Questions & Answers about Hoje eu só quero descansar.
In Hoje eu só quero descansar, só means only / just in the sense of limiting what you want to do.
Natural translations:
- Today I just want to rest.
- Today I only want to rest.
It does not mean alone here; it’s an adverb modifying quero descansar (what you want to do), not eu (the person).
No. In this sentence, só is an adverb meaning only / just, because of its position and what it’s modifying.
- Hoje eu só quero descansar.
– focus: you don’t want to do anything other than resting.
To say alone, só would need to function as an adjective and usually be closer to the subject or clarified:
Hoje eu quero descansar sozinho.
Today I want to rest alone (by myself).Hoje eu quero descansar só.
This can mean alone in some contexts, but it’s less clear and more colloquial. Sozinho is safer.
In Portuguese, with verbs like querer (to want), when you want to express doing something, you normally use another verb in the infinitive:
- quero descansar = I want to rest
- quero comer = I want to eat
- quero sair = I want to go out
Descanso is a noun (rest as a thing, a period of rest), not the action:
- Eu preciso de descanso.
I need (some) rest.
If you said eu quero descanso, it would sound like “I want (some) rest” as an abstract thing, not “I want to rest (to perform the action)”.
Portuguese often uses the present tense to talk about:
- current desires or states:
Eu quero descansar. = I (now) feel like resting. - near future plans (especially with a time word like hoje):
Hoje eu vou ao cinema. = I’m going to the movies today.
In Hoje eu só quero descansar, the present quero expresses your present wish about today as a whole. There’s no need for a future tense (quererei is almost never used in modern speech).
Yes. Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject.
- Hoje eu só quero descansar.
- Hoje só quero descansar.
Both are correct and natural. Without eu, it can sound slightly more neutral or impersonal, like you’re just stating your mood to someone who already knows you’re talking about yourself. In everyday conversation, dropping eu here is very common.
Both are correct and usually mean the same thing in practice:
- Hoje eu só quero descansar.
- Hoje eu quero só descansar.
In both, só limits what you want to do (only rest). Any difference in nuance is very subtle and mostly about rhythm:
- só quero descansar (adverb before the whole verb phrase)
- quero só descansar (adverb closer to the infinitive verb)
You can safely treat them as equivalent in normal conversation.
Here só changes position and modifies eu, not the verb:
Hoje eu só quero descansar.
→ I only want to rest (I don’t want to do anything else).Hoje só eu quero descansar.
→ Only I want to rest today (no one else wants to rest).
So:
- só before quero → limits the action (just rest).
- só before eu → limits the person (only me).
Yes, Portuguese allows some flexibility in word order, and moving só or hoje changes the focus:
Hoje eu só quero descansar.
Neutral: Today I just want to rest.Hoje só eu quero descansar.
Focus on eu: Today only I want to rest.Só hoje eu quero descansar.
Focus on hoje: It’s only today that I want to rest (implies other days are/were different).Eu hoje só quero descansar.
Similar to the original; slightly stronger emphasis on eu and hoje in speech.
Word order plus intonation controls what sounds contrasted or emphasized.
They overlap in meaning but aren’t the same:
descansar = to rest, to take a break, to stop making an effort
- Hoje eu só quero descansar.
- Vou descansar depois do trabalho.
relaxar = to relax, to unwind (often mental/emotional)
- Eu preciso relaxar um pouco.
(common in Brazilian Portuguese, often influenced by English)
- Eu preciso relaxar um pouco.
dormir = to sleep
- Hoje eu só quero dormir. = Today I just want to sleep.
Descansar doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping; it can be any low-effort activity (sitting, lying down, watching TV, doing nothing).
Because it comes after quero and forms a verb + infinitive structure:
- Eu quero descansar. = I want to rest.
- Eu quero sair. = I want to go out.
- Eu quero comer. = I want to eat.
After verbs like querer, poder, precisar, começar a, etc., the second verb is usually in the infinitive:
- Eu posso descansar. = I can rest.
- Eu preciso descansar. = I need to rest.
So descansar stays in the infinitive form.
Approximate Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation (General/Southeast):
- Hoje → /ˈo.ʒi/ – like “OH-zhee”
- eu → /ew/ – like English “ehw” in one syllable
- só → /sɔ/ – similar to saw but shorter; the accent makes it stressed and open
- quero → /ˈkɛ.ɾu/ – “KEH-roo” (the r is a quick tap, like the Spanish pero)
- descansar → /des.kɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/
- des like “des” in “desk”
- can has a nasal vowel (ã)
- final r often sounds like an h or is very soft depending on the region
Together: something like “O-zhy ew sɔ KEH-roo des-kã-SAR” (with Brazilian-style r).
The sentence is neutral and very natural. You can use it:
In casual conversation:
Hoje eu só quero descansar.In a slightly more formal context, like speaking to a boss:
Hoje eu só quero descansar, então vou ficar em casa.
It’s not slangy. It’s standard, everyday Brazilian Portuguese.
You place não before the conjugated verb (quero):
- Hoje eu não quero descansar.
Today I don’t want to rest.
Structure:
- Hoje (time expression)
- eu (subject)
- não (negation, before the conjugated verb)
- quero descansar (verb + infinitive)