você está ocupado?
In Portuguese, "are you busy?" is translated as você está ocupado?
This phrase is used to ask if someone has time to talk or help at the moment. You can also use the alternative você está livre? to ask if someone is free or available.
What does it mean word for word?
The word está means "are" in the third person singular form, and ocupado(a) translates to "busy."
Which one should you use?
While ocupado asks if someone is busy, livre is a common alternative to ask if someone is free or available.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes gender to match the person being addressed: use ocupada for a woman and ocupado for a man. To ask if a group of people is busy, use the plural verb form estão and the plural adjective ocupados in the phrase vocês estão ocupados?
Did you know?
- The word você comes from vossa mercee, which literally meant 'your mercy'. It was originally a way to address someone with high respect.
- While ocupado is perfectly fine, many Brazilians use the word corrido to describe a busy lifestyle, as in estou muito corrido.
- In Portugal, using você can sometimes be seen as too direct or even rude, so people often omit the pronoun or use the person's name instead.
Examples in context
- Você está ocupado(a) amanhã?Are you busy tomorrow?
- Maria, está ocupada amanhã? Eu gostaria de marcar uma reunião.Maria, are you busy tomorrow? I would like to schedule a meeting.
- Desculpe, você está ocupado?Sorry, are you busy?
Example conversation
Rodrigo approaches Camila at her desk in an office.
- RodrigoCamila, você está ocupado?Camila, are you busy?
- CamilaNão, estou livre. O que foi?No, I'm free. What's up?
- RodrigoPode me ajudar com este relatório?Can you help me with this report?
- CamilaClaro, vamos ver isso agora.Sure, let's look at it now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries está, você, CC BY-SA 4.0.
