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18 examples to Learn  ‘Já’ and Speak Better Portuguese

18 examples to Learn ‘Já’ and Speak Better Portuguese

posted on September 22, 2015

Learn to use the word Já in Portuguese - How to say Already in Portuguese

If you have been learning Portuguese and talking to Brazilians, you certainly have heard the word Já.

  • Já vou.
  • Volto já.
  • Já vi esse filme.
  • Você já foi ao Brasil?

These are all very common phrases, right?

The word Já truly is present in everyday Portuguese.  It is a powerful little word. It is an adverb of time that is used in different situations with different meanings.

Learn how to use Já though 18 practical examples. I will also show you how to ask and answer questions with já.

You will see how much better you will be able to express yourself in Portuguese.

Já = now, immediately

Here Já indicates ugency.

Situation 1

Milena is at Maria’s birthday party. She sees that it is already 11PM. She needs to wake up very early tomorrow, so she gets up and says:

  • Pessoal, a festa tá ótima, mas já vou.
    = Folks, the party is great, but I am leaving now.
Learn to use the word Já in Portuguese - How to say Already in Portuguese
Já vou. = I am leaving now.

Situation 2

Milena and Pablo are flying to São Paulo today on vacation. They need to be at the airport by 5pm, but are running late. Milena says:

  • Temos que ir já!
    = We need to go immediately.

Situation 3

Maria walks into her son Toninho’s room and is startled by the mess she finds. Toninho is watching TV in the living room. Maria calls him:

  1. Toninho, venha já aqui!
    = Toninho, come here right now!

Wondering about “Venha”? It is the command form of the verb “Vir”. Learn it with this video lesson.

 

Já = in a minute, very soon

The difference between this use of Já and the previous examples is that here it does not indicate urgency.

Situation 1

Ana and Paulo are having dinner together and enjoying a good bottle of wine. Ana needs to use the restroom. She says:

  • Volto já. (or: Já volto.)
    = I will be back in a minute.

Situation 2

Luciana calls Carol. Carol cannot speak at the moment. She says:

  • Não posso falar agora. Já te ligo de volta.
    = I cannot talk now. I will call you back in a minute.

 

Já já = in a minute, very soon

You will also here a double já. It also means “in a minute”, “very soon”.

Situation 1

João and Maria work together. João is getting a ride home with Maria. Maria says:

  • Está pronto para ir? Vou sair já já.
    = Are you ready to go? I will leave in a minute.

Situation 2

Carol can’t talk at the moment. She tells Luciana:

  • Não posso falar agora. Já já te ligo de volta.
    = I cannot talk now. I will call you back in a minute.
Learn the word Já in Portuguese - How to say Already in Portuguese
Já já te ligo de volta. = I will call you back in a minute.

Situation 3

Maria is really upset with the son Toninho. She says:

  • Toninho, você precisa organizar seu quarto já já!
    = Toninho, you need to organize your room very soon!

 

Já = already

Situation 1

It’s only 11am and Maria is already thinking about lunch. She comments:

  • Ainda são 11 horas e já estou com fome.
    = It’s still 11 and I am already hungry.

Situation 2

Maria asks if her coworker Laura wants to grab lunch with her. Laura says:

  • Já almocei.
    = I’ve already had lunch.

Note that we use the simple past even when in English we use the present perfect.

Situation 3

Maria invites Laura to go to the movies. Laura says:

  • Eu já vi esse filme.
    = I have already seen this movie.

 

Questions with Já

Situation 1

Laura is talking about her baby. Maria asks:

  • O seu filho já fala?
    = Does you baby already speak?

Situation 2

João is talking about his girlfriend. Maria asks:

  • Você já conheceu a família da sua namorada?
    = Have you already met your girlfriend’s family?

Situation 3

Maria is wondering if her coworker Laura would like to join her for lunch. She asks:

  • Você já almoçou?
    = Have you already had lunch? / Did you have lunch yet?

 

How to ask ‘Have you ever?’ In Portuguese

It is easy. Here is the formula:

  • Você já + verb in the simple past tense + question object

See the examples below.

Situation 1

Steve’s girlfriend is Brazilian. His coworker asks:

  • Você já foi ao Brasil?
    = Have you ever been to Brazil?

Situation 2

Steve is in Brazil for the first time. Someone asks him:

  • Você já provou feijoada?
    = Have you ever tried feijoada?
Learn to use the word Já in Portuguese - How to say Already in Portuguese
Já provou feijoada? = Have you ever tried feijoada?

How to Answer Já Questions

Affirmative answers

To answer a question affirmatively, you can simply say Já. You can also use the action verb after já.

Situation 1

Question: Você já conheceu a família da sua namorada?

= Have you already met your girlfriend’s family?

Possible affirmative answers:

  • Já.
  • Já sim.
  • Sim, já conheci.

Situation 2

Question: Você já foi ao Brasil? = Have you ever been to Brazil?

Possible affirmative answers:

  • Já.
  • Já sim.
  • Sim, já fui.

Negative Answers

To answer “not yet”, visit this other lesson. It will add powerful and easy-to-learn expressions to your Portuguese.

 

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Related Posts:

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  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chris Censullo

    February 25, 2016 at 8:47 am

    Thanks for a great lesson. I have written a sentence using the já in its different meanings to practice. I wonder if I have them right. The situation is a person is in a meeting when she receives an urgent message from a customer that wants immediate assistance. She writes back:

    “Eu entendo que você precisa receber já uma solução. Já te ligo de volta. Estou assistindo um reunião que deve terminando já já. Eu já recebei o seu email e acho que eu posso ajudar. No entanto, antes de ligar, quero perguntar se o meu colega já passou por isso.”

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      February 25, 2016 at 9:50 am

      This is fantastic, Chris! Awesome example of several uses of Já! Parabéns 🙂

      I just have a couple of details to adjust in this sentence: Estou em uma reunião que deve terminar já já. Os ajustes foram:

      1) We don’t really say “assistir uma reunião”. We can say participar de uma reunião. No caso, eu só diria que estou em uma reunião.

      2) Reunião é um substantivo feminino.

      3) O verbo que vem depois de “dever” deve estar no infinitivo.

      Great job!!!

      Reply
      • Larissa

        July 21, 2021 at 12:10 pm

        Although it is also possible to say “a reuniao deve estar terminando ja ja”.
        As in “it should be ending soon”.

        Reply

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