How to Say “Drunk” in Portuguese

Ways to say it

The primary way to describe someone who is intoxicated after consuming too much alcohol is bêbado. You can also use the related nouns bebum or bebo to refer to someone who is currently drunk, or to describe a habitual drinker, often referred to as a drunkard.

Which one should you use?

While bêbado is the most common word, ébrio is a much more formal and literary term used in highly sophisticated or official contexts. For a technical or clinical description, often found in medical reports or police records, use alcoolizado to mean someone is under the influence or intoxicated.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

For more formal situations, you might use embriagado or the clinical ébrio. In a formal conversation to suggest someone is under the influence, you can use alterado. Informally, if you want to suggest someone is merely tipsy, dizzy or silly, you can use tonto. Colloquially, bebum is often used to refer to a person who is a habitual drinker.

Related words

Habitual drinker (noun): bêbado, bêbada, bêbedo.

One who is drunk (noun): bêbado, bebum, bebo.

How does it change in a sentence?

The adjective bêbado must agree in gender with the person being described: use the feminine form bêbada for women. To describe a group of men or a mixed group of men and women as drunk, use the masculine plural form bêbados.

How do you pronounce it?

The word is pronounced as /ˈbe.ba.du/. The stress is on the first of the three syllables.