Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Neste momento eu quero descansar.

agora = now, right now, in general everyday speech.
neste momento = a bit more explicit / slightly more formal, often used to focus on the current point in time, sometimes in explanations, speeches, or more careful speech.

In many everyday situations, you could replace neste momento with agora with no real change in meaning:

Neste momento eu quero descansar.
Agora eu quero descansar.

Both are fine and natural in Brazilian Portuguese.

Why is it neste and not nesse or naquele?

Neste, nesse, and naquele all come from em + este/esse/aquele:

em + este → neste (this, very close to the speaker, in time or space)
em + esse → nesse (that, a bit more distant or already mentioned)
em + aquele → naquele (that over there, more distant in time or space)

For time expressions:

neste momento = right now, at this present moment.
nesse momento = in that moment (often when talking about a specific past situation).
naquele momento = at that moment (back then), usually more distant in time, often in storytelling.

So:

Talking about right now: Neste momento eu quero descansar.
Talking about a past scene: Naquele momento eu queria descansar.

Can I also say Eu quero descansar neste momento? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, the word order is flexible. Both are correct:

Neste momento eu quero descansar.
Eu quero descansar neste momento.

Differences:

Starting with Neste momento slightly emphasizes the time (right now).
Starting with Eu emphasizes the subject.

In normal conversation, you’ll also often hear:

Agora eu quero descansar.
Eu quero descansar agora.

All of these are natural.

Do I have to say eu, or can I just say Neste momento quero descansar?

You can omit eu:

Neste momento quero descansar.

Portuguese verb endings already show the subject (quero = I want), so the pronoun is often dropped. Including eu can add:

emphasis: Eu quero descansar (as opposed to someone else),
or just a more explicit, sometimes slightly clearer or more careful tone.

Both:

Eu quero descansar.
Quero descansar.

are very common and natural.

Why is it quero descansar instead of something like quero descanso?

In Portuguese, when you talk about wanting to do something, you usually use querer + infinitive:

quero descansar = I want to rest.
quero sair = I want to go out.
quero comer = I want to eat.

Descanso is a noun (rest, break), so:

quero descanso = I want rest / I want a break.

That’s grammatically correct, but it sounds more like a general wish (e.g., I want peace and quiet in my life), not so much I want to lie down right now. For the idea of “resting right now,” quero descansar is the normal choice.

Could I say quero me descansar like in some languages that use a reflexive verb?

In Brazilian Portuguese, you almost never say me descansar. The natural form is just:

quero descansar (I want to rest).

Descansar-se does exist grammatically, but it’s rare in everyday Brazilian speech and can sound odd or overly formal/literary. So:

✅ Eu quero descansar.
❌ Eu quero me descansar. (sounds wrong/weird in Brazil)

Is Neste momento eu quero descansar formal, informal, or neutral? Are there more casual ways to say it?

The sentence is neutral and perfectly fine in both spoken and written Portuguese.

More casual ways to express a similar idea:

Agora eu quero descansar um pouco. – Now I want to rest a bit.
Agora eu quero dar uma descansada. – Very colloquial; literally “I want to give a rest.”
Tô afim de descansar agora. – Colloquial: “I feel like resting now.”
Agora eu só quero descansar. – “Right now I just want to rest.”

Your original sentence is clear, natural, and not stiff; it just sounds a bit more “textbook neutral” than slangy.

Could I use estou querendo descansar instead of eu quero descansar? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both:

Eu quero descansar.
Eu estou querendo descansar.

Both are acceptable. Differences in nuance:

Eu quero descansar. – Simple statement of desire: I want to rest.
Eu estou querendo descansar. – Often adds a feeling of ongoing desire or mood, sometimes softer or less direct, like I’ve been kind of wanting to rest / I’m in the mood to rest.

In many contexts, Brazilians use both interchangeably, but quero descansar is more straightforward.

What are some pronunciation tips for this sentence for English speakers?

Key points:

Neste – roughly “NESH-chee” in Brazilian Portuguese.
- e in the first syllable like “eh” in “bet”.
- The t before e often sounds like “ch” in Brazil: NESH-chee.
momento
- Stress on -MEN-: mo-MEN-to.
- The final -to is clear “toh”, not reduced like in English.
eu
- Sounds like one syllable: something like “eh-oo” blended → “ew”.
- Often very short and light in fast speech.
quero
- que like “keh”.
- r between vowels is a quick flap, similar to the American tt in “butter”: KE-ɾo.
descansar
- Stress on the last syllable: des-can-SAR.
- Final r often a soft h sound in Brazil (especially in Rio, etc.): des-can-SAH(h).

Put together smoothly:

Neste momento eu quero descansar.

Can neste momento be used for past situations, or only for the present?

Neste momento normally refers to the present (“right now”).

For the past, people usually switch to nesse momento or naquele momento, often with a past tense:

Nesse momento eu já queria descansar. – In that moment I already wanted to rest.
Naquele momento eu só pensava em descansar. – At that moment I only thought about resting.

So:

neste momento → now, present time.
nesse / naquele momento → that moment in the past (in a story, explanation, etc.).