Como (How)

Como is the how word, and it's one of the hardest-working little words in Brazilian Portuguese. Beyond asking how something is done, it does jobs that English spreads across several different words: it's how you politely say "Pardon?", it powers the everyday "Como assim?" ("What do you mean?"), it forms comparisons ("white as snow"), and it can even introduce a reason ("Since you're here..."). Learning the full range of como unlocks a lot of natural-sounding conversation fast.

Como as a question: manner

The core meaning is how — by what means, in what manner, in what state.

Como você está? is the standard, everyday "how are you" — and it's worth a register note. It's slightly more formal and complete than the ultra-casual Tudo bem? (literally "all good?"), which is the most common greeting of all among friends. Como você está? shows a touch more care or formality — what you'd say to someone you don't know well, or when you genuinely want an answer.

You'll also constantly hear Como vai? ("How's it going?") and the very Brazilian Como tá? (a clipped, spoken reduction of Como está?).

A second extremely useful pattern is Como se diz...? — "How do you say...?" — the single most valuable phrase for a learner.

Como? on its own: "Pardon? / Come again?"

When you didn't catch what someone said, the polite way to ask them to repeat is a single rising-intonation Como? — exactly English "Sorry?" or "Pardon?".

This is a genuinely important politeness point. The blunt alternative O quê? ("What?") works but can sound abrupt or even rude, much like barking "What?!" in English. Como? is the softer, more courteous choice and is appropriate in almost any situation. There's also the very polite Como assim? for when you understood the words but not the meaning (see below), and the more formal Como, por favor? or Desculpa, como?.

Como assim? — "What do you mean?"

Como assim? (literally "how like-that?") asks for clarification of meaning, not of the sound — "what do you mean by that?", "how so?". It often carries surprise or mild disbelief.

Como é que...? — adding emphasis

Inserting é que turns a plain como question into a more emphatic, often slightly incredulous one — "how on earth / how exactly". It's informal and very common in speech.

This ... é que device works with all the question words (o que é que, quando é que, por que é que); it adds emphasis without changing the literal question. In rapid speech people often reduce it to just que: "Como que você fez isso?" — understood, but reserve the full form for writing.

Como beyond questions: comparison and cause

Como isn't only a question word. As a conjunction it has two big non-question lives, both worth recognizing.

Comparison — "as / like." This is the como of similes and "do it like this."

Cause — "since / as," at the start of a sentence. When como opens a sentence, it usually means since / as (giving a reason), and the reason-clause comes first. This is a more careful, slightly formal register.

Notice the contrast with porque: porque states a reason after the main clause ("A gente cancelou porque estava chovendo"), while sentence-initial como front-loads the reason. English does the same with sentence-initial since/as versus because.

Como se — "as if" (+ imperfect subjunctive)

The set phrase como se means as if, and it always takes the imperfect subjunctive, because it introduces something contrary to fact.

The logic is the same as English "as if I were" — a deliberately unreal, hypothetical comparison — except Portuguese marks it with the imperfect subjunctive (soubesse, fosse) rather than the special English subjunctive were.

Common Mistakes

A trap from translating word-for-word. Como é você? uses ser and asks about permanent character ("what are you like?"). For the greeting "how are you," you need estar: Como você está? (or Como vai?).

Defaulting to O quê? to mean "pardon?" can come across as abrupt. The polite, neutral choice for asking someone to repeat is Como?.

Como se ("as if") describes something unreal, so it must trigger the imperfect subjunctive (soubesse), never the indicative (sabe).

When you intend the causal "since," sentence-initial Como... must be followed by the consequence clause, not a question mark. Without the second clause it reads as a stray "how was it raining?".

Key Takeaways

• como = how for manner questions (Como funciona? Como você está?).
• Standalone Como? = the polite "Pardon?" — gentler than O quê?.
• Como assim? = "What do you mean?"; como é que...? adds emphasis (informal).
• As a conjunction: como = as/like (comparison) and, sentence-initially, since/as (cause).
• como se = as if, and it always takes the imperfect subjunctive.