interessante
/ĩ.te.ɾeˈsɐ̃.t͡ʃi/
The English phrase "interesting" is translated into Portuguese as interessante.
Interessante is a common translation for the English word "interesting", used to describe something that arouses or holds your attention. While interessante is the standard term, if you want to convey a sense of being captivated or mesmerized, you might use cativante.
Meaning: arousing or holding the attention (adj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The word maneiro is used mainly in Brazil to mean cool or interesting.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective interessante is invariant for gender, so it remains the same whether you are describing a masculine or feminine noun. To make the word plural, add an 's' to form interessantes.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 5 syllables, with the stress on the 4th syllable: /ĩ.te.ɾeˈsɐ̃.tʃi/.
Did you know?
- In many Portuguese-speaking cultures, responding to a story with just a simple Interessante… with a falling intonation can signal skepticism or that you find the story hard to believe.
- In Brazil, the word maneiro is often used to mean 'interesting' or 'cool', but it originally referred to something that was well-handled or skillfully made.
- The word interessante shares its DNA with the English word 'interest', as both stem from the same Latin root meaning 'to be between' or 'to attend to'.
Examples in context
- É interessante, não é?It's interesting, isn't it?This example shows how to use interessante in a tag question.Tatoeba #5673077 by bill, translation #2544042 by CK
- A vida é interessante.Life is interesting.This example uses interessante to describe life.Tatoeba #11787908 by ajdavidl, translation #2110809 by CM
- É um livro interessante.It's an interesting book.This example uses interessante to describe a book.Tatoeba #1272254 by paula_guisard, translation #3734234 by CK
- O filme que assisti ontem foi muito interessante.The movie I watched yesterday was very interesting.
- O livro que eu li foi muito legal!The book I read was really interesting!
- A exposição de arte está muito bacana!The art exhibition is very interesting!
- 458 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Beatriz are discussing a documentary at home.
- GabrielEste documentário é muito interessante.This documentary is very interesting.
- BeatrizEu também achei o tema interessante.I also found the subject interesting.
- GabrielEle prende a nossa atenção.It holds our attention.
- BeatrizSim, é uma ótima história.Yes, it is a great story.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “interesting” translations and entries interessante, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries interessante, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
