How to Say “Go to Bed” in Portuguese

Ways to say it

What does it mean word for word?

In the phrase ir para a cama, the preposition para is used to indicate movement towards a specific destination, which in this case is the bed.

Which one should you use?

Ir para a cama literally means 'to go to the bed'. However, ir dormir is often used more naturally to mean the act of going to sleep. The form deitar-se means 'to lie down' and can be used to express the idea of going to bed.

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

You can use ir dormir to tell someone to go to bed or use the phrase ir se deitar, which is a casual way to suggest going to bed and literally translates to 'go lie down'. In more formal or literary contexts, use recolher-se to mean retiring for the night or deitar-se to mean to lie down. In colloquial Brazilian speech, the reflexive pronoun is often dropped from deitar-se, resulting in the phrase ir deitar.

Is it said differently in some regions?

In many Brazilian dialects, the reflexive pronoun in deitar-se is often dropped in casual speech, resulting in ir deitar.

How do you pronounce it?

The pronunciation of ir para a cama is /ˈi(ʁ) pa.ɾɐ a ˈkɐ̃.mɐ/. It has 4 syllables and the stress is on the 1st syllable.