The days of the week in Portuguese look intimidating at first (why is Tuesday called the “third fair”?), but there is a simple logic once you see it. This is your reference for days, months, and telling time in Brazilian Portuguese, with the small habits, like how Brazilians write dates and use the 24-hour clock, that textbooks skip.
The days of the week
Here is the trick: the weekdays are numbered, not named. Counted from Sunday, the first day of the week, Monday becomes segunda-feira (“second”), Tuesday terça-feira (“third”), and on through Friday. In casual speech, people usually drop -feira and just say segunda, terça, and so on.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| domingo | Sunday |
| segunda-feira (segunda) | Monday |
| terça-feira (terça) | Tuesday |
| quarta-feira (quarta) | Wednesday |
| quinta-feira (quinta) | Thursday |
| sexta-feira (sexta) | Friday |
| sábado | Saturday |
The weekdays aren’t named, they’re numbered.
The months
Months are lowercase in Portuguese and close to their English cousins.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| janeiro / fevereiro / março | January / February / March |
| abril / maio / junho | April / May / June |
| julho / agosto / setembro | July / August / September |
| outubro / novembro / dezembro | October / November / December |
Telling time
Use são for most hours and é only for one o’clock, noon and midnight. Brazilians mix the 12-hour clock in speech with the 24-hour clock in writing and schedules (14h = 2 PM).
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| Que horas são? | What time is it? |
| É uma hora | It’s one o’clock |
| São duas horas | It’s two o’clock |
| São três e meia | It’s three thirty |
| São quatro e quinze | It’s four fifteen |
| meio-dia / meia-noite | noon / midnight |
| da manhã / da tarde / da noite | in the morning / afternoon / evening |
Dates and useful time words
Brazilians write dates day/month/year (05/07 is July 5th, not May 7th), and say dia cinco de julho. A few words you will use daily: hoje (today), amanhã (tomorrow), ontem (yesterday), agora (now), mais tarde (later), cedo (early), tarde (late). Practicing these out loud is great rhythm training, and pairs well with the numbers 1 to 100 guide.
The takeaway
Once you see the feira logic, days, months and time in Brazilian Portuguese click fast. Drill them out loud with real dates and times from your week. Grab the free phrases below, and pair this with the numbers guide to lock in the essentials.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the days of the week in Portuguese called feira?
Counted from Sunday, the first day of the week, the weekdays are numbered and carry feira (fair), from the markets held on holy days: Monday, the second day, was the first market day, segunda-feira, on through sexta-feira, Friday. The weekend kept its own names, sábado from the Sabbath and domingo from dies Dominica, the Lord's day. In speech, people often drop -feira.
How do you tell time in Brazilian Portuguese?
Ask que horas são? Use é for one o'clock, noon and midnight, and são for the rest: são três e meia is 3:30. Writing and schedules often use the 24-hour clock.
How do Brazilians write dates?
Day/month/year. So 05/07 means July 5th. Spoken: dia cinco de julho. Months are written in lowercase.
Written by Rafael
Rafael has helped hundreds of learners drop the textbook stiffness and speak the way Brazilians actually do. Say oi →
Written by Rafael, Brazilian Portuguese teacher. Questions or a phrase you want covered?Say oi →
Written to help you sound like yourself, not a textbook. See the method behind the blog.
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