Estou com dor de garganta desde ontem à noite.

In Brazilian Portuguese, estar com + symptom/condition is a very common way to talk about a temporary physical state.

So:

• Estou com dor de garganta = I have a sore throat
• Estou com febre = I have a fever
• Estou com dor de cabeça = I have a headache

You can say tenho dor de garganta, but it often sounds less natural for a temporary illness, or it can sound more general/habitual, depending on context.

For a symptom you have right now, estou com is usually the most natural choice.

Literally, it means pain of throat.

Breakdown:

• dor = pain
• garganta = throat
• dor de garganta = throat pain / sore throat

Even though the literal structure is different from English, this is the normal Portuguese expression for sore throat.

The de links the pain to the body part.

This pattern is very common in Portuguese:

• dor de cabeça = headache
• dor de dente = toothache
• dor de barriga = stomachache

So dor de garganta is just the standard expression built on the same pattern.

Yes. Dor na garganta is correct too, but it is a little different in feel.

• dor de garganta = the usual expression for sore throat
• dor na garganta = pain in the throat, more literally focused on location

So if you want the most natural equivalent of I have a sore throat, dor de garganta is usually the best choice.

Because the situation started in the past and is still true now.

Portuguese often uses the present tense for an ongoing state that began earlier:

• Estou com dor de garganta desde ontem à noite.

In English, you might naturally say:

• I’ve had a sore throat since last night.

So this is one of those cases where Portuguese uses the present, while English often uses the present perfect.

Desde means since or from, marking the starting point of an action or state.

Here:

• desde ontem à noite = since last night

It tells you when the sore throat began.

Compare:

• Estou aqui desde cedo. = I’ve been here since early morning.
• Moro no Brasil desde 2020. = I’ve lived in Brazil since 2020.

It means last night.

Literally, it is:

• ontem = yesterday
• à noite = at night / in the evening

So ontem à noite literally looks like yesterday at night, but the natural English translation is usually last night.

The à is a contraction of a + a, called crase in Portuguese.

In the fixed time expression à noite, it means something like at night.

Common time expressions include:

• de manhã = in the morning
• à tarde = in the afternoon
• à noite = at night / in the evening

In everyday Brazilian speech, you may also hear de noite, which is very common and natural. So ontem de noite is also something you will hear, although ontem à noite is very standard.

Yes, absolutely.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb already shows the person:

• Estou com dor de garganta = perfectly natural

Adding eu is also correct:

• Eu estou com dor de garganta

Using eu can add emphasis, contrast, or clarity, but it is not required.

Yes. In everyday speech, many Brazilians would say:

• Tô com dor de garganta desde ontem à noite.

Here, tô is the spoken short form of estou.

You might also hear:

• Tô com a garganta doendo desde ontem à noite.

Both are natural in informal conversation.

You could, and people would understand you, but it is usually not the most natural way to say I have a sore throat.

More natural options are:

• Estou com dor de garganta
• Minha garganta está doendo

So:

• Minha garganta dói = grammatical, but less common in this situation
• Estou com dor de garganta = the standard, natural way

A common Brazilian pronunciation would sound roughly like:

es-TOU kong DOHR dji gar-GAHN-ta DEHZ-dji on-TEN ah NOY-tchi

A few helpful notes:

• com often sounds like kong before dor
• de before garganta often sounds like dji
• desde often sounds like DEHZ-dji
• noite usually sounds like NOY-tchi in many Brazilian accents

The strongest stress is roughly on:

• tou
• dor
• gan
• des
• noi

Yes, but the structure changes.

With desde, you give the starting point:

• Estou com dor de garganta desde ontem à noite. = I’ve had a sore throat since last night.

With há, you give the duration:

• Estou com dor de garganta há um dia. = I’ve had a sore throat for a day.

With faz, another common option is:

• Faz um dia que estou com dor de garganta. = I’ve had a sore throat for a day.

So:

• desde = since + starting point
• há / faz = for + length of time