Want to say something happened two months ago? Or that something exciting is coming up in two months? In Portuguese, we have the perfect expressions for that — and once you learn them, they’re super easy to use. In this post, you’ll learn how to say both naturally and correctly, whether you’re chatting with friends or writing something more formal.
1. How to say two months ago in Portuguese
Let’s start with how to talk about things that happened in the past — like two months ago or about three weeks ago.
You can say “two months ago” in Portuguese in two different ways:
1. Using the verb haver: há + time expression
→ há dois meses = two months ago
2. Using the word atrás: time expression + atrás
→ dois meses atrás = two months ago
Both are correct and widely used in everyday Portuguese.
Take a look at the example below to see both in action:
Exemplo 1:
Carla: Quando você foi ao Brasil? (When did you go to Brazil?)
Tony: Eu fui ao Brasil há dois meses. / Eu fui ao Brasil dois meses atrás. (I went to Brazil two months ago.)
Exemplo 2:
Carla: Você tem falado com a Camila? (Have you been in touch with Camila?)
Tony: Nós almoçamos juntos há umas três semanas. / Nós almoçamos juntos umas três semanas atrás. (We had lunch together about three weeks ago.)
👉🏼 Note: According to grammar rules, it’s incorrect to say “há dois anos atrás” because both há and atrás mean “ago” — so you’re repeating the same idea twice. That said, you’ll hear people say it all the time in everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese. It’s common in speech, but best to avoid in writing, especially in more formal situations.
🇧🇷 If you want more explanation and examples on how to talk about time that has passed, I’ve got two other blog posts for you. One focuses on using the verb haver and the other on the verb fazer. Both posts go deeper into the grammar and include everyday examples to help you express yourself more clearly and naturally.
2. How to say in two months in Portuguese
Now that you’ve seen how to talk about things that happened in the past, let’s look at how to say something will happen in the future — like in two months or in three weeks. This structure is simple, useful, and shows up all the time in everyday Portuguese. Here are a few examples:
Exemplo 1:
Tony: Quando você vai ao Brasil? (When are you going to Brazil?)
Carla: Eu vou ao Brasil daqui a dois meses. (I am going to Brazil in two months.)
Exemplo 2:
Carla: Você vê a Camila com frequência? (Do you see Camila often?)
Tony: Mais ou menos. Nós vamos almoçar juntos daqui a umas três semanas. (More or less. We are going to have lunch together in about three weeks.)
Keep this in mind:
- Há 2 anos = 2 years ago.
- Daqui a 2 anos = in 2 years, 2 years in the future
What confuses so many people is the difference between:
- há: From the verb Haver, used to talk about past or elapsed time
- a: preposition
Because the “h” is silent in Portuguese, both “há” and “a” sound exactly the same when spoken. But to write good Portuguese — especially in professional or formal contexts — you need to know the difference. It’s a small detail that can make a big difference in the quality of your writing.
I have a short video for this lesson — it’s a simple, older video, but it walks you through these examples and helps reinforce what you’ve just learned:
Still unsure if it’s DE, EM, POR, or PARA?
Let’s fix that — and boost your vocabulary and sentence structure along the way.
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