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A água está fria ou quente?

A água está fria ou quente?
Is the water cold or hot?
FromLesson 2inHardcore Portuguese (Brazil)

Breakdown of A água está fria ou quente?

estar
to be
a água
the water
frio
cold
ou
or
quente
hot

Questions & Answers about A água está fria ou quente?

Why is there an A before água?
In Portuguese, nouns typically come with a definite article (o for masculine words and a for feminine words). Água is feminine, so we use a. This tells you that we are talking about a specific body of water, rather than just water in general.
Why do people say está in this question rather than é?
In Portuguese, estar is used to talk about temporary states or conditions—like water temperature—while ser is used for more permanent or inherent characteristics. Since temperature can change, está sounds more natural here.
What’s the difference between fria and frio?
Frio and fria both mean cold, but the form must match the gender of the noun. Since água is a feminine noun, you use the feminine form fria. If you were describing something masculine (like café), you would use frio.
How do I pronounce quente correctly?
It’s usually pronounced something like KEN-chee in Brazilian Portuguese. The QU sounds like K, the E is the open É sound, and TE has that chee sound, thanks to Brazilian Portuguese’s tendency to soften t before an e or i.
Why do we use ou instead of repeating está in this sentence?
In Portuguese, you usually don’t repeat the verb if it’s understood to apply to both options. So you can say A água está fria ou quente? without restating está. It sounds more natural and keeps the question concise.
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