These little words cause a lot of trouble to language learners. Em, No, Na are prepositions. In this lesson you will understand what they mean and when to use each one.
The meaning of Em
Em = in, on, at
For example:
- Eu estou em casa. = I’m at home.
- Em que estado você mora? = In what state do you live?
- Os preços subiram em média 6% em 2016. = Prices increased on average 6% in 2016.
Unfortunately things are not always that simple, as I’m sure you know. There are two things that add a little complexity to this picture:
- In Portuguese, prepositions agree in gender and number with the word that they refer to.
- In Portuguese, we contract the preposition Em with definite articles.
Before you panic, let me show you examples to make this clear:
Example 1:
The book is on the table.
In this sentence, you have:
- The preposition On, which in Portuguese is: Em
- The definite article The, which is Portuguese is: A (because table is a feminine noun)
As I said before, in Portuguese you need to contract the preposition Em with the article A. So you have:
- em + a = na
Therefore, we have:
- The book is on the table. = O livro está na mesa.
It seems like a lot to think about, but this is all going to be in autopilot in your brain soon enough.
Then what is Na?
Na = em + a = at the, in the, on the, used for feminine words
Here are examples, including one with the plural version Nas:
- Maria está na praia. = Maria is at the beach.
- O gato está na cama. = The cat in on the bed.
- O leite está na geladeira. = The milk is in the fridge.
- Ela está sempre com a cabeça nas nuvens. = She is always with her head in the clouds.
How about No?
No = em + o = at the, in the, on the, used for masculine words
Here are examples, including one with the plural version Nos:
- Tinha muita gente no show. = There were a lot of people at the concert.
- Meu casaco está no guarda-roupa. = My coat is in the wardrobe.
- Eu moro no terceiro andar. = I live on the third floor.
- Não sei o que fazer nos últimos dias das minhas férias. = I don’t know what to do on the last days of my vacation.
What you should use with the months of the year
I often hear Portuguese speakers using No with the months of the year. This is incorrect. We use Em instead. Here are examples:
- Meu aniversário é em setembro. = My birthday is in September.
- Vou fazer uma viagem em março. = I’m going on a trip in March.
Check out my video lesson on the months of the year.
Also visit this lesson on articles and prepositions to use with the months of the year.
What you should use with cities and countries
This one is a little tricky since countries in Portuguese have a gender. I have a whole lesson on this topic. Visit the lesson here.
Is that all?
Well, not really. There are different situations that may raise questions.
For example, sometimes you wouldn’t use the definite article in English, but we use it in Portuguese. In these cases, you may tend to go with Em when the correct option would be No or Na. For example:
- As pessoas dão presentes no Natal. = People give gifts at Christmas.
There are also cases in which we use the prepositions Em, Na, No meaning different things in English other than in, on, at.
Today I wanted to help you understand the basic reasoning behind the use of em, no, na in Portuguese because having a solid foundation will make it easier to add complexity as you advance your Portuguese. I hope today’s lesson will help you speak Portuguese with more confidence.
You know that practice makes it perfect, right? Advance your Portuguese with a Street Smart Brazil instructor!
Hi my name is Sandra and I just started learning Portuguese. Can you explain how to know which pronoun “em/ de” is to be used with este, esse and aquela? I know how to form the words like deste, naquele etc but I can never figure out when to use em or de.
Oi, Sandra! I will give you a starting point to feel more comfortable with EM and DE:
EM = in, on at
EG:
O livro está NESSA gaveta. = The book is IN THIS drawer.
DE = from; of
Eg:
Eu não sou DESSA cidade. = I am not FROM THIS city.
O nome DAQUELA garota é Maria. = The name OF THAT girl is Maria.
Does that help?
Yes please.
Thank you very much
Hello ,thanks for the teaching ,l have a friend in Brazil ,and l am in Ghana the language barrier is trying to cut our friendship ,becos we can’t speak one on one ,everyday l had to translate and am getting bored….what should l do…
That’s a tough question. The language barrier is real. I hope you continue learning Portuguese.
I have been studying Portugues for 3 years and 3 months and am in Santos Brasil for the 13th time visiting my girlfriend and I didn’t understand what no na and em meant until now. It had been confusing me along with many other things. I still can’t converse yet which is frustrating. I can’t understand what people are saying or even understand written sentences yet. Are there people that can’t ever learn a second language? I’ve never had problems learning before and score very high on English tests. Any thoughts? Thanks. Pat
My recommendation is to buy a textbook that has audio exercises to develop your listening comprehension with those. I have a review on different books here: https://streetsmartbrazil.com/books-study-portuguese/
I do that already along with books, videos, vídeo courses, audio courses and teachers. When I hear people speak I have to translate every word which is difficult when I can’t understand what the people are saying. I might get the first word or two. My girlfriend in Brasil gets angry when I can’t understand her so she only speaks English with me. It’s very frustrating
Thank you again for this lesson and many others. I have learned a great deal from you. You are an excellent instructor!
Muito obrigada, Alan!
My only question is…
Why do we say “NO RIO” (de janeiro)
and…
“EM SÃO PAULO” ??
Cities are usually gender neutral, so you use EM. However, Rio means river. And rio is a masculine word: O rio = the river. Therefore, you say No Rio.
Thank you for sharing this information! It is really helpful.
muito obrigado. My name is siva, i am from India. i want to learn full time Portuguese course. can you give the tentative budget.
Oi, Siva
Our rates vary with the number of lessons purchased. You can see all our options here:
https://streetsmartbrazil.com/shop/portuguese-fluency/
We currently have a sale on packages of 10 hours. You will see it in the link above.
Please email us if you have any further questions: info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Obrigada.