• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Understand How to Use Em, No, Na in Portuguese

Understand How to Use Em, No, Na in Portuguese

posted on April 7, 2017

Em, No, Na: Learn how to use these in Portuguese

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:

  1. Eu estou em casa. = I’m at home.
  2. Em que estado você mora? = In what state do you live?
  3. 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:

  1. In Portuguese, prepositions agree in gender and number with the word that they refer to.
  2. 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:

  1. The preposition On, which in Portuguese is: Em
  2. 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:

  1. 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:

  1. Maria está na praia. = Maria is at the beach.
  2. O gato está na cama. = The cat in on the bed.
  3. O leite está na geladeira. = The milk is in the fridge.
  4. 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:

  1. Tinha muita gente no show. = There were a lot of people at the concert.
  2. Meu casaco está no guarda-roupa. = My coat is in the wardrobe.
  3. Eu moro no terceiro andar. = I live on the third floor.
  4. 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:

  1. Meu aniversário é em setembro. = My birthday is in September.
  2. 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!

Brazilian Portuguese lessons via Skype

 

Share ... Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email

Related Posts:

  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • Easter Vocabulary in Portuguese - Portuguese Lesson
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandra

    October 1, 2020 at 12:38 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      October 1, 2020 at 2:10 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Sandra Cumberbatch

        October 1, 2020 at 3:07 pm

        Yes please.
        Thank you very much

        Reply
  2. Hededzi Gideon

    March 17, 2018 at 7:31 am

    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…

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      March 17, 2018 at 9:34 am

      That’s a tough question. The language barrier is real. I hope you continue learning Portuguese.

      Reply
    • David Tonner

      September 2, 2021 at 7:14 am

      If you are both learning English, that would be a common language for your friendship.

      Reply
  3. Patrick O'Rourke

    November 30, 2017 at 8:36 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      December 10, 2017 at 10:44 am

      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/

      Reply
      • Patrick O'Rourke

        December 10, 2017 at 4:12 pm

        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

        Reply
  4. Alan Merle Weber

    July 9, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    Thank you again for this lesson and many others. I have learned a great deal from you. You are an excellent instructor!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 10, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      Muito obrigada, Alan!

      Reply
  5. Bob Loucks

    July 9, 2017 at 9:44 am

    My only question is…
    Why do we say “NO RIO” (de janeiro)
    and…
    “EM SÃO PAULO” ??

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      July 10, 2017 at 3:05 pm

      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.

      Reply
  6. BradThompson

    April 10, 2017 at 3:23 am

    Thank you for sharing this information! It is really helpful.

    Reply
  7. siva

    April 9, 2017 at 11:44 pm

    muito obrigado. My name is siva, i am from India. i want to learn full time Portuguese course. can you give the tentative budget.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 10, 2017 at 3:27 pm

      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.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Street Smart Brazil has a wonderful program for teaching Brazilian Portuguese. All the teachers are professional, nice and a lot of fun to learn from. You learn a lot about everyday slang that is use… Read more
Davina
Street Smart Brazil is the best lessons you can get for such an affordable price. I was initially skeptical about doing virtual Portuguese classes, but after doing the trial class, I learned that Stre… Read more
Alexis
Street Smart Brazil has impressed me. Not only will your Brazilian Portuguese improve under their instruction but you will learn a lot about Brazilian culture.
Naomi
The web class is a unique setup. When I first heard about it I thought it would be too weird to try to do something so personal and interactive as a foreign language online. Now I am sort of devotee. … Read more
John

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • War Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • Valentine’s Day in Brazil – Dia dos Namorados

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/Q8ONwVoTG9M

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Preparation Course

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2022 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved | Website by Web Savvy Marketing