Estragar in Portuguese: Something Spoiled, Broke or Ruined a Plan

Notice whether the damaged thing is the subject or the object

Caldas Aulete’s estragar entry includes causing or suffering damage, deterioration and spoiling an event or experience. The reference was checked on October 21, 2026.

• O aparelho estragou. — “The device stopped working.”
• A água estragou o caderno. — “The water damaged the notebook.”
• Não quero estragar sua pintura. — “I don’t want to damage your painting.”

In the first sentence, the device undergoes the change. In the second, water causes damage and the notebook receives it. The first does not identify a person responsible for the problem. Do not add that accusation when translating or repeating what someone said.

When you need practical help, name the symptom too: O aparelho não liga — “The device won’t turn on.” Estragou describes the problem broadly; a more specific observation helps another person understand what you mean.

Estragou describes an event; estragado describes a condition

• O aparelho estragou ontem. — “The device stopped working yesterday.”
• O aparelho está estragado. — “The device is broken.”
• As caixas ficaram estragadas com a água. — “The boxes were damaged by the water.”

Ontem dates the change. Está estragado describes the device’s current condition. Estragadas agrees with feminine plural caixas. The past event and the current condition often connect, but they are different claims: something that broke yesterday could have been repaired today.

To ask about the current state, try Ainda está estragado ou já consertaram? — “Is it still broken, or has it been repaired?” This checks the information you need now instead of assuming an earlier report still applies.

Food can estragar too, but the phrase is not a freshness test

• A fruta estragou. — “The fruit spoiled.”
• A comida está estragada. — “The food is spoiled.”
• Acho que este produto estragou. — “I think this product has gone bad.”

With food, estragar can describe deterioration rather than a mechanical fault. Notice the uncertainty in acho que: the speaker thinks the product has gone bad. The sentence is not a reliable method for deciding whether something is suitable to eat. It expresses a concern that should be clarified in the actual situation.

Amadurecer, “ripen,” describes a different process. A fruta amadureceu does not mean the fruit spoiled. Compare amadurecer and maduro for ripening and maturity, and leftover vocabulary for words used when discussing food kept for another meal.

Original dialogue: a disrupted outing is not a damaged object

The question asks about the effect on the experience. It does not describe a physical object called passeio that was broken. The reply also qualifies the question’s assumption: the original plan changed, but the afternoon was still enjoyable.

You can say não quero estragar a surpresa — “I don’t want to spoil the surprise” — when avoiding revealing something. Use talking without spoilers for a full conversation about that boundary. Choose a real context before translating spoiled as estragado in every English sentence.

Practice: who or what changed?

1. Does o aparelho estragou identify a person who broke it?
2. Say the boxes are damaged now.
3. Which dates a change: estragou ontem or está estragado?
4. Does a fruta amadureceu mean it spoiled?
5. Ask whether rain spoiled an outing.

Continue with real conversation practice

Use the guide to putting sentence patterns into speech for a longer practice routine. These dialogues and exercises are original written examples. Choose one pattern, change a detail and ask a follow-up that fits your own situation.

Continue with Real Life Portuguese for native Brazilian audio and everyday expressions. Choose a short exchange available in the app. Listen for the speaker’s intention, then use a pattern from this activity to prepare a reply that fits your own situation. Bruno Lopes is a co-founder of the app.