Acerca de vs. Há Cerca de vs. A Cerca de: Three Useful Portuguese Phrases — Practice

Use acerca de to introduce a topic

Acerca de means ‘about’ or ‘regarding’ a subject. It introduces what a conversation, question, or text concerns: conversar acerca do curso (talk about the course). In everyday Brazilian speech, sobre is also common.

Keep acerca together when you mean ‘about a topic.’ It does not tell the reader how much time has passed or how far away something is.

Choose há or a for time and distance

Há cerca de + time means ‘about … ago’ or ‘for about …,’ depending on the sentence. Há is a form of haver that marks elapsed time: cheguei há cerca de uma hora (I arrived about an hour ago). Do not confuse this time expression with the future: daqui a cerca de uma hora means ‘in about an hour.’

A cerca de + distance means ‘approximately this far away.’ The preposition a points to a measurement or distance, while há points back to elapsed time. Say a cidade fica a cerca de dez quilômetros (the city is about ten kilometers away).

Remember: Acerca de introduces a topic. Há cerca de points to elapsed time; a cerca de points to an approximate distance or measurement. For a future time, use daqui a.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. The conversation was about the new project.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A conversa foi acerca do novo projeto.

2. I want to know more about Brazilian culture.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quero saber mais acerca da cultura brasileira.

3. The article is about regional differences.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O artigo fala acerca das diferenças regionais.

4. I’ve lived here for about two years.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Moro aqui há cerca de dois anos.

5. The station is about five minutes from here.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A estação fica a cerca de cinco minutos daqui.

6. The meeting starts in about half an hour.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A reunião começa daqui a cerca de meia hora.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Acerca de introduces a topic. Há cerca de points to elapsed time; a cerca de points to an approximate distance or measurement. For a future time, use daqui a.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Acerca de vs. Há Cerca de vs. A Cerca de: Three Useful Portuguese Phrases lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.