Hoje, tanto o café quanto o leite estão em promoção.

Tanto ... quanto ... means both ... and ... or as much ... as ..., depending on context.

In this sentence, it means:

• tanto o café quanto o leite = both the coffee and the milk

It is a common way in Portuguese to connect two items and say that the same statement applies to both of them.

A simpler alternative would be:

• O café e o leite estão em promoção.

But tanto ... quanto ... adds emphasis, similar to both in English.

Portuguese often uses definite articles where English may not.

So:

• o café = the coffee
• o leite = the milk

Even when English would just say coffee or milk, Portuguese frequently uses o / a / os / as.

In this sentence, the articles help identify the items being talked about in a natural way. You could think of it as both the coffee and the milk.

The subject is plural because it refers to two things:

• o café
• o leite

Together, they form a plural subject:

• tanto o café quanto o leite

So the verb must also be plural:

• singular: está em promoção
• plural: estão em promoção

That is why estão is used instead of está.

Not in this sentence, because the subject is plural.

Compare:

• O café está em promoção. = The coffee is on sale.
• O leite está em promoção. = The milk is on sale.
• O café e o leite estão em promoção. = The coffee and the milk are on sale.

Since the sentence talks about both items together, estão is the correct form.

Em promoção means on sale, discounted, or part of a special offer.

It is a very common expression in Brazilian Portuguese, especially in stores, supermarkets, and ads.

Examples:

• Este produto está em promoção. = This product is on sale.
• Hoje tudo está em promoção. = Today everything is on sale.

So in your sentence, it means that both coffee and milk are being sold at a special price.

Hoje means today. It sets the time frame for the whole sentence.

So:

• Hoje, tanto o café quanto o leite estão em promoção. = Today, both coffee and milk are on sale.

Putting Hoje at the beginning is very natural because it highlights when the promotion is happening.

You could also place it elsewhere, for example:

• Tanto o café quanto o leite estão em promoção hoje.

That also sounds natural, but starting with Hoje gives it a little more emphasis.

The comma is common and natural, especially when Hoje is used as an introductory time expression at the start of the sentence.

So this is very standard:

• Hoje, tanto o café quanto o leite estão em promoção.

Without the comma, you may also see:

• Hoje tanto o café quanto o leite estão em promoção.

That is not usually a serious problem, but the comma makes the sentence clearer and more polished.

They are related, but not always exactly the same.

• promoção usually means a promotion, special offer, or discount
• liquidação often means a clearance sale, usually to get rid of stock

So:

• em promoção = on sale / discounted
• em liquidação = in clearance

In a supermarket sentence like this one, em promoção is the most natural expression.

A rough pronunciation guide for Brazilian Portuguese:

• café ≈ kah-FEH
• leite ≈ LAY-chee or LAY-tee depending on region
• estão ≈ es-TOWN with a nasal ending

A few notes:

• é in café is stressed.
• In much of Brazil, te at the end of leite sounds like chee.
• ão is a nasal sound that English does not have exactly. It is one of the most important sounds to practice in Portuguese.

The tilde in ão marks nasalization.

So estão is not pronounced like a normal ao. The ending is nasal, which is a key feature of Portuguese pronunciation.

This ending appears in many common words:

• não = no / not
• são = are
• promoção = promotion

The tilde is part of the spelling and pronunciation, so it should not be omitted.

Yes. You could say:

• Hoje, o café e o leite estão em promoção.

That is completely correct and very natural.

The difference is mainly emphasis:

• o café e o leite = coffee and milk
• tanto o café quanto o leite = both coffee and milk

So tanto ... quanto ... sounds slightly more deliberate or emphatic.

Yes, it is completely natural Brazilian Portuguese.

It sounds like something you might hear or read in:

• a supermarket ad
• a store announcement
• a flyer
• a conversation about prices

It is clear, standard, and idiomatic.