Você é?
/voˈse ˈɛ/word by word
The Portuguese phrase for "are you?" is Você é?
Você é? is a question used to ask if someone is a certain thing or possesses a specific characteristic. It is used when the subject's identity or permanent qualities are the focus of the question.
Which one should you use?
Use Você é? when asking about permanent characteristics or identity. In contrast, use Você está? when asking about temporary states or locations.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many parts of Brazil and in Portugal, the informal form Tu és? is used depending on the regional dialect.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb é is the third-person singular form of ser, which is used with the pronoun você even though você translates to "you" in English.
How do you pronounce it?
/voˈse ˈɛ/
When do people say it?
To ask "How are you?" or "Are you okay?" in an informal way, speakers often use Tudo bem? Another common informal way to ask "How are you?" is Como você está?
Did you know?
- The word você evolved from the Old Galician-Portuguese phrase vossa mercee, which meant 'your mercy'.
- In many parts of Brazil, you can skip the pronoun entirely and simply ask É? to mean 'are you?', effectively using the third-person 'is' to address the person directly.
- Asking Você é? can sometimes feel surprisingly blunt or confrontational in certain Brazilian social circles, where more indirect ways of speaking are the norm.
Examples in context
- Você é estudante?Are you a student?
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (você, é) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries você, é, CC BY-SA 4.0.
