Ser vs Estar

Key differences

Portuguese has two verbs that correspond to the verb to be: 'ser' and 'estar'.

How to know which one to use?

As a general rule, the verb ser is used for things inherent to the subject, or to describe permanent states. It is also used to indicate the origin or identity of something or someone.

• 🗼 Sou de Paris. (I’m from Paris)
• 🐓 Tu és português. (You are Portuguese.)
• 🏚️ A casa é velha. (The house is old.)
• 🧘 Nós somos muito pacientes. (We are very patient.)
• 👁️ Os meus olhos são verdes. (My eyes are green.)

The verb 'estar' is used for things considered non-inherent to the subject, like a transient mood or temporary states, sometimes due to external action (to be dirty or broken, for example). It is also used to indicate the temporary location of something or someone.

• 🥐 Eu estou em Paris. (I am in Paris.)
• 😃 Eu estou feliz. (I am happy [now].)
• 😩 Ele está cansado. (He is tired.)
• 🧹 A casa está suja. (The house is dirty.)

Just by changing the verb, you can change the whole meaning of the sentence:

• 🍏 A maçã está verde. (The apple is green. [It’s not ripe])
• 🎨 A maçã é verde. (The apple is green. [Green is its actual color])

• 🚗 O meu carro é novo. (My car is new. [I just bought it])
• ✨ O meu carro está novo. (My car is new. [It’s in top condition, as good as new])

• 🥱 Ele é aborrecido. (He is boring.)
• 😑 Ele está aborrecido. (He is bored.)

The verb Ser

In general, we use the verb 'ser' in the following situations:

To identify people, things or their relationships:

• 👦 Eu sou o Alex. Eu sou o irmão da Sandra. (I’m Alex. I’m Sandra’s brother.)
• 💑 Tu és o namorado da Carmen, o Paulo? (Are you Carmen’s boyfriend, Paulo?)
• 🏛️ Aquele edifício é a Câmara Municipal. (That building is the City Hall.)
• 🙌 Vocês são os melhores! (You guys are the best!)

To describe the appearance or characteristics that a person or thing has:

• 🧭 Eu sou português. (I am Portuguese.)
• 🧠 És inteligente. (You are smart.)
• 🌰 Ela é muito morena. (She is very dark-skinned.)
• 🧒 Nós somos jovens. (We are young.)
• 🫑 Os pimentos são verdes, vermelhos ou amarelos. (Peppers are green, red or yellow.)

To indicate where a place is or an event takes place:

• 🏙️ Lisboa é em Portugal. (Lisbon is in Portugal.)
• 🎶 O concerto é na Casa da Música. (The concert is at Casa da Música.)

To indicate possession, origin, or the material of something:

• 🚘 É o meu carro. (It is my car.)
• 🌆 Ele é de Chicago. (He is from Chicago.)
• 🖋️ A caneta é feita de metal. (The pen is made of metal.)
• 🏟️ Nós somos de Barcelona. (We are from Barcelona.)
• 🪵 Estas cadeiras são feitas de madeira. (These chairs are made of wood.)

To tell the time:

• 🕡 São seis e meia. (It is six thirty.)
• 🕘 São nove e um quarto. (It is nine fifteen.)
• 🌙 É meia noite. (It is midnight.)
• 🕐 É uma da tarde. (It is one in the afternoon.)

For prices and quantities or for impersonal expressions:

• 💶 Quanto é? (How much is it?)
• 🪙 São 30 euros. (It is 30 euros.)
• 🩺 É necessário chamar um médico. (It is necessary to call a doctor.)
• 🚪 É hora de ir embora. (It is time to leave.)

Conjugation

Estar

In general, we use the verb estar in the following situations:To greet someone:

• 👋 Como está? (How are you?)
• 😊 Estou bem, obrigado. (I’m fine, thank you.)

To indicate a temporary situation. The situation can be physical, mental, imaginary or a state of mind:

• 🤧 Estou doente. (I am sick.)
• 😔 Você está triste. (You are sad.)
• 🤗 Gosto de ver que estás bem. (I’m pleased to see you are all right.)

To indicate someone's location or the location of a movable item:

• 🏝️ Ele está nos Açores. (He is in the Azores.)
• 💡 O livro está à direita do candeeiro. (The book is to the right of the lamp.)
• 👓 Os óculos estão em cima da mesa. (The glasses are on the table.)

To talk about the weather:

• 🥵 Hoje está calor! (Today is hot!)
• 🥶 Está muito frio lá fora! (It is very cold outside!)

To talk about a characteristic that you need to try to know of:

• 🧂 A sopa está salgada. (The soup is salty.)
• ☕ O café está frio! (The coffee is cold!)
• 🥛 O leite não está bom, está azedo. (The milk isn't good, it is sour.)

Verb estar in progressive tenses

It's important to note that the verb estar is also used to form progressive tenses, such as the present continuous or the past continuous, which are used to talk about actions that are in progress.

• 🍴 Ele está a comer. (He is eating.)
• 🏠 Eu estou a chegar a casa. (I am arriving home.)
• 🃏 Eles estavam a jogar póquer. (They were playing poker.)
• 💤 Nós estávamos a dormir. (We were sleeping.)

Conjugation

Common mistakes made with ‘Ser’ and ‘Estar’

Let’s see some of the most common and sometimes even funny mistakes that can happen if you don’t completely master the uses of ‘estar’ and ‘ser’:

Running Late

If you are running late make sure to use ‘estar’:

• ⏰ Desculpa, estou atrasado(a). (Sorry, I’m late.)

If you use ‘ser,’ people will understand it differently:

• 😬 Desculpa, sou atrasado(a). (Sorry, I’m slow-witted.)

To be boring vs. To be bored

Here is one situation where it’s very important that you use the correct verb.

If you are bored, you say: ‘Estou aborrecido(a).’

If instead of 'estar' you use ser, it means that you are boring: ‘Sou aborrecido(a).’Ser moreno(a) vs. Estar moreno(a)

In Portuguese, a brunette is said to be ‘moreno(a)’ and in this case, the verb ‘ser’ is used.

• 👩 A Carla é morena. (Carla is a brunette.)

If the person is tanned, we use the verb 'estar', as it is a temporary condition.

• 🌞 O Luís está moreno. (Luis is tanned.)

Ser doente vs. Estar doente

Generally, we use 'estar' to talk about a temporary health state or condition.

• 🤒 O Carlos está doente. Está com sarampo. (Carlos is sick. He has the measles.)

However, if referring to a chronic disease or condition that is permanent, we use ‘ser’.

• 💊 A Ana é hipocondríaca. (Ana is hypochondriac.)
• 🩸 O Carlos é diabético. (Carlos is diabetic.)

Being dead or alive

Always use 'estar' to describe dead things or people. For some reason, being dead or alive in Portuguese works as a temporary state:

• 🐦 O pássaro está morto. (The bird is dead.)
• 👴 O meu bisavô está vivo. Tem 97 anos. (My great-granddad is alive. He’s 97 years old.)

‘Ser morto(a)’ has no actual meaning, it’s just grammatically incorrect. However, in ‘ser vivo’ the word ‘ser’ is a noun that refers to a living being.O concerto é vs. O concerto está

When describing where a planned event takes place we use ‘ser.’

• 🎻 O concerto é na Casa da Música. (The concert is at Casa da Música.)

Keep in mind that when describing how the concert itself is going, we will use 'estar'.

• 🎉 O concerto está muito divertido. (The concert is very fun)