Are you a playful person who likes to tease your friends? Do you have friends who are often kidding you? Learn 3 different ways to say that you are kidding in Portuguese.

I will also show you how to ask “Are you kidding me?”

1. Tô brincando

The most common way to say it is:

• Tô brincando. = I’m kidding.

Literally it translates to: I’m playing (as in kids playing)

Notice that I am using the colloquial “tô”, which is short for “estou”. As I have mentioned before, we usually drop the first syllable of the verb Estar in spoken Brazilian Portuguese and informal writing.

Learn the three different meanings in Portuguese of the verb To Play.

2. É brincadeira

Another way to say “I’m kidding” is:

• É brincadeira.

This sentence can also be used sarcastically. For example: You already work overtime without making any extra money. Now our manager is asking you to come into the office on the weekends. You are not happy about it at all. You mention this to a friend and say: É brincadeira. What you really mean is that it is an absurd.

3. Tô tirando onda

This is the slangish, colloquial way to say it:

• Tô tirando onda. = I’m kidding. I’m teasing you.

Are you kidding me?

Here’s how you ask this question:

• Você tá brincando? = Are you kidding?

You can omit the pronoun “você”.

Here’s a nice addition to the sentence:

• Você tá brincando, né? = You’re kidding, right?

Bonus Expression

When you hear something outrageous, you can say:

• Fala sério!

Literally it means: Speak seriously.

We use it in a sarcastic way as in English we would say: Seriously?

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