It is almost dinner time and I was here thinking about a cool post for tomorrow. Then my stomach talked to me and inspired me to write this short lesson.
You will learn 5 different ways to say that you are hungry or starving, including a very nice colloquial expression that will make you sound very Brazilian.
You can say:
- Estou com fome. = I am hungry.
- Estou faminta/o. = I am starving.
- Estou esfomiada/o. = I am starving.
- Estou morrendo de fome. = I am starving.
Literally number 4 translates as: I am dying of hunger
Verde de fome
And here is the cool colloquial expression that came to my mind when my stomach growled:
- Estou verde de fome. = I am starving.
Literally it translates as: I am green of hunger.
Remember to Conjugate the Verb Estar
To use any of the expressions above to address other people, simply conjugate the verb Estar. For example:
- Vocês estão com fome? = Are you guys hungry?
Colloquial expressions allow you to express yourself clearly and say exactly what you want to say in a natural way.
Check out my book 51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian to learn 51 Brazilian Portuguese colloquial expressions that will be useful in personal and professional situations.
Carla Mayara says
June 20, 2018 at 4:17 pmI came here because I was looking for some English expression to this phrase “Verde de fome” and I found out this blog. Wow! I’ve never found a place to teaching Portuguese to foreigners like that! Congrats. I loved it!
Luciana Lage says
June 20, 2018 at 4:39 pmObrigada 🙂
Clay Hamm says
April 18, 2016 at 11:11 amYears ago I heard someone say “eu tenho uma fome canina”.
Luciana Lage says
April 18, 2016 at 1:28 pmYes, that is another way to say that you are starving 🙂
Kaio Siqueira says
November 3, 2015 at 11:43 amHey guys, very nice article about Brazil and Portuguese! I love your website! But I just would like to make a comment about an expression: “Estou esfamiada/o”, I’ve never heard no one say it this way, I’m a native Brazilian, and I’ve lived in Brazil for 19 years now, and people say it like “esfomeado”, like deriving from “fome” = hunger… Maybe it’s just an regionalization (Brazil’s way too big and full of different cultures) but maybe I could help you guys a little bit 🙂
Thank you all 😀
Luciana Lage says
November 3, 2015 at 1:52 pmOh, oops, it was a typo. Erro de digitação básico. Thank you for pointing that out!