Língua da Gente — Esse Fitbit Conta os Passos!

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: What does the Fitbit do? How many steps has one person taken today? What's the one downside of using it — and does the person care?

Língua da Gente · Episode 40

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💬 The Conversation

Read along while listening. Spot tem que, deu, and não ligo — three very common patterns in everyday Brazilian conversation.

A

Sabe que esse Fitbit conta os passos diários.

You know, this Fitbit counts your daily steps.

B

Sério, quantos passos você já deu hoje?

Really, how many steps have you taken today?

A

Deixa eu ver, 9.850. Nada mal.

Let me see, 9,850. Not bad.

B

Legal, mas você tem que usar essa pulseira o dia todo, não é?

Cool, but you've got to wear that bracelet all day, right?

A

É, mas eu não ligo.

Yeah, but I don't mind.

📖 Ter que + infinitivo — Obligation

B says "você tem que usar essa pulseira o dia todo" — ter que + infinitive is the most common way to express obligation in Brazilian Portuguese, equivalent to "have to / must / need to."

Pronoun	Ter que + infinitivo	English
eu	tenho que trabalhar	I have to work
você / ele / ela	tem que usar a pulseira	you/he/she has to wear the bracelet
nós	temos que sair cedo	we have to leave early
eles / vocês	têm que estudar	they/you all have to study

💡 Ter que vs. Ter de vs. Precisar All three express obligation, but with slightly different registers. Ter que is the most common in everyday speech — natural and casual. Ter de is more formal or written. Precisar de (to need to) is slightly softer — more of a necessity than a strict obligation. At this level, ter que is the one to master: Tenho que ir. (I have to go.) Você tem que ver esse filme! (You have to see this film!)

📖 Quantos passos você deu? — Dar + passos

B asks "quantos passos você já deu hoje?" — In Portuguese, steps are "given" (dar passos), not "taken" as in English. Deu is the preterite of dar (3rd person singular / você). You already saw deu in Episode 39 (the medicine Marina gave me).

Question word	Use	Example
Quantos (m. pl.)	How many — with masculine plural nouns	Quantos passos você deu? (How many steps did you take?)
Quantas (f. pl.)	How many — with feminine plural nouns	Quantas horas você dormiu? (How many hours did you sleep?)
Quanto (m. sg.)	How much	Quanto custa? (How much does it cost?)

Other common expressions with dar: dar uma olhada (to take a look), dar um passeio (to take a walk / stroll), dar certo (to work out / go well), dar trabalho (to be a burden — Episode 37!).

📖 Expressões-chave — Não ligo, nada mal, o dia todo

Expression	Meaning	Notes
Eu não ligo.	I don't mind. / I don't care.	Ligar para = to care about. Without the para in speech: não ligo = I don't mind / it doesn't bother me. Casual and very common.
Nada mal.	Not bad.	Fixed phrase — used as a mild compliment or to express mild satisfaction. Nada = nothing; mal = bad. Literally "nothing bad." Equivalent to "not bad at all."
O dia todo.	All day / the whole day.	Todo/toda + article + time noun = the whole ___. A semana toda (all week), o ano todo (all year), a noite toda (all night).
Deixa eu ver.	Let me see.	Very natural filler — used when checking something, pausing to think, or looking something up. Deixa eu pensar = let me think. Deixa eu verificar = let me check.
Sabe que…	You know, … / Did you know that…	Used to introduce a piece of information — like English "you know what?" or "get this." Very common conversation opener in Brazilian Portuguese.

🔊 Numbers with periods and commas In Brazil (and most of continental Europe), the decimal separator is a comma and the thousands separator is a period — the opposite of English. So 9,850 steps in the dialogue is written 9.850 in Portuguese. And R$ 1.500,00 = R$ 1,500.00. This trips up many English speakers when reading prices or statistics in Brazil!

1 Ter que — Obligation Quiz

Choose the correct form of ter que for each sentence.

Eu ___ usar o Fitbit o dia todo.

✅ Correct! Tenho que = I have to (1st person singular of ter). Tenho que usar o Fitbit o dia todo. = I have to wear the Fitbit all day.

Você ___ dar pelo menos 10.000 passos por dia.

✅ Correct! Tem que = you/he/she has to (3rd person singular). Você tem que dar 10.000 passos. = You have to take 10,000 steps.

Eu não ligo.

✅ Correct! Ligar para = to care about / to mind. Não ligo (without para) = I don't mind / I don't care. It sounds like "I don't call" but in this context it means "it doesn't bother me."

Nada mal.

✅ Correct! Nada mal = not bad / not bad at all. A handy, casual expression of mild approval or pleasant surprise — "9,850 steps, not bad!"

2 Complete the Dialogue

Fill in the blanks with the missing words.
Word bank: passos · deu · tem que · ligo · nada

— Sério, quantos você já hoje?

— Deixa eu ver, 9.850. mal.

— Legal, mas você usar essa pulseira o dia todo, não é?

— É, mas eu não .

3 O dia todo — Toda a ___ or o/a ___ todo/a?

Select the correct "all ___" expression for each situation.

She wore the Fitbit ___ (all day).

He was at the gym ___ (all morning).

They talked ___ (all night).

She didn't work ___ (all week).

4 Your Turn — Você se cuida?

Write in Portuguese.
Write 4–6 sentences about your daily health habits (real or imaginary). Use tenho que, não ligo, o dia todo / a semana toda, and dar passos / dar uma caminhada. How many steps do you take? What do you have to do to stay healthy? Is there anything you don't mind doing?