How to Ask Questions in Brazilian Portuguese: A Beginner’s Guide — Practice

Learn the question words you will use most

In Brazilian Portuguese, many yes/no questions keep statement word order and use question intonation: “Você fala português?” For information questions, add a word such as onde, quando, como, or quanto. Do not add English do or does.

Notice that quanto changes to agree when it describes a countable noun: “quantos dias?” (how many days?) and “quantas pessoas?” (how many people?). In “quanto custa?” (how much does it cost?), quanto is used in a common fixed question about price.

Form many yes-or-no questions without English-style inversion

In many everyday questions, you can keep the same basic subject-and-verb order as a statement and make the sentence a question through intonation and context. “Você mora aqui” can be a statement (“You live here”); with question intonation, “Você mora aqui?” asks “Do you live here?”

You do not need to insert a separate word that translates English “do” in this pattern. Use punctuation in writing, and let your voice rise naturally when asking a real person. Portuguese word order can change for emphasis, but this simple structure is a useful place to begin.

Make a question polite and easy to answer

A short question is often enough, but a polite phrase can make a request feel more considerate. Add por favor (please), excuse yourself with com licença when you need to get someone’s attention, and give the other person time to respond. You can also ask for clarification if you catch only part of the answer.

Try replacing one detail in a familiar question frame. In “Onde fica o banheiro?” (Where is the bathroom?), you can replace o banheiro with o metrô, a saída, or a farmácia. Practicing the frame makes it easier to ask a useful question when the exact situation changes.

Remember: Choose one question word and one yes-or-no question about your day. Say each aloud, then change the place, time, or person in the sentence. Follow this guide with practical travel and conversation articles on I Speak Portuguese and native-audio questions in Real Life Portuguese.

Build questions from sentences you already know

Start with “Você mora aqui.” Spoken with question intonation, “Você mora aqui?” asks whether the person lives here. To ask for different information, change the focus: “Onde você mora?” asks where. English normally needs do in these questions; Portuguese does not add a separate auxiliary equivalent.

An explicit subject is often useful for beginners, but Portuguese speakers may omit it when context makes it clear. “Mora aqui?” can work when the person being addressed is obvious. In conversation, forms such as “Onde é que você mora?” add a familiar question frame without changing the essential information sought.

Choose the question word from the answer you need

Use onde for location, quando for time, como for manner or a condition, and quanto for an amount. With a noun, quanto can agree in gender and number: “Quantas pessoas?” asks how many people. “Por que?” asks for a reason. “Qual é…?” often identifies a choice or a specific item, such as an address.

Practice backward from an answer. For “A aula começa às oito,” ask “Que horas começa a aula?” For “Moro em Recife,” ask “Onde você mora?” This exercise checks whether your question requests the missing information instead of merely assembling familiar question words.

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.

Choose the language for the situation

Now use the explanation to decide what fits the situation. Check the reason for the answer, not just the option you chose.

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. Where is the station?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Onde fica a estação?

2. When does the class start?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quando começa a aula?

3. How many people are coming?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quantas pessoas vêm?

4. Why are you studying Portuguese?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Por que você está estudando português?

5. Do you take cards?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você aceita cartão?

6. Are we going by subway?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente vai de metrô?

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.

Choose one question word and one yes-or-no question about your day. Say each aloud, then change the place, time, or person in the sentence. Follow this guide with practical travel and conversation articles on I Speak Portuguese and native-audio questions in Real Life Portuguese.

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 How to Ask Questions in Brazilian Portuguese: A Beginner’s Guide 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.