Ways to say it
| Portuguese | IPA |
|---|---|
| em | /ẽj̃/ (Brazil) /ĩ/ (Brazil) |
| dentro de | /ˈdẽ.tɾu d͡ʒi/ (Brazil) /ˈdẽ.tɾu dɨ/ (Portugal) |
The preposition em is used to indicate that something is contained by something else. Relatedly, para dentro is used when describing movement toward an interior, while em alta and na moda are used to describe something that is in fashion or popular.
Which one should you use?
em is a general preposition used for various types of location, whereas dentro de translates specifically to "inside of" and is used to emphasize being physically inside a container or an enclosed space.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In Portuguese, the preposition em often contracts with definite articles. You will see the forms no (em + o), na (em + a), nos (em + os) and nas (em + as) used to mean "in the". When referring to being "in" a country or city, use no for masculine and na for feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/ẽj̃/
Did you know?
- The Portuguese word em and the English word 'in' are actually distant cousins, both descending from the same Proto-Indo-European root *h₁én.
- The phrase em cima uses the preposition em to actually mean 'on top of' or 'above', moving away from the concept of being 'inside'.
- In Brazilian Portuguese, no or na are frequently used to mean 'at', blending the concepts of being 'in' a place and 'at' a location.
Examples in context
- Eu moro em Kobe.I live in Kobe.This sentence shows how to use em with a city name.Tatoeba #1201932 by alexmarcelo, translation #453398 by saasmath
- Eu moro em Roma.I live in Rome.Tatoeba #2707271 by Ricardo14, translation #2425819 by bionicboy
- Volte em um mês.Come back in a month.This sentence shows how to use em to indicate a period of time.Tatoeba #4883999 by Ricardo14, translation #2125150 by Hybrid
- Estou em casa.I am at home.
- Ele nasceu em 1990.He was born in 1990.
- Estou dentro do carro.I am inside the car.
- Estou no escritório.I am in the office.
- Estou na praia.I am at the beach.
- Estou dentro da minha casa.I am inside my house.
- Estou no Brasil.I am in Brazil.
- Estou na França.I am in France.
- Estou estudando na biblioteca.I am studying in the library.
- Moro no centro da cidade.I live in the city center.
- 7170 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Juliana are looking for a lost ring in the living room.
- GabrielJuliana, você viu meu anel?Juliana, have you seen my ring?
- JulianaEstá em uma caixa na mesa.It is in a box on the table.
- GabrielAh, encontrei! Ele estava em uma caixa azul.Ah, I found it! It was in a blue box.
- JulianaQue bom que ele está em segurança.I'm glad it is safe.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “in” translations and entries em, dentro de, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, dentro, em, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
