Língua da Gente — Dormiu Bem?

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: What time is it? How did B sleep? What do they decide to do?

Língua da Gente · Elementary 01

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💬 The Conversation

Listen again while reading. Notice how B makes a suggestion — what structure does B use?

A

Bom dia, você dormiu bem?

Good morning, did you sleep well?

B

Mais ou menos. Que horas são?

More or less. What time is it?

A

Seis e meia, ainda é muito cedo.

Six-thirty, it's still really early.

B

Vamos dormir um pouco mais!

Let's sleep a little more!

A

Tá, mais um pouquinho só.

OK, just a tiny bit more.

📖 Que horas são? — Telling the Time

A replies "Seis e meia" — six-thirty. Here's how to ask and tell the time in Brazilian Portuguese.

Clock	Portuguese	Note
1:00	É uma hora.	Singular — only 1:00 uses é
6:00	São seis horas.	Plural — use são for all other times
6:15	São seis e quinze.	six and fifteen
6:30	São seis e meia.	meia = half → from the dialogue!
6:45	São seis e quarenta e cinco.	or: sete menos quinze
12:00	É meio-dia.	noon — singular!
00:00	É meia-noite.	midnight — singular!

💡 É vs. São — the most common mistake Use é only for 1 o'clock, noon, and midnight (all singular). Use são for everything else (plural). "São seis e meia" — not "é seis e meia".

📖 Vamos + infinitivo — Making Suggestions

B says "Vamos dormir um pouco mais!" — this is the most natural way to say "let's…" in Brazilian Portuguese.

Infinitive	Suggestion	English
dormir	Vamos dormir um pouco mais!	Let's sleep a little more!
comer	Vamos comer?	Shall we eat?
trabalhar	Vamos trabalhar!	Let's get to work!
sair	Vamos sair?	Shall we go out?
começar	Vamos começar!	Let's start!

💡 Vamos with a ? sounds like an invitation; with a ! it's more enthusiastic. Both are very common in everyday Brazilian speech.

📖 Key Expressions from the Dialogue

Portuguese	English	Notes
Dormiu bem?	Did you sleep well?	From dormir (to sleep). Pretérito perfeito: você dormiu.
Mais ou menos.	More or less. / So-so.	Very common in Brazil — a relaxed, honest answer. Brazilians avoid extremes in casual conversation.
Que horas são?	What time is it?	Literally: "What hours are they?" Always plural são in the question.
Seis e meia.	Six-thirty.	Meia = half. So "six and a half" = 6:30. Also used for "meia" = 6 in phone numbers!
Ainda é muito cedo.	It's still really early.	Ainda = still. Cedo = early (opposite: tarde = late).
Um pouco / pouquinho.	A little / a tiny bit.	Pouquinho is the diminutive — smaller and warmer than pouco. Very Brazilian!
Tá.	OK / Alright.	Informal short form of está bem. One of the most frequent words in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

🇧🇷 Culture Note — Diminutives & "mais ou menos" Two things will make your Portuguese sound instantly more Brazilian. First: use pouquinho instead of pouco — diminutives signal warmth and are everywhere in Brazilian speech (cafezinho, beijinho, rapidinho). Second: reply mais ou menos when someone asks how you are — it's honest, relaxed, and very natural. A simple bem can sound formal or even cold to Brazilian ears.

🔊 Phonology Note — Nasal vowels Brazilian Portuguese has nasal vowels that don't exist in English. In this dialogue, notice bom and ainda: the vowel resonates through the nose, not just the mouth. The tilde (~) always marks a nasal vowel: não, irmã, então. Vowels before m or n at the end of a syllable are also nasalized: bom, um, com. Try saying bom dia — let your voice go slightly nasal on the o, as if humming. Listen to the episode and focus on how bom sounds different from the English word "bomb."

1 What does it mean? — Expression Quiz

Each expression comes from the dialogue. Choose the correct English meaning.

Mais ou menos.

✅ Correct! Mais ou menos is one of the most useful expressions in Brazilian Portuguese — a relaxed way to say "so-so" or "not too bad." You'll hear it constantly.

Vamos dormir um pouco mais!

✅ Correct! Vamos + infinitive = "let's…". Here: vamos dormir = let's sleep. Um pouco mais = a little more.

Ainda é muito cedo.

✅ Correct! Ainda = still. Cedo = early. Muito = very/really. The opposite: ainda é muito tarde = it's still really late.

Tá, mais um pouquinho só.

✅ Correct! Tá = OK. Pouquinho = tiny bit (diminutive of pouco). Só adds the idea of "just/only." A very natural, soft agreement.

2 Complete the Dialogue

Fill in the missing words. Word bank: Bom · dormiu · menos · horas · Seis · cedo · mais · Tá

— dia, você bem?

— Mais ou . Que são?

— e meia, ainda é muito .

— Vamos dormir um pouco !

— , mais um pouquinho só.

3 What time is it? — Choose the correct answer

Select the correct Portuguese time expression for each clock.

6:30

7:00

8:15

12:00

1:00

4 Make a suggestion — Vamos + infinitivo!

Write a complete suggestion using Vamos + infinitivo. You can add more words after the verb. Example: dormir → Vamos dormir um pouco mais!

comer →

trabalhar →

conversar →

começar →

5 Your Turn — Write a morning dialogue!

Write a short dialogue (4–6 lines) between two people in the morning. Use at least 3 expressions from this episode: a greeting, a question about time, a Vamos… suggestion, and/or tá / mais ou menos / pouquinho. Be creative!