Imagine that you are having dinner with a good friend and you want to treat your friend. Your server has just brought the check and your friend is reaching for her wallet. The following dialogue happens:

You: It’s on me today.

Friend: No, you don’t need to do this. Let’s split the bill.

You: No; I insist.

How would you say this in Portuguese? Let me show you the best way to do it.

Let’s see how the dialogue above would go in Portuguese. It will be useful when you are meeting Brazilian friends.

You: Hoje é por minha conta.

Friend: Não, não precisa. Vamos dividir a conta.

You: Não; eu faço questão.

1. É por minha conta

This is how you say “It’s on me.”

The phrase is: ser por conta.

Below are additional examples using the phrase ser por conta with different conjugations. Notice that you need the preposition de, or one of its contractions, after the phrase and before the person who is paying for it.

Example 1:

Mila: A gente vai comemorar o aniversário da minha mãe num hotel fantástico em Porto de Galinhas. Vai a família toda.

Rosa: Vai ser caro! E você está lisa.

Mila: Vai ser tudo por conta do meu pai.

Translation:

Mila: We’re going to celebrate my mom’s birthday in a fantastic hotel in Porto de Galinhas. The whole family is coming.

Rosa: It will be expensive! And you are broke.

Mila: It will be on my dad.

Example 2:

Clóvis: Esse restaurante é super famoso. Vou aproveitar para tomar um bom vinho já que é por conta da empresa.

Translation:

Clóvis: This restaurant is very famous. I will take the opportunity to have a good wine since it is on the company.

• Learn the present tense of the verb Ser with our free flashcard app for Android devices.

2. Faço questão

This is how you say “I insist” in situations in which someone insists on doing something for someone else.

Below are a couple of additional examples in different situations and using the phrase with different conjugations. Notice that you use this phrase with the preposition de:

Example 1:

Cris: Os pais da Mila são muito animados. Eles sempre fazem questão de juntar os amigos e a família para celebrar datas especiais.

Translation:

Cris: Mila’s parents are a lot of fun. They always insist on getting friends and family together to celebrate special dates.

Example 2:

Clara: Como você voltou pra casa ontem?

Bianca: O João fez questão de me dar uma carona.

Translation:

Clara: How did you go home yesterday?

Bianca: João insisted on giving me a ride.

• Learn the present and past tenses of the verb Fazer with our flashcard app for Android devices.

I hope you enjoy speaking Portuguese like a Brazilian with your news phrases 🙂