How to Say You Are Scared in Portuguese: Medo, Susto and Assustado

Start with the fear, then choose the expression

For a general fear, use ter medo de: Tenho medo de altura. — I am afraid of heights. For a feeling right now, estar com medo is useful: Estou com medo desse barulho. — I am scared of that noise.

The informal spoken form tô com medo corresponds to estou com medo. You can recognize it in conversation while keeping the full form in your own sentence if that is easier. Do not translate English “I am fear” word for word: Portuguese uses a noun after ter or estar com in these patterns.

Watch the haunted-house and film excerpts

At 17:09–18:01, the conversation moves from describing a haunted house to a hypothetical overnight stay. Listen for whether Sabrina accepts without a condition, refuses outright or qualifies her answer. Around 19:24–20:32, listen for her reaction to horror and suspense films.

These are genuine video excerpts. The listening summaries use the public auto-captions, while all written sentence models below are original. The main Halloween lesson contains the complete video and broader cultural context.

Tenho medo de: keep the little connecting word

In the second example, sozinha describes a female speaker; sozinho is the masculine form. The noun medo itself does not change with the speaker. You can also add intensity: Tenho muito medo — I am very afraid.

Dar um susto and levar um susto: who caused the fright?

O barulho me deu um susto. — The noise gave me a fright. The noise caused the reaction. Levei um susto com o barulho. — I got a fright from the noise. Now the sentence starts with the person who experienced it.

A sudden fright does not necessarily mean a lasting fear. You might say Não tenho medo de gatos, mas levei um susto quando ele pulou. — I am not afraid of cats, but I got a fright when he jumped. Que susto! — What a fright! — is a short reaction after the surprise.

Assustado or assustador?

Ela ficou assustada. — She got scared. A cena foi assustadora. — The scene was scary. The first describes a person’s reaction; the second describes what caused fear. Agreement follows the noun: um filme assustador, uma história assustadora.

For a haunted house, use uma casa mal-assombrada. That labels the house as haunted in the story or description. It does not establish that ghosts exist. To qualify a local story, try Diziam que aquela casa era mal-assombrada. — People used to say that house was haunted.

An original dialogue: suggest a different film

The dialogue practices a preference, a general fear and one sudden reaction. For the podcast’s hypothetical house question, you can begin Eu iria, mas não sozinho — I would go, but not alone. See the existing hypothetical-sentences guide if you want to build a longer answer with se.

Four original exercises with explanations

1. Complete a general fear: Tenho medo ___ ficar sozinho.
   Answer and explanation

   Tenho medo de ficar sozinho. — I am afraid of being alone. Ter medo de keeps de before a verb as well as before a noun.

2. A door slammed and surprised you, but you do not generally fear doors. Choose Levei um susto or Tenho medo de portas.
   Answer and explanation

   Levei um susto. It describes the sudden reaction. The other answer would describe a general fear of doors, which changes your meaning.

3. Complete: A história é ___; a personagem ficou ___. Use the appropriate forms of scary and scared.
   Answer and explanation

   A história é assustadora; a personagem ficou assustada. — The story is scary; the character got scared. Assustadora describes the cause; assustada describes the reaction. Both nouns here are feminine.

4. In the 17:36–18:01 excerpt, does Sabrina give a simple, unconditional yes to staying in the house?
   Answer and explanation

   No. She qualifies the idea, including not being alone, and discusses her fear. Listen for the qualification rather than reporting a flat acceptance. A personal reply can also include a condition: Eu iria com amigos. — I would go with friends.

Turn one expression into your own reply

Choose a situation you actually want to discuss: a film, an unexpected sound or a story. Make one sentence about the cause and one about the reaction. Then download Real Life Portuguese for Brazilian audio and everyday expressions to continue practicing natural conversation. Bruno Lopes is a co-founder. This page’s Halloween activities are original companion material and do not imply a specific fear-themed lesson is available inside the app.

Source

Halloween in Brazil Is Different…, Portuguese Classes, October 29, 2026. The embedded excerpts contain the hosts’ real voices; written explanations and dialogues are teaching material, not a verbatim transcript.