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Aonde versus Onde: Say It Right in Portuguese

Aonde versus Onde: Say It Right in Portuguese

posted on July 31, 2012

Aonde versus Onde: Say It Right in Portuguese

This might come as a surprise to you. Although many of your Brazilian friends use these question words interchangeably and despite a few songs that do the same, Aonde and Onde are not the same thing. It is easy to learn how to use these questions words correctly. You will find practice exercises at the end of the lesson.

Aonde

Aonde is used with verbs that express the idea of movement. Aonde = Para onde. You can think of it as “Where to”. Let’s see a few examples:

  • Aonde você vai? = Where are you going?
  • Aonde você vai me levar para jantar? = Where are you going to take me for dinner?
  • Aonde ele foi nas férias? = Where did he go on vacation?
  • Eu me perdi na cidade e não sabia aonde ir. = I got lost in the city and didn’t know where to go.
  • Não sei aonde chegaremos com essa discussão. = I don’t know where we will get to with this argument.

Onde

Onde is used with verbs that do not express the idea of movement. Onde = Where. You can think of it as “In what place”. Let’s see a few examples:

  • Onde você está? = Where are you?
  • Onde você mora? = Where do you live?
  • Onde é o restaurante? = Where is the restaurant?
  • Para abrir a página, clique onde diz “Mais informações”. = To open the page, click where it says “More information”.
  • Onde fica o banheiro? = Where is the bathroom?

Calvin got it right 🙂

Translation:

Calvin: Mooom! Hey Mom!

Mom: Stop yelling, Calvin. If you’d like to say something, come to the living room.

Calvin: I stepped on dog poop… where do I clean my feet?

 

Practice Exercise

Fernanda and Mário have just met. Complete their conversation using Aonde or Onde. The answers are below.

Fernanda: De (1) ____________________ você é?
Mário:       Eu sou de Belém. E você?
Fernanda: Eu sou de Curitiba, mas cresci aqui.
Mário:       Eu também cresci aqui. (2) ____________________ você estudou?
Fernanda: No Colégio Marista.

Mário looks around wondering where the server is:

Mário:       (3)____________________ está o garçom? Faz tempo* que não o vejo.
Fernanda: Não vi (4)___________________ ele foi. Daqui a pouco** ele aparece.
Mário:      (5) __________________ você mora?
Fernanda: Bem pertinho, duas ruas daqui.
Mário:      Quer jantar comigo um dia desses***? (6) ____________________ você gosta de comer?
Fernanda: Tem um restaurante que eu adoro aqui perto.
Mário:       (7) ____________________ você vai quando sair daqui? Se não estiver ocupada, podemos ir jantar.

* Faz tempo = It’s been a while

** Daqui a pouco = in a little while, in a few moments

*** Um dia desses = one of these days

Answers:

1. onde  2. Onde  3. Onde  4. aonde  5. Onde   6. Onde  7. Aonde

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Luciana Lage

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco.

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