Ser vs Estar

Portuguese has two verbs that correspond to the verb to be: ser and estar. Find out more in the article Ser vs Estar and practice with the exercises below. As a general rule, the verb ‘ser’ is used for permanent traits, to indicate who someone is or what something is and where someone or something is from [ser de].

The verb ‘estar,’ however, is used for states, moods or conditions (such as being tired, dirty or broken), and to indicate where someone or something is located.

Translations won’t help understand these differences as they use the same English verb. So now we will look at the differences in using the verb ‘ser’ and ‘estar’ in three aspects: traits/state, weather/climate, and space.

Traits / State

Ser [Who/what someone/something is] vs Estar [How it is in a particular moment]

• 🤪 Eles são loucos. (They are crazy.) ‘São’ indicates that this trait defines them, it’s part of their character.
• 🌀 Eles estão loucos. (They are crazy.)‘Estão’ indicates that that’s their present condition, potentially temporary or situational, and not in their nature.
• 📏 A tua filha mais nova é alta. (Your youngest daughter is tall.)‘É’ describes her height as an inherent trait, suggesting it's a natural part of her physique.
• 👧 A tua filha mais nova está alta. (Your youngest daughter is tall.)‘Está’ implies that she has grown recently or appears taller, focusing on a change or current state.
• 🌚 Esta sala é escura. (This room is dark.)‘É’ suggests that the darkness is an inherent characteristic of the room, implying a permanent condition of low light.
• 👻 Esta sala está escura. (This room is dark.)‘Está’ indicates that the darkness is a temporary state, likely because the room is not well-lit at the moment, suggesting the condition can change.

Climate / Weather

We use the verb ‘ser’ to talk about the climate and ‘estar’ to talk about the weather.

• 🌤️ O clima em Portugal é ameno. (The climate in Portugal is mild.)The verb ‘ser’ conveys that Portugal's overall climate is consistently mild.
• 🥶 Está frio na Serra da Estrela. (It is cold in the Serra da Estrela.)‘Está’ (is) is used to express that the current weather condition is cold, emphasizing the temporary nature of this weather state.

Space

A basic rule is that ‘ser’ is never used to tell a person's location. The correct verb to use is ‘estar.’

• 👀 Onde estás? (Where are [you informal]?)
• 🍵 Eu estou no café. (I am in the cafe.)

To describe the location of things we may use both ‘ser’ and ‘estar.’

‘Ser’ expresses habitual location, the place things belong, while ‘estar’ simply expresses their current location.

• 👌 Os copos são no armário. (The glasses are on the cupboard.) ‘São’ denotes their fixed location. The cupboard is the place set to stow the glasses.
• 👉 Os copos estão na mesa. (The glasses are on the table.)‘Estão’ indicates their current location. This is the place where they happen to be now.

Therefore, it is absolutely correct in Portuguese to say:

• 🥃 Os copos são no armário, mas estão na mesa. (The glasses are [belong in] on the cupboard, but they are on the table.)

We preferably use ‘ser’ to state the location of a building, institution or monument but ‘estar’ can always be used to refer to the location of objects.

• 🏛️ O Museu dos Coches é em Lisboa. (The National Coach Museum is in Lisbon.)

We use ’ser’ to say where an event takes place.

• 🍫 O Festival do Chocolate é em Óbidos. (The Chocolate Festival is in Óbidos)