bem. (“I’m alright.”)
• Eu estou muito bem. (“I am very well.”)
• Ela está bem. (“She is alright.”)
• Eu estou triste. (“I am sad.”)
• Eu estou meio doente. (“I’m a bit sick.”)

If the question was Você está bem? (“Are you alright?”), you can also add sim (“yes”) or não (“no”) before the rest of the sentence.

• Sim, estou bem. (“Yes, I am well.”)
• Não, eu estou mal. (“No, I’m not well.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Você está bem? (“Are you alright?”) 
• A: Sim, eu estou muito bem! (“Yes, I am very well!”)

• Q: Tudo bem? (“Alright?”)
• A: Não, não estou muito bem. (“No, I’m not very well.”)

• Q: Como você está? (“How are you?”)
• A: Estou preocupada. (“I’m worried.”)

10 – How much is it?

When shopping, eating out, or hiring a service, this is a must-ask question.

Question

• Quanto custa?

Quanto	custa?
How much	does it cost?

• Quanto é?

Quanto	é?
How much	is it?

These are very simple Portuguese questions for asking how much something costs. If you’re holding an item and showing it as you ask, it’s clear enough what you’re referring to. But if you need to make it more specific, add the name of the product or service at the end of the sentence.

• Quanto custa esse livro? (“How much does this book cost?”)
• Quanto é a massagem? (“How much is the massage?”)
• Quanto custa a fatia de bolo? (“How much does the slice of cake cost?”)
• Quanto é esse anel? (“How much is this ring?”)

Answer

To answer, you can simply state the value, or start the sentence with one of the verbs used in the question:

Custa / é	[valor].
It costs / it is	[value].

Remember that, in Brazil, the currency is the Real (R$). So when you’re talking about monetary values, you have to use the word reais and centavos (“cents”).

• Custa cinco reais e cinquenta centavos. (“It costs R$5,50.”)
• É vinte reais. (“It’s R$20,00.”)
• Custa um real. (“It costs R$1,00.”)

Putting it all together

• Q: Quanto custa o quadro? (“How much does the painting cost?”) 
• A: Custa 150 reais. (“It costs R$150,00.”)

• Q: Quanto é a mensalidade da academia? (“How much is the gym monthly fee?”) 
• A: É 80 reais. (“It’s R$80,00.”)

Quanto custa esse iogurte? (“How much is this yogurt?”)

→ Want to practice your pronunciation? Listen to the Top 25 Portuguese Questions on PortuguesePod101!

3. Learn More Portuguese with PortuguesePod101

This was a long lesson, but hopefully it gave you everything you need to know about asking Portuguese questions. Before you know it, you’ll be spouting them left and right! So take your chances and satisfy your curiosity by putting these questions into practice. Remember, they can be of great help when you’re feeling stuck in a conversation.

Did you like the way the questions and answers were presented? Did we leave out any questions you were hoping to see? Tell us what you think in the comments below! And feel free to come back to this article whenever you feel like it.

Now is the 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.