Breakdown of A bateria do meu celular está fraca; vou carregar agora.
estar
to be
agora
now
meu
my
ir
to go (future auxiliary)
do
of the
fraco
weak
o celular
the cell phone
a bateria
the battery
carregar
to charge
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Questions & Answers about A bateria do meu celular está fraca; vou carregar agora.
What does bateria mean here? Is it drums?
Here bateria means the phone’s battery. It can also mean a drum kit in other contexts, but with phones/electronics it’s battery.
What’s the difference between bateria and pilha?
- bateria: rechargeable, built‑in battery (phones, laptops, cars).
- pilha: disposable or removable battery (AA, AAA).
So for a phone, say bateria, not pilha.
Why is it está fraca and not está fraco?
Agreement: bateria is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine too: fraca. If the noun were masculine, you’d use fraco.
Can I say bateria baixa instead of bateria fraca?
Yes. Both are used. bateria fraca is extremely common (you’ll see it in system messages). bateria baixa also sounds natural because the level is low. Either is fine.
Why is it bateria do meu celular? What is do?
do = de + o (a contraction). Literally “the battery of my phone.” You use de to show possession, and it contracts with the definite article.
Could I say bateria de meu celular?
It’s possible, but in Brazil it sounds formal or unusual. bateria do meu celular is the everyday choice.
Why meu celular and not o meu celular?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before the possessive is optional: meu celular or o meu celular. Both are correct; without the article is very common in Brazil.
Is celular the normal word in Brazil? What about telefone or telemóvel?
- Brazil: celular is the default for a mobile phone; telefone is generic (often a landline).
- Portugal: telemóvel is used.
So in Brazil, prefer celular.
Does carregar really mean “to charge” a phone?
Yes. carregar (o celular/a bateria) = to charge. It also means “to carry” or “to load” in other contexts, but for electronics it’s the standard verb for charging.
Should I use recarregar instead of carregar?
For charging a device, carregar is the everyday word. recarregar is also correct but is very common for topping up prepaid phone credit (e.g., recarregar o plano).
Where’s the object in vou carregar agora? Isn’t something missing?
The object (the phone/battery) is understood from context and is often omitted in Portuguese. That’s natural and very common.
Is vou carregá-lo agora correct? What about vou carregar ele agora?
- Formal/standard: vou carregá-lo agora (attach the pronoun to the infinitive with a hyphen).
- Everyday Brazilian speech: vou carregar ele agora is very common.
- Short and natural: vou carregar agora (object omitted) is what you have.
What tense is vou carregar?
It’s the near future: ir (vou) + infinitive = “I’m going to charge.” The simple future carregarei exists but sounds formal/rare in speech.
Are there other natural ways to say this?
Yes:
- A bateria do meu celular está fraca; vou colocar/botar/pôr para carregar agora.
- Meu celular está com a bateria fraca; vou carregar agora.
- A bateria está acabando; vou carregar agora.
Is the semicolon necessary here?
No. You could write:
- A bateria do meu celular está fraca. Vou carregar agora.
- Informally, a comma is often used, but a period or semicolon is better in writing.
Can I move agora? What word orders are natural?
All of these are fine:
- Vou carregar agora.
- Agora vou carregar.
- Vou carregar o celular agora.
Placing agora at the end or the beginning is very natural.
Any pronunciation tips?
- bateria: ba-te-RI-a (stress RI)
- celular: ce-lu-LAR (stress LAR)
- fraca: FRA-ca
- vou: voh
- carregar: ca-heh-GAR (the double rr sounds like an English h)
- agora: a-GO-ra
Any spelling or accent details to watch?
- está has an accent; esta (no accent) means “this” (feminine).
- If you use the clitic form: carregá-lo (accent and hyphen).
- The verb pôr (to put) has an accent; por (by/for) doesn’t: vou pôr para carregar.