Onde is the relative pronoun of place in Portuguese — the single-word equivalent of English where in relative clauses. It replaces the longer em que or no qual when the relative clause describes a location, and it is the natural choice in both speech and writing. "A cidade *onde vivo" (the city *where I live) sounds immediately more idiomatic than "a cidade *em que vivo," though both are grammatical. What elevates *onde from a simple vocabulary item to a real grammatical topic is its interaction with prepositions of movement: de onde (from where), a onde / aonde (to where), por onde (through where). These distinguish direction and aspect in ways that English where does on its own. Mastering these variants is part of what separates casual reading comprehension from real fluency.
What onde does
Onde connects a noun referring to a place to a clause that describes something happening at, in, on, or around that place. The antecedent is some kind of location — a city, a country, a building, a room, a geographical feature, even a metaphorical "place" like a stage of life.
A cidade onde vivo fica no norte de Portugal.
The city where I live is in the north of Portugal.
O restaurante onde jantámos ontem era excelente.
The restaurant where we had dinner yesterday was excellent.
A praia onde costumo ir nas férias chama-se Figueira.
The beach where I usually go on holiday is called Figueira.
A casa onde cresci já não existe.
The house where I grew up no longer exists.
O hospital onde trabalhas é perto do rio.
The hospital where you work is near the river.
Notice how naturally onde slots in. English speakers find it easy to adopt because the positioning and meaning are so similar to where.
Onde is invariable
Like que and quem, onde has a single form. It does not inflect for gender or number, and there is no plural ondes.
Os países onde já vivi são três.
The countries where I've lived are three.
As cidades onde passei as minhas férias são todas costeiras.
The cities where I spent my holidays are all coastal.
Estas são as salas onde se realizarão as entrevistas.
These are the rooms where the interviews will take place.
Onde vs em que vs no qual
These three can all mean "in/at which" referring to a place. The choice is about register and style:
| Form | Register | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| onde | neutral | the default for place |
| em que | neutral | works for place but often redirected |
| no qual / na qual / nos quais / nas quais | formal | elevated, common in writing |
A cidade onde vivo é bonita. (natural, everyday)
The city where I live is beautiful.
A cidade em que vivo é bonita. (also natural, slightly more neutral)
The city in which I live is beautiful.
A cidade na qual vivo é bonita. (formal)
The city in which I live is beautiful.
All three are grammatical. In speech and casual writing, onde wins almost every time. In formal prose, no qual / na qual reclaim some ground, especially when the writer wants stylistic elevation.
Onde for metaphorical "places"
Onde extends easily to figurative or abstract locations — stages of life, points in an argument, situations. This is a small leap, and Portuguese speakers make it all the time.
Chegámos ao ponto onde a discussão se tornou impossível.
We got to the point where the discussion became impossible.
Este é o momento onde temos de tomar uma decisão.
This is the moment where we have to make a decision.
Vivemos numa época onde tudo muda rapidamente.
We live in an age where everything changes quickly.
Purists sometimes prefer em que for abstract "places" (o momento em que, a época em que), but onde is widely accepted in these contexts in modern usage. Some grammar traditionalists draw a line at truly temporal contexts (o dia em que nasceste, not o dia onde), and that distinction is still worth respecting in careful writing.
✅ O dia em que nasceste foi um sábado.
The day you were born was a Saturday. (temporal — 'em que' preferred)
❌ O dia onde nasceste foi um sábado. (less accepted for purely temporal 'day')
Less accepted — for time, use 'em que' or 'no qual'.
Onde with direction: aonde (to where)
Portuguese, unlike modern English, distinguishes between static location (where) and direction toward (to where). The static form is onde; the directional is aonde (or a onde — both spellings are current, with aonde preferred).
A cidade onde vivo é Lisboa. (static — I'm there)
The city where I live is Lisbon.
A cidade aonde vou esta semana é Porto. (direction — I'm going there)
The city where (to where) I'm going this week is Porto.
O lugar aonde quero ir nas férias é o Algarve.
The place (to) where I want to go on holiday is the Algarve.
O restaurante aonde nos levaste ontem era ótimo.
The restaurant you took us to yesterday was great.
Este é o país aonde sonho regressar um dia.
This is the country (to) where I dream of returning someday.
The distinction hinges on the verb:
- Static verbs (viver, estar, ficar, trabalhar, morar) → onde.
- Movement verbs (ir, vir, chegar, regressar, voltar, levar, trazer) → aonde (for direction toward).
A cidade onde trabalho / A cidade aonde vou trabalhar.
The city where I work / The city (to) where I'm going to work.
This distinction is a living part of the grammar, though many Portuguese speakers, especially in casual speech, use plain onde for both — a merger that has already happened in Brazilian Portuguese and is advancing in European Portuguese too. In careful writing and formal speech, the distinction is maintained.
Onde with origin: donde (from where)
There is a parallel distinction for movement from a place: donde (from where), a contraction of de + onde. You also see it written as de onde in modern orthography; both are accepted, and donde has a slightly more literary feel.
O país donde venho é Portugal.
The country I come from is Portugal. (literary)
A cidade de onde saí nunca voltei a ver.
The city I left I never saw again.
A aldeia donde são os meus pais fica perto de Évora.
The village my parents are from is near Évora.
O sítio de onde vem o ruído é o andar de cima.
The place the noise is coming from is the floor above.
In modern everyday speech, de onde is more common than donde, which smells slightly old-fashioned or formal. Both are correct. You will encounter donde often in literature, folk expressions, and more careful speech.
Onde with por and other prepositions
When the movement is through or by way of a place, Portuguese uses por onde:
A estrada por onde passámos é muito estreita.
The road we passed through is very narrow.
O caminho por onde fugiram está agora fechado.
The path they escaped through is now closed.
Os locais por onde circulam os peões estão bem sinalizados.
The places through which pedestrians walk are well-marked.
Other prepositions can also combine with onde, though less commonly:
O local até onde conseguimos chegar foi o cume da montanha.
The place we managed to reach as far as was the summit of the mountain.
A cidade para onde eles se mudaram é Faro.
The city they moved to is Faro. ('para onde' for destination, slightly different from 'aonde')
Onde as a free relative
Like quem, onde can appear without an antecedent, meaning something like wherever or the place where:
Onde tu fores, eu vou também.
Wherever you go, I go too. (future subjunctive 'fores')
Onde há fumo há fogo.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. (proverb)
Podes sentar-te onde quiseres.
You can sit wherever you want. (future subjunctive 'quiseres')
Vai onde quiseres, faz o que quiseres.
Go where you want, do what you want.
Onde não há pão, não há alegria.
Where there's no bread, there's no joy. (proverb)
In this free-relative use, onde frequently triggers the future subjunctive when the location is hypothetical or not yet determined: onde fores, onde quiseres, onde pudermos. This follows the same subjunctive logic as free-relative quem.
Onde for place in indirect questions (different pronoun, same word)
Don't confuse relative onde with interrogative onde (used in direct and indirect questions). They are written identically and share the same etymology, but they play different grammatical roles.
Onde está o João? (direct interrogative)
Where is João?
Não sei onde está o João. (indirect interrogative)
I don't know where João is.
A cidade onde vive o João é Lisboa. (relative — antecedent 'a cidade')
The city where João lives is Lisbon.
The test: if there is a noun antecedent before onde, it's a relative pronoun. If onde introduces a question (direct or indirect), it's interrogative.
Onde and em que in temporal contexts — a closer look
Portuguese grammar is more flexible about onde for quasi-spatial contexts (stages, moments, situations) than for strictly temporal ones. A useful distinction:
- Situations, stages, phases, points — onde is widely accepted.
- Dates, days, years, specific moments in time — em que is the traditional choice.
Vivemos num tempo onde as redes sociais dominam.
We live in a time where social media dominate. (informal; purists prefer 'em que')
Vivemos num tempo em que as redes sociais dominam.
We live in a time in which social media dominate. (traditional)
O ano em que o Pedro nasceu foi 1985.
The year Pedro was born was 1985. (strictly temporal — 'em que' preferred)
O dia em que nos conhecemos foi chuvoso.
The day we met was rainy.
The em que / onde boundary here is genuinely a style choice — a point where grammars disagree and speakers vary. Following the convention above (spatial → onde, temporal → em que) gives you prose that nobody can criticize.
Contraction and spelling reminders
A few orthographic reminders that trip up learners:
- aonde is written as one word. The older spelling a onde is still sometimes seen but is less standard.
- donde is also one word; de onde is the unfused version. Both are accepted in current orthography.
- Neither por onde nor para onde contracts — always two words.
- There is no noonde (em + onde). If you want to say "in the place where," it's no sítio onde or no lugar onde.
A cidade aonde vou é Porto. (single word: aonde)
The city (to) where I'm going is Porto.
O lugar donde venho fica longe. (single word: donde)
The place I come from is far away.
O caminho por onde passo todos os dias está em obras. (two words: por onde)
The path I walk every day is under construction.
Comparison with English
English collapses the directional distinctions. Where covers static location (the city where I live), destination (the city where I'm going), and origin (the city where I come from) — all the same word. Portuguese treats these separately: onde, aonde, donde. Think of it as the same pattern you see in standalone adverbs: English here covers both aqui (static) and aqui (direction); Portuguese has aqui and cá and signals direction with prepositions.
| English | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| the city where I live | a cidade onde vivo |
| the city where I'm going | a cidade aonde vou |
| the city where I come from | a cidade donde venho / de onde venho |
| the road where I drove through | a estrada por onde passei |
| the year when I was born | o ano em que nasci (not onde) |
| wherever you want | onde quiseres (future subjunctive) |
Common mistakes
❌ A cidade que vivo é Lisboa.
Incorrect — 'que' alone can't carry the 'in' meaning. Use 'onde' or 'em que'.
✅ A cidade onde vivo é Lisboa.
The city where I live is Lisbon.
❌ A cidade onde vou esta semana é Porto. (direction, but static form)
In careful speech, use 'aonde' for direction.
✅ A cidade aonde vou esta semana é Porto.
The city (to) where I'm going this week is Porto.
❌ O país onde venho é Portugal. (origin, but static form)
Incorrect — origin needs 'de onde' or 'donde'.
✅ O país de onde venho é Portugal.
The country I come from is Portugal.
❌ O dia onde nos conhecemos foi chuvoso. (temporal)
For 'day' and other strictly temporal antecedents, prefer 'em que'.
✅ O dia em que nos conhecemos foi chuvoso.
The day we met was rainy.
❌ A pessoa onde falei não se lembra de mim. (person)
'Onde' is for places, not people. Use 'com quem falei'.
✅ A pessoa com quem falei não se lembra de mim.
The person I spoke to doesn't remember me.
❌ A onde vais? (incorrect spelling as separate words in this register)
Standard modern orthography writes 'aonde' as one word.
✅ Aonde vais?
Where are you going?
❌ Eu não sei aonde vive ela. (static verb with directional form)
'Viver' is static — use 'onde'.
✅ Eu não sei onde vive ela.
I don't know where she lives.
Key takeaways
- Onde is the relative pronoun of place — the natural equivalent of English where in relative clauses.
- It is invariable — one form for all genders and numbers.
- It replaces the longer em que or no qual and is preferred in speech and most writing.
- Directional forms: aonde (to), donde / de onde (from), por onde (through). These are genuinely distinct; mixing them up sounds odd.
- For strictly temporal antecedents (days, years), prefer em que — reserve onde for spatial and quasi-spatial contexts.
- Onde can also function as a free relative meaning wherever or the place where, often triggering the future subjunctive.
- Don't confuse relative onde with interrogative onde (used in questions) — same word, different function.
- Never use onde for people or things that aren't places.
Related Topics
- Relative Pronoun Que (The Most Common)A2 — The workhorse relative pronoun of Portuguese — used for people, things, and concepts, as subject or direct object of the relative clause
- Relative Pronoun O Qual / A Qual (Formal with Prepositions)B2 — The variable, formal relative pronoun that agrees in gender and number — used mainly after prepositions and to resolve ambiguity
- Relative Pronoun Quem (Referring to People)B1 — The relative pronoun used specifically for people — mostly after prepositions or as a free relative meaning 'whoever'
- Relative Pronoun Cujo (Whose — Possession)B2 — The possessive relative pronoun — agrees with the thing possessed, not the possessor. Formal and rare in speech.
- Pronouns After Prepositions (Mim, Ti, Si, Ele, Ela...)A2 — The full paradigm of prepositional pronouns in European Portuguese — mim, ti, si, ele, ela, nós, vós, eles, elas — and how they work after every preposition except 'com'