Tem repelente na sua mochila?

Yes, tem is the third-person singular form of ter (to have), so it often means he/she has or it has.

But in Brazilian Portuguese, tem is also very commonly used to mean there is / are, especially in everyday speech.

So:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila? = Is there insect repellent in your backpack?

This is very natural in spoken Brazilian Portuguese. In more formal language, you might also see há:

• Há repelente na sua mochila?

But in normal conversation, tem is much more common.

Because Portuguese often expresses there is / there are differently from English.

English uses a dummy subject: there.
Portuguese usually does not need that. Instead, it can simply use:

• tem in everyday speech
• há in more formal or written language

So Portuguese says the equivalent of:

• Has repellent in your backpack?

but the real meaning is:

• Is there repellent in your backpack?

That is just how existence is commonly expressed in Brazilian Portuguese.

Because here repelente is being treated as an uncountable substance/item category, much like water, money, or food can be in English.

So:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila? = Is there any insect repellent in your backpack?

If you said um repelente, it would sound more like a repellent product / one bottle or item of repellent.

Compare:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila? = Do you have any repellent in there?
• Tem um repelente na sua mochila? = Is there a repellent / one repellent item in your backpack?

Both are possible, but the version without the article is very natural when asking generally about the substance.

In Brazilian Portuguese, repelente usually means insect repellent.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• spray repellent
• lotion repellent
• any mosquito/insect repellent product

If someone says just repelente, most people will understand it as bug spray / insect repellent, especially in contexts like travel, camping, or mosquitoes.

Because na is a contraction:

• em + a = na

So:

• na sua mochila literally comes from em a sua mochila

However, with possessives like sua, Portuguese often uses the feminine article a before the noun:

• na sua mochila
• na minha bolsa
• no meu carro

So na sua mochila means in your backpack.

You may also hear or see:

• em sua mochila

That is grammatically possible, but in Brazilian Portuguese, na sua mochila is generally more natural and more common.

Yes, sua here means your, because mochila is feminine singular.

The possessive has to agree with the noun possessed, not with the person who owns it:

• seu livro = your book
• sua mochila = your backpack
• seus livros = your books
• suas mochilas = your backpacks

So sua is used because mochila is feminine singular.

Yes. This is a very important point.

In Portuguese, seu/sua/seus/suas can mean:

• your
• his
• her
• sometimes their, depending on context

So sua mochila could mean:

• your backpack
• his backpack
• her backpack

Context usually makes it clear. If a speaker wants to avoid ambiguity, Brazilian Portuguese often uses:

• a mochila dele = his backpack
• a mochila dela = her backpack
• a mochila de vocês = your (plural) backpack / backpacks

So in conversation, many Brazilians prefer dele/dela when clarity matters.

Yes, absolutely.

• Tem repelente na sua mochila?
• Você tem repelente na sua mochila?

Both are natural, but they are slightly different in focus.

Tem repelente na sua mochila?

• sounds like Is there any repellent in your backpack?
• focuses on whether the item is present

Você tem repelente na sua mochila?

• sounds more directly like Do you have repellent in your backpack?
• focuses more on you as the possessor

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, dropping the subject pronoun is very common when it is clear from context.

Mochila usually means backpack.

It can refer to:

• a school backpack
• a travel backpack
• a hiking pack

In some contexts, English might say bag or pack, but backpack is the safest main meaning.

A natural Brazilian pronunciation would be roughly:

• teyng heh-peh-LEN-chee na SOO-ah mo-SHEE-lah?

A few helpful notes:

• tem often sounds a bit like teing or tẽj̃
• repelente has stress on len
• sua is often pronounced close to soo-ah
• mochila has stress on chi: mo-CHI-la
• in many Brazilian accents, ti/di before i can sound like chee/jee, but here it is chi because of the spelling chi

A more approximate rhythm:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila?
• teyng heh-peh-LEN-chee na SOO-ah mo-SHEE-lah?

It is neutral and natural, especially in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

Nothing in it is especially formal, but it is also not slangy. It works well in everyday conversation.

If you wanted to sound a bit more formal or written, you might say:

• Há repelente na sua mochila?

If you wanted to sound a bit more direct and conversational, you could say:

• Você tem repelente na sua mochila?

But the original sentence is perfectly normal and very common in Brazil.

Yes, but it changes the feel a little.

The original:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila?

sounds very natural and neutral.

You could also say:

• Na sua mochila tem repelente?

This is also possible and can put a little more focus on in your backpack.

Brazilian Portuguese allows this kind of word order flexibility more than English does. The most common everyday version is still:

• Tem repelente na sua mochila?