o que você quer?
/ˈɔ ki vɔˈsɐ ˈkɛ(ʁ)/word by word
To say "what do you want?" in Portuguese, use o que você quer?
This phrase is used to ask someone about their desires or what they are looking for.
What does it mean word for word?
The part o que literally means "the what".
Which one should you use?
While o que você quer? is grammatically correct, it can sound blunt or even rude depending on your tone, much like the English "what do you want?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
O que você quer? is an informal way to ask the question. For a more polite and formal approach, such as in service industries, use o que você deseja? or O que deseja?
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many parts of Brazil and Portugal, you may hear o que tu queres? which uses the pronoun tu instead of você.
How does it change in a sentence?
O que você quer? is the standard way to ask "what do you want?" in Brazilian Portuguese.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɔ ki vɔˈsɐ ˈkɛ(ʁ)/
Did you know?
- The word querer can mean both 'to want' and 'to love', depending on the context and the region.
- The pronoun você is a contraction of the phrase vossa mercee, which means 'your mercy'.
- While você is used throughout Brazil, in many regions of Portugal it can be seen as overly intimate or even disrespectful in formal settings.
