Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Eu quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português. - I want to save money for the Portuguese course.

Without eu (Quero…) – more neutral, a bit more natural in everyday speech.
With eu (Eu quero…) – can give emphasis, like “*I want to…”* (especially in contrast to others), or just be used for clarity.

In most casual conversation, Brazilians often drop eu and simply say Quero guardar dinheiro…

What exactly does guardar mean here? Is it “to keep”, “to save”, or “to put away”?

Guardar is flexible and depends on context. Common meanings:

To put away / to store
- Vou guardar os pratos. = I’m going to put the dishes away.
To keep
- Guardei a carta. = I kept the letter.
To save (money) – this is the meaning in your sentence.
- Eu quero guardar dinheiro. = I want to save money.

When talking about money, guardar dinheiro is very commonly used for “to save money”.

You can also hear:

economizar dinheiro – to save money by spending less, to economize
juntar dinheiro – to gather/save up money, usually over time

In this sentence, guardar dinheiro is perfectly natural and common.

Why is it para o curso and not para curso or para um curso?

The preposition para (+ article o) gives us para o curso, which literally means “for the course” (a specific one).

para o curso de português
→ for the Portuguese course (that we already know about or is specific)

If you say:

para curso de português – sounds incomplete or unnatural in this context.
para um curso de português – “for a Portuguese course” (not a specific one; any course).

So:

para o curso → refers to a specific course the speaker has in mind.
para um curso → refers to some course, not defined which.

In daily life, if you’re talking about a course you plan to take (like one you found at a specific school), para o curso is the most natural.

Why do we say para o curso and not use por? What’s the difference between para and por here?

In this sentence, para is used to show purpose/goal:

Eu quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.
→ I want to save money for the Portuguese course (that is the goal).

Para often means:

for (a purpose / intention)
in order to
to (as in destination or goal)

Por is different. It often means:

because of / on account of
through / by / via
for (a length of time or exchange)

If you changed it to por:

guardar dinheiro por o curso – sounds wrong/unnatural in this context.
You might see por in sentences like fiz o curso por dois meses (I took the course for two months).

So, for “saving money for something (as your purpose)”, use para.

Why is it curso de português and not curso em português?

Both de and em can appear with curso, but they mean different things:

curso de português
→ a course of Portuguese (the subject is Portuguese; you are learning the language)
curso em português
→ a course in Portuguese (the language of instruction is Portuguese, but the subject could be something else, like history, math, etc.)

In your sentence, you are saving money to take a course whose subject is the Portuguese language, so:

curso de português = Portuguese language course

That’s why de is the right preposition here.

Why is português not capitalized? In English we write “Portuguese” with a capital P.

In Portuguese, names of languages are not capitalized (unless they start a sentence).

curso de português = Portuguese course
falo inglês e espanhol = I speak English and Spanish

Nationalities and adjectives like português, brasileiro, inglês are also normally lowercase:

um escritor português = a Portuguese writer
comida brasileira = Brazilian food

So curso de português is correctly written with a lowercase p.

Could I say curso de português brasileiro? How is that different from curso de português?

Yes, you can say:

curso de português
curso de português brasileiro

Both are correct, but:

curso de português – usually already understood as Brazilian Portuguese if you are in Brazil or speaking to Brazilians, unless specified otherwise.
curso de português brasileiro – makes it explicit that you mean Brazilian Portuguese (not European Portuguese).

You can also hear:

curso de português do Brasil – course of Portuguese from Brazil

Use português brasileiro when you want to emphasize the regional variety.

Is dinheiro countable in Portuguese? Can I say dinheiros?

In normal, everyday Portuguese, dinheiro is treated as an uncountable noun, like “money” in English.

Eu quero guardar dinheiro. = I want to save money.
Não tenho dinheiro. = I don’t have money.

You almost never say dinheiros in standard speech.

Dinheiros can appear in:

some old texts or very formal/poetic language
rare stylistic or humorous uses

But for normal conversation and writing, use dinheiro in the singular only.

How would I make this sentence negative? Where does não go?

To make it negative, put não directly before the conjugated verb (quero):

Eu não quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.
→ I don’t want to save money for the Portuguese course.

You can also drop eu, as usual:

Não quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.

Position pattern:
[subject (optional)] + não + verb + rest of the sentence

Why is the verb querer in the present (quero) if I’m talking about a future goal?

In Portuguese, using the present tense often expresses:

a current state or desire that has a future effect or purpose.

Eu quero guardar dinheiro… literally means “I want to save money…”, and that desire exists now. The act of saving happens now and in the future.

This is similar to English:

“I want to save money for a trip.” (present “want”, future implications)

You could express a plan with other structures, but Eu quero guardar dinheiro… is completely natural and commonly used for talking about future-oriented goals.

Could I replace guardar with economizar here? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Eu quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.
Eu quero economizar dinheiro para o curso de português.

Both are correct, but there’s a nuance:

guardar dinheiro – more like putting money aside (e.g., into a jar, bank account), accumulating it.
economizar dinheiro – more like spending less / cutting costs to save money.

In practice, Brazilians use both, and they often overlap. If you’re talking about setting money aside, guardar dinheiro is very natural. If you’re talking about reducing expenses, economizar dinheiro fits better.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Eu quero para o curso de português guardar dinheiro?

The basic, natural word order in Portuguese is Subject – Verb – Object, similar to English:

Eu quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.

Moving guardar dinheiro to the end like:

Eu quero para o curso de português guardar dinheiro.

sounds very strange and unnatural.

Some variation is possible for emphasis, but verbs + their objects (like guardar dinheiro) usually stay together. The purpose phrase (para o curso de português) naturally comes after that.

How would this sentence change if I were speaking informally and wanted to sound more colloquial?

Some common informal / spoken Brazilian Portuguese tweaks:

Drop eu:
- Quero guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.
Use pra instead of para a/o in fast speech:
- Quero guardar dinheiro pro curso de português.
  (para o → pro in speech and informal writing)
Even shorter:
- Tô guardando dinheiro pro curso de português.
  = I’m saving money for the Portuguese course.
  (tô = estou, very common in speech)

Your original sentence is correct and fine in any casual context; these are just more colloquial versions you’ll often hear.

How do I pronounce quero and guardar? Any tips for English speakers?

Quero: ['kɛ.ɾu]

que = like “ke” in “Kevin”, but with an open “eh” sound: keh
r = a light tap (like the American English “tt” in “butter” when pronounced quickly)
Sounds roughly like: “KEH-roo” (short “e”, not “kay-roo”)

Guardar: [gwaɾ.'daɾ]

guar = “gwar” (like “Guar-” in “Guatemala”)
d = normal d
Final r in Brazilian Portuguese often sounds like:
- h sound in many regions: guar-DAH
- or lightly pronounced in some accents

Approximate in English: “gwar-DAR” (with a softer or almost “h”-like final r in many Brazilian accents).

If I change the verb tense, how would I say “I wanted to save money for the Portuguese course”?

You can use the imperfect of querer:

Eu queria guardar dinheiro para o curso de português.
→ I wanted to save money for the Portuguese course.

Queria can mean:

past desire (“I wanted”)
or a softer, more polite present (“I would like”)

Context decides, but in many situations it’s understood as a past intention here, especially if the context is past.