Which one should you use?
While Quer jogar? is used for games with rules or sports, you should use Quer brincar? if you are referring to children playing with toys or engaging in imaginative play.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Brazilian Portuguese, it is common to drop the pronoun and simply ask Quer jogar? informally, though you might also hear the more emphatic Você quer mesmo jogar? In European Portuguese, it is common to use queres jogar? for informal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many casual settings, the subject is often omitted, but adding Você to make it Você quer jogar? makes the question more explicit. If you are asking a group of people instead of a single person, the verb changes to Querem jogar?
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkɛ(ʁ) ʒoˈɡa(ʁ)/
When do people say it?
If someone asks you this, a common way to answer "yes" is to say Quero, while a common way to answer "no" is to say Não quero.
Did you know?
- The verb jogar is used for sports like football but also for the act of throwing something away, such as jogar o lixo fora.
- Using brincar with an adult can sometimes be perceived as condescending, as it implies the adult is acting like a child.
- The Latin root iocārī, which gave us jogar, literally meant 'to jest' or 'to joke'.
Examples in context
- Oi! Você quer jogar um jogo de cartas?Hi! Do you want to play a card game?
- O senhor/ A senhora quer jogar uma partida de xadrez?Do you want to play a game of chess?
Example conversation
Rodrigo and Beatriz are at a park with a ball.
- RodrigoBeatriz, quer jogar?Beatriz, do you want to play?
- BeatrizSim, eu quero muito!Yes, I really want to!
- RodrigoVamos jogar vôlei então.Let's play volleyball then.
- BeatrizÓtimo, eu estou pronta.Great, I am ready.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (quer, jogar) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jogar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
