O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco.

The receipt is in my coat pocket.

Breakdown of O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco.

• estar: to be
• meu: my
• o casaco: the coat
• do: of the
• no: in the
• o bolso: the pocket
• o recibo: the receipt

Questions & Answers about O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco.

Why is it está and not é?

Because Portuguese usually uses estar for location.

• estar = to be, for location, temporary states, conditions
• ser = to be, for identity, permanent characteristics, definitions, time, etc.

So:

• O recibo está no bolso... = The receipt is in the pocket...
• You would not normally say O recibo é no bolso...

For physical location, estar is the normal choice.

What does recibo mean exactly?

Recibo usually means receipt or proof of payment.

It often refers to a document showing that money was received or a payment was made. In everyday contexts, English speakers can usually think of it as receipt.

A related word is receita, but that means recipe or medical prescription, not receipt.

Why is it no bolso instead of em o bolso?

Because no is a contraction of:

• em
  • o = no

So:

• no bolso = in the pocket

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese.

Some useful ones:

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

Examples:

• no carro = in the car
• na bolsa = in the bag

What does bolso mean?

Bolso means pocket.

So no bolso means in the pocket.

Be careful not to confuse it with:

• bolsa = bag, purse, backpack depending on context
• bolso = pocket

So:

• no bolso do casaco = in the coat pocket
• na bolsa = in the bag/purse

Why is it do meu casaco?

Because do is a contraction of:

• de
  • o = do

Here, de shows possession or relationship:

• o bolso do meu casaco = the pocket of my coat / my coat’s pocket

So the structure is:

• o bolso = the pocket
• do meu casaco = of my coat

This is a very common pattern in Portuguese.

Why is there an article before meu casaco?

In Brazilian Portuguese, it is very common to use a definite article before possessives like meu, minha, seu, nosso, etc.

So:

• o meu casaco
• a minha bolsa
• os meus livros

After a preposition, this often appears in contracted form:

• de + o meu casaco → do meu casaco

In Brazilian Portuguese, do meu casaco sounds very natural and standard.

Could I say de meu casaco instead of do meu casaco?

Yes, it is possible grammatically, but in Brazilian Portuguese it is usually more natural to say do meu casaco.

So:

• do meu casaco = more common in Brazil
• de meu casaco = possible, but less common or less natural in everyday speech

For a learner of Brazilian Portuguese, do meu casaco is the safest choice.

Why does the sentence start with O recibo? Is that just the receipt?

Yes. O is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• o recibo = the receipt
• o bolso = the pocket
• o casaco = the coat/jacket

These nouns are masculine singular, so they use o.

Portuguese nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match the noun.

How do I know these words are masculine?

You usually learn the noun together with its article.

In this sentence:

• o recibo
• o bolso
• o casaco

All three are masculine singular nouns, so they use:

• o = the
• meu = my

That is why you get:

• o meu casaco

If the noun were feminine, you would use a and minha instead:

• a minha bolsa = my bag

Does casaco mean coat or jacket?

It can mean either coat or jacket, depending on context.

In many cases, casaco is a general word for an outer garment worn over other clothes. English may translate it as:

• coat
• jacket

So in this sentence, either may fit depending on the situation.

Is the word order normal in this sentence?

Yes. O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco is completely natural word order.

It follows a very common pattern:

• subject
  • verb
    • location

So:

• O recibo = subject
• está = verb
• no bolso do meu casaco = location phrase

This is the most straightforward and natural way to say it.

Can I say Meu recibo está no bolso do meu casaco?

Yes, but it changes the nuance slightly.

• O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco. = The receipt is in my coat pocket.
• Meu recibo está no bolso do meu casaco. = My receipt is in my coat pocket.

Adding meu makes the receipt explicitly mine. Without meu, it is just the receipt.

How is está pronounced in Brazilian Portuguese?

In Brazilian Portuguese, está is pronounced approximately like eh-STAH.

A rough pronunciation of the full sentence is:

oo heh-SEE-boo es-TAH noo BOL-soh doo may-oo kah-ZAH-koo

That is only an approximation for English speakers, but it helps at first.

A few pronunciation notes:

• recibo: stress on ci → re-CI-bo
• está: stress on tá
• bolso: stress on bol
• casaco: stress on sa

Could bolso do meu casaco also be translated as my coat pocket?

Yes. That is often the most natural English translation.

Literally, Portuguese says:

• the pocket of my coat

But in natural English, we often prefer:

• my coat pocket

So both ideas match the Portuguese phrase:

• o bolso do meu casaco

Are these contractions always required: no and do?

In standard Portuguese, yes, these contractions are normally expected.

So you generally say:

• no bolso, not em o bolso
• do meu casaco, not de o meu casaco

These contractions are a normal part of the language, not just optional shortcuts.

That is why the sentence sounds natural as:

• O recibo está no bolso do meu casaco.