The Word 'Que' in European Portuguese

'Que' can mean what, that, which, who, than or because. Which one it is depends on where it sits in the sentence, and you will hear it in almost every sentence in Portugal. Here is each use, with examples.

Que for surprise: que dia lindo!

Put 'que' in front of a noun and it says 'what a':

• 😠 Que homem antipático! (What a rude man!)
• 🌷 Que dia lindo! (What a beautiful day!)

In front of an adjective it says 'how':

• 🤯 Que estranho! (How strange!)
• 🤓 Que interessante! (How interesting!)
• 😃 Que fácil! (How easy!)

Que, o que or o quê in questions?

All three mean 'what', and each has its own place.

Que before a noun

'Que' goes straight in front of the thing you are asking about. In Portugal people often add 'é que' after it, which changes nothing in the meaning.

• 📚 Que livro estás a ler? / Que livro é que estás a ler? (What book are you reading?)
• 🍿 Que filme queres ver? / Que filme é que queres ver? (What film do you want to watch?)
• ⏰ Que horas são? (What time is it?)

When you are choosing from a set, 'qual' is often the better word.

O que before a verb

'O que' asks for an explanation or a description, and a verb follows it:

• 🤷‍♂️ O que preferes? / O que é que preferes? (What do you prefer?)
• 😲 O que aconteceu? / O que é que aconteceu? (What happened?)
• 👆 O que é isto? (What is this?)

O quê on its own

'O quê' stands alone or ends the sentence, and the accent shows that the word is stressed. You use it when you did not hear, or cannot believe what you heard:

• 🙋‍♀️ O quê? Pode repetir, por favor? (What? Can you say that again, please?)
• 😡 O quê? Isso é inadmissível. (What? That is unacceptable.)
• 🍽️ Estás a comer o quê? (You're eating what?)

Que meaning that, which or who

'Que' joins two sentences and points back to something already mentioned. It works for people and for things:

• 👌 Já li o livro que me deste. (I have already read the book that you gave me.)
• 💡 As ideias que ele apresentou são boas. (The ideas he presented are good.)
• 👩 Ela é a mulher que conheci no ano passado. (She's the woman I met last year.)

English often leaves 'that' out: 'the book you gave me'. Portuguese never does. The 'que' has to be there.

Put 'o', 'a', 'os' or 'as' in front and it means 'the one that' or 'the ones that':

• 🤓 Já li o que me deste. (I have already read the one you gave me.)
• 👍 As que ele apresentou são boas. (The ones he presented are good.)

'O que' can also point back to a whole sentence, like 'which' in English:

• 📉 A empresa faliu, o que foi uma surpresa. (The company went bankrupt, which was a surprise.)

And it can mean 'what' in the middle of a sentence:

• 🧐 Já sei o que aconteceu. (I already know what happened.)
• 💥 O que aconteceu foi um escândalo. (What happened was a scandal.)

Que after acho, digo and sei

After verbs of thinking and saying, 'que' means 'that'. In English you can drop it. In Portuguese you cannot.

• ☔ Acho que vai chover. (I think it's going to rain.)
• 📞 Ela disse que chegava tarde. (She said she would be late.)
• ✅ Sei que tens razão. (I know you're right.)

Que meaning because

In everyday speech 'que' can give a reason, like 'porque':

• 🙅‍♂️ Não voltes a gritar, que não gosto. (Don't shout again, because I don't like it.)
• 🤢 Não comas isso, que está estragado. (Don't eat that, it's gone off.)

Tão... que and tanto... que: so... that

After 'tão' or 'tanto', 'que' brings in the result:

• 🥶 Ontem estava tanto frio que nem saí de casa. (Yesterday it was so cold that I didn't even leave the house.)
• 🚶‍♂️ Andei tanto que me doem os pés. (I walked so much that my feet hurt.)

Que and do que meaning than

In comparisons, 'que' and 'do que' both mean 'than':

• ❄️ Hoje está mais frio que ontem. (Today is colder than yesterday.)
• 🧊 Hoje está mais frio do que ontem. (Today is colder than yesterday.)

The comparatives 'melhor', 'pior', 'maior' and 'menor' work the same way.

Que in wishes: que corra tudo bem!

At the start of a sentence, 'que' with the subjunctive makes a wish:

• 🍀 Que corra tudo bem! (I hope it all goes well!)
• 🎂 Que sejas muito feliz! (May you be very happy!)

Phrases built with que

'Que' is part of many short phrases. Several of them need the subjunctive after them, which is why you see forms like 'chegues' and 'chova' here.

• Antes que (before)
  • 🏃‍♂️ Entra antes que fechem a porta. (Come in before they close the door.)
• Logo que (as soon as)
  • 🏠 Avisa-me logo que chegues a casa. (Let me know as soon as you get home.)
• Sempre que (every time)
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Ele visita-me sempre que pode. (He visits me whenever he can.)
• Já que / uma vez que (since)
  • 🗑️ Leva o lixo, já que vais sair. (Take the rubbish out, since you're going out.)
• Mesmo que (even if)
  • ☔ Vou sair mesmo que chova. (I'm going out even if it rains.)
• Para que (so that)
  • 👩‍🍳 Ponho açúcar para que fique doce. (I add sugar so that it's sweet.)

Ter que or ter de?

Both mean 'to have to'. In Portugal 'ter de' is the form you see in writing and the one teachers prefer. 'Ter que' is very common in speech, and it is the usual form in Brazil.

• 🕗 Tenho de sair às oito. (I have to leave at eight.)
• 🕗 Tenho que sair às oito. (I have to leave at eight.)

How do you pronounce que?

Most of the time 'que' is not stressed, and in Portugal the vowel almost disappears. It sounds like a short 'k', with only a trace of the 'e'.

'Quê' with an accent is stressed and sounds like 'kay' without the y at the end. You hear it in 'o quê?', 'porquê?' and 'não há de quê'.

Hear it spoken

Our video goes through the same uses out loud.