sobrecarregado
The English phrase 'overwhelmed' is translated to Portuguese as sobrecarregado.
sobrecarregado is used for being overwhelmed by work or responsibilities. It is more literal (overloaded) than the English sense of being emotionally overwhelmed by feelings. The verb form of the adjective is sobrecarregar.
What does it mean word for word?
The word sobrecarregado is literally composed of sobre (over) and carregado (loaded), meaning 'overloaded'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the subject, so use sobrecarregada for a female subject. The adjective must agree in number, so use sobrecarregados for a masculine plural subject or a mixed group.
Did you know?
- While sobrecarregado describes a heavy load, Brazilians often use the expression estou com a corda no pescoço (I have the rope around my neck) to express the stress of being overwhelmed by deadlines.
- To describe being emotionally overwhelmed by something beautiful or sad, Portuguese speakers avoid sobrecarregado and instead use comovido, which stems from the word for 'moved'.
- The word carregar shares its root with the English 'cargo', as both refer to the act of carrying a load.
Examples in context
- Eu me senti sobrecarregado.I felt overwhelmed.Tatoeba #6473935 by heo598, translation #5687703 by Hybrid
- Tom parecia estar sobrecarregado.Tom seemed to be overwhelmed.Tatoeba #6941250 by Ricardo14, translation #6351975 by CK
- Estou me sentindo sobrecarregado(a) com o trabalho.I'm feeling overwhelmed with work.
- Eu estou me sentindo sufocado(a) com tantas preocupações.I'm feeling overwhelmed with so many worries.
- Tô de cabelo em pé com tantos problemas no trabalho.I'm overwhelmed/stressed out with so many work problems.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing their workload at the office.
- LucasBeatriz, você consegue me ajudar com este relatório?Beatriz, can you help me with this report?
- BeatrizEu adoraria, mas estou me sentindo sobrecarregado agora.I would love to, but I'm feeling overwhelmed right now.
- LucasEu entendo, a semana está sendo difícil para todos.I understand, the week has been hard for everyone.
- BeatrizSim, Lucas, temos tarefas demais para entregar hoje.Yes, Lucas, we have too many tasks to deliver today.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry sobrecarregado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
