Adverbs of manner answer the question como? — how is the action being done? They cover the full range from one-word staples like bem and mal to long -mente adverbs like cuidadosamente, and, crucially in European Portuguese, a whole parallel system of prepositional phrases (com cuidado, à pressa, em silêncio) that native speakers reach for more often than the neat -mente forms.
This page maps the territory: the core invariable adverbs you must know by A2, the -mente family and when to prefer the prepositional equivalent, and a handful of idiomatic adverbial phrases — some of them distinctly PT-PT — that instantly make your speech sound more Portuguese.
The two irregular core adverbs: bem and mal
Bem (well) and mal (badly) are the oldest and most frequent manner adverbs in the language. They are irregular: they do not take -mente, and they do not share a root with bom and mau. Learners who try to say bonamente or maumente are inventing words.
Ela canta muito bem, vale a pena ir ao concerto.
She sings really well — the concert is worth going to.
O miúdo dorme mal desde que começaram as aulas.
The kid has been sleeping badly since classes started.
Falas português bem melhor do que há um ano.
You speak Portuguese much better than a year ago.
Their comparatives are also irregular: bem → melhor (better), mal → pior (worse). These are adverbs, not adjectives, when they modify a verb.
Hoje ela sente-se melhor do que ontem.
Today she's feeling better than yesterday.
Este telemóvel funciona pior desde a última atualização.
This phone has been working worse since the latest update.
The key distinction: bem/mal vs bom/mau
This is the single biggest trap. Bom / mau are adjectives (describing a noun); bem / mal are adverbs (describing a verb, an adjective, or another adverb). English blurs this — "he sings good" is something learners carry over and say as canta bom, which is wrong.
Ele é um bom cantor e canta muito bem.
He's a good singer and sings very well. (bom = adjective, bem = adverb)
Foi um mau filme e estava mal dobrado.
It was a bad film and was badly dubbed. (mau = adjective, mal = adverb)
Assim — the workhorse you cannot skip
Assim (thus, like this, in this way, so) is one of the most frequent adverbs in spoken PT-PT. It has no real one-word English equivalent — sometimes like this, sometimes so, sometimes that way — and it gestures toward a manner that has just been shown, described, or is about to be.
Faz assim, ó filho: pega no lápis e desenha um círculo.
Do it like this, sweetie: take the pencil and draw a circle.
Se me falas assim, não te respondo.
If you talk to me that way, I won't answer you.
Assim é que é!
That's the way! (a PT-PT expression of approval)
Não foi bem assim que aconteceu.
That's not exactly how it happened.
Note the fixed expression assim-assim (so-so, mediocre), and the connective assim que (as soon as).
— Como correu o exame? — Assim-assim, acho que passei à tangente.
— How did the exam go? — So-so, I think I just about passed.
Assim que chegares, liga-me.
As soon as you arrive, call me.
Devagar, depressa, rápido
These three cover slowly and quickly. They are all adverbs, but they behave slightly differently.
- devagar — slowly. Invariable. The default PT-PT word for slowly in speech.
- depressa — quickly, in a hurry. Invariable. Extremely common in everyday PT-PT, more so than in BR.
- rápido — quickly, fast. Formally an adjective but widely used as an adverb in modern speech. Stays in the masculine singular when used adverbially.
Fala mais devagar, por favor, ainda não percebi.
Speak more slowly, please — I didn't quite catch that.
Vem cá depressa, está a acontecer uma coisa na rua!
Come here quickly, something's happening out in the street!
Ele corre muito rápido para a idade dele.
He runs very fast for his age.
The comparative is mais devagar / mais depressa / mais rápido — there is no irregular form.
Preciso de ir mais depressa, senão perco o comboio.
I need to go faster, otherwise I'll miss the train.
The -mente family
Portuguese forms regular manner adverbs by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of an adjective. If the adjective has the same masculine and feminine form, just add -mente to it directly.
| Adjective | Feminine | Adverb | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| rápido | rápida | rapidamente | quickly |
| lento | lenta | lentamente | slowly |
| cuidadoso | cuidadosa | cuidadosamente | carefully |
| fácil | fácil | facilmente | easily |
| difícil | difícil | dificilmente | hardly, with difficulty |
| simples | simples | simplesmente | simply |
| frequente | frequente | frequentemente | frequently |
Note that the accent on the original adjective is dropped in the adverb: rápido → rapidamente, fácil → facilmente. The main stress in -mente adverbs falls on the men-, but a secondary stress is kept where the original adjective was stressed.
Ela respondeu cuidadosamente, pesando cada palavra.
She answered carefully, weighing every word.
Consigo perceber-te facilmente quando falas devagar.
I can understand you easily when you speak slowly.
Dificilmente encontramos estacionamento ao sábado à tarde.
We rarely find parking on Saturday afternoons. (lit. 'with difficulty we find...')
Note that dificilmente has slid toward hardly / scarcely rather than the literal with difficulty — a small semantic quirk worth memorizing.
PT-PT prefers prepositional phrases
This is the single most useful insight on this page. European Portuguese speakers often prefer a prepositional phrase (com + noun, em + noun, a + noun) where English would use an adverb. Stringing together long -mente adverbs can sound overwritten in speech; the prepositional phrase is the everyday choice.
| -mente adverb | Prepositional equivalent | English |
|---|---|---|
| cuidadosamente | com cuidado | carefully |
| pacientemente | com paciência | patiently |
| atentamente | com atenção | attentively |
| silenciosamente | em silêncio | silently |
| apressadamente | à pressa | hurriedly |
| calmamente | com calma | calmly |
| rigorosamente | com rigor | rigorously |
Fiz o trabalho com cuidado para não me enganar.
I did the work carefully so I wouldn't make a mistake.
Estuda com calma, ainda tens tempo.
Study calmly — you still have time.
Saíram em silêncio para não acordar o bebé.
They went out silently so as not to wake the baby.
Fiz tudo à pressa e agora tenho de voltar a fazer.
I did everything in a rush and now I have to do it over.
Adverbial phrases with prepositions — the idiomatic core
Beyond the com + noun pattern, Portuguese has a rich stock of fixed adverbial phrases. The following are high-frequency PT-PT staples that every A2 learner should recognize and most should use:
| Phrase | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| de repente | suddenly | neutral |
| de propósito | on purpose | neutral |
| à toa | aimlessly, for nothing, randomly | informal |
| ao calhas | at random, haphazardly | PT-PT informal |
| às cegas | blindly | neutral |
| a sério | seriously, for real | neutral |
| a brincar | jokingly, not seriously | neutral |
| de cor | by heart | neutral |
| aos poucos / pouco a pouco | little by little | neutral |
| de mãos dadas | hand in hand | neutral |
De repente começou a chover a cântaros.
Suddenly it started pouring rain.
Ele fez ao calhas e acertou!
He did it at random and got it right! (distinctly PT-PT)
Não fales à toa, pensa antes de falar.
Don't talk for the sake of talking — think before you speak.
Estás a dizer isso a sério ou a brincar?
Are you saying that seriously or joking?
Aprendi o poema de cor em duas horas.
I learned the poem by heart in two hours.
Ele avança às cegas nesta história, não sabe em que se meteu.
He's going in blind on this — he has no idea what he's got into.
Comparatives: mais/menos + adverb + (do) que
To compare how two actions are performed, use mais or menos before the adverb, followed by do que (more careful) or que (more colloquial, standard before numerals).
Ela escreve mais rapidamente do que eu.
She writes more quickly than I do.
O meu avô anda mais devagar do que antes.
My grandfather walks more slowly than before.
Isto faz-se mais facilmente que parece.
This is done more easily than it seems.
The irregular pair bem → melhor / mal → pior applies here too, and you never say mais bem or mais mal in everyday speech (see our comparative adverbs page for the one exception with past participles).
Fala inglês melhor do que português.
He speaks English better than Portuguese.
Hoje dormi pior do que ontem.
I slept worse today than yesterday.
Position of manner adverbs
Manner adverbs typically go after the verb in PT-PT — this is the default and the safest placement. Clause-final position is also very common. They rarely go between subject and verb.
Ele trabalha bem em equipa.
He works well on a team. (default: verb + adverb)
O miúdo comeu a sopa depressa.
The kid ate the soup quickly. (clause-final)
Respondeu à pergunta com muito cuidado.
She answered the question very carefully. (prepositional phrase, clause-final)
When the verb has auxiliaries, the manner adverb typically goes after the full verb phrase or between the auxiliary and the main verb: tem trabalhado muito bem or tem trabalhado bem. See Adverb Placement Rules for the full picture.
Common mistakes
❌ Ele canta bom.
Incorrect — 'sings' requires an adverb, not an adjective.
✅ Ele canta bem.
He sings well.
❌ Isto está escrito mau.
Incorrect — 'written' is modified by an adverb: *mal*, not *mau*.
✅ Isto está mal escrito.
This is badly written.
❌ Fala mais devagarmente.
Incorrect — *devagar* is already an adverb and has no *-mente* form.
✅ Fala mais devagar.
Speak more slowly.
❌ Ela respondeu mais bem do que eu esperava.
Incorrect — *mais bem* is not the default comparative of *bem*. Use *melhor*.
✅ Ela respondeu melhor do que eu esperava.
She answered better than I expected.
❌ Fi-lo cuidadosamente e silenciosamente e rapidamente.
Stylistically awful — stacking *-mente* adverbs is discouraged. Use prepositional phrases or attach *-mente* only to the last.
✅ Fi-lo com cuidado, em silêncio e depressa.
I did it carefully, silently and quickly.
❌ Correu rapidamentemente.
Impossible word — adverbs never take *-mente* twice.
✅ Correu rapidamente.
He ran quickly.
❌ Ela fez o trabalho bom.
Intended as 'did the work well' — but *bom* here would mean 'a good work' (adjective), not 'well'. Use *bem*.
✅ Ela fez o trabalho bem.
She did the work well.
❌ Ele respondeu cuidadoso.
*Cuidadoso* is an adjective and would need to describe the speaker: *he was careful*. For the manner of answering, use the adverb or the phrase.
✅ Ele respondeu com cuidado.
He answered carefully.
Key takeaways
- Bem and mal are irregular: no -mente, no bonamente. Their comparatives are melhor and pior.
- Bom/mau are adjectives, bem/mal are adverbs — the English "he sings good" trap is the commonest A2 error.
- Assim has no clean English gloss but is indispensable in PT-PT.
- Devagar, depressa and (colloquial) rápido cover slow and fast. Devagarmente does not exist.
- -mente adverbs are fine in writing, but PT-PT speech prefers prepositional phrases (com cuidado, em silêncio, à pressa).
- Keep a mental list of fixed adverbial phrases — de repente, a sério, à toa, ao calhas, de cor. They are the adverbs you sound most Portuguese using.
Related Topics
- Adverbs OverviewA2 — Introduction to Portuguese adverbs — what they are, the main semantic classes, how they are formed, and how European Portuguese adverbs differ from their English equivalents.
- Forming Adverbs with -menteA2 — How to build manner adverbs from adjectives in Portuguese — the feminine-adjective rule, accent loss, the list trick, and the -mente words that do not mean what you think.
- Adverb Placement RulesA2 — Where Portuguese adverbs actually go, organised by type — manner, frequency, time, place, degree, and sentence adverbs — with the practical defaults, the allowed alternatives, and the mistakes English speakers make most often.
- Comparative and Superlative AdverbsB1 — Comparing actions in Portuguese — mais/menos/tão ... do que/como, the irregular pairs melhor/pior, correlative constructions with quanto mais, and the PT-PT natural o mais depressa possível.
- Adverbial PhrasesB1 — Multi-word adverbial expressions (locuções adverbiais) in European Portuguese — how they are built, the most common ones by category, when they replace -mente adverbs, and the colloquial reflex that makes PT-PT speech sound native.
- Adverbs vs Adjectives: Common ConfusionsB1 — When to use the adverb form and when the adjective in European Portuguese — bem vs bom, the invariable adverbial use of alto, baixo, and rápido, the English-to-Portuguese mismatches, and the places English speakers consistently trip up.