A1Lesson 7: Numbers, Counting & Dates
Portuguese tells time using "ser" in the third person with feminine hours and the system is more flexible about punctuality than the grammar suggests.
ser + article + hora(s)
Time uses ser: São três horas (It's 3 o'clock)
Hours are feminine: uma hora, duas horas
Meia = half past (3:30 = três e meia)
Quarter = quinze or "e quinze"
"Que horas são?" = What time is it?
Brazilian time is... flexible (chegue às 8h = arrive 8:15-8:30)
Time runs Brazilian life – from "Que horas são?" (Brazil's second-most asked question after "Tudo bem?") to marking your chegada (arrival) at the festa junina. You need time for everything: making appointments ("Pode ser às três?"), catching buses ("O ônibus passa às sete e meia"), and understanding Brazilian flexibility ("às oito" means anytime between 8:15 and 8:45). Without mastering time, you'll show up at the wrong hour, and wonder why the party that "starts at 8" has nobody there until 10!
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Portuguese hours are feminine and use "ser" (to be):
1:00 = É uma hora (It's one o'clock - singular!)
2:00+ = São duas/três/quatro horas (It's 2/3/4 o'clock - plural)
| Time | Portuguese | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | É uma hora | It's one hour |
| 2:00 | São duas horas | It's two hours |
"A que horas é a consulta?" "Às duas e meia" (What time is the appointment? At 2:30)
"Pode ser na terça às dez?" (Can it be Tuesday at 10?)
"O dentista atende das 8 às 17" (The dentist sees patients from 8 to 5)
"Marcamos para dia 15 de março" (We scheduled for March 15)
"Acordo às seis da manhã" (I wake up at 6 AM)
"Almoço ao meio-dia" (I have lunch at noon)
"Saio do trabalho às seis da tarde" (I leave work at 6 PM)
"Durmo à meia-noite" (I sleep at midnight)
"meio-dia" is masculine: "É meio-dia" (never "meia-dia")
But "meia-noite" is feminine
"Meio-dia e meia" = 12:30 PM (half past noon)
Brazilians mix systems randomly:
Flight: "vinte horas" (20:00)
Same person, social: "oito da noite"
Sometimes hours have articles, sometimes not:
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