Que Nem vs. Como: Saying “Just Like” in Brazilian Portuguese

Learn que nem as one expression

The word nem often has a negative meaning on its own. In this particular comparison, however, translating each word separately will lead you away from the intended message. Ask whether the speaker is saying that two things resemble each other or happen in a similar way.

• Esse café é que nem o da minha avó. — This coffee is just like my grandmother’s.
• Você organiza tudo que nem a sua mãe. — You organize everything just like your mother.
• Ele dormiu que nem uma pedra. — He slept like a rock.

The last sentence is figurative. You are describing very deep sleep, not asserting that a person literally became a stone. Context helps you separate an ordinary comparison from an exaggeration.

Switch to como without changing the basic comparison

In the following pairs, the core relationship stays the same. The version with que nem sounds more conversational; the version with como works across a wider range of settings.

The comparison does not prove that the two objects are identical in every detail. If exact sameness matters, explain the feature: É do mesmo modelo, mas de outra cor — “It’s the same model, but a different color.” For structured comparisons of degree, see mais, menos, and tão.

Not every como can become que nem

Como also has jobs that are not comparisons. In the question Como você está? (“How are you?”), it asks about someone’s condition. In Eu trabalho como designer (“I work as a designer”), it introduces a role. Replacing it with que nem does not preserve those meanings.

Use this check: can you paraphrase the sentence with “like” or “in the same way as”? If the sentence instead asks “how?” or identifies someone’s job, do not automatically substitute the expression.

Que + nem can also be two separate words

Here, que belongs to the result pattern tão… que… (“so… that…”). Nem adds “not even.” There is no comparison meaning “just like.” Try the substitution: “I was so tired just like I heard the phone” does not express the same idea. This is a useful reminder to read the whole clause rather than recognize a phrase mechanically.

For the other task of building negative statements, use não, nada, and ninguém. That lesson has a different purpose from making comparisons.

Practice: comparison or something else?

1. Você fala que nem a sua irmã. Does que nem mean “just like” or “not even”?
2. Rewrite Ele corre que nem o primo with a neutral comparison.
3. Can you replace como in Como eu chego ao centro? without changing the question?
4. Translate Foi tão rápido que nem percebi. Is it a comparison?

Check the answers and explanations

1. Just like: the speaker compares how two people speak.
2. Ele corre como o primo. — He runs like his cousin.
3. No. Como means “how” in “How do I get downtown?”
4. “It was so quick that I didn’t even notice.” It is a result clause, not a comparison.

Describe one similarity between two people or objects around you. Say it once with que nem, then once with como. Keep the comparison respectful and specific.

References and usage notes

The links below were checked while preparing this lesson. The teaching examples and exercises above were written for this article.

• Michaelis: nem, including que nem
• Ciberdúvidas: que nem = como
• A teacher compares igual, que nem, feito, and como