Breakdown of Passear no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
Questions & Answers about Passear no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
Passear is in the infinitive form (basic dictionary form: to walk / to go for a walk / to stroll).
In Portuguese, the infinitive is often used as a noun-like subject of the sentence, where in English we would use -ing:
- Passear no parque é…
= Walking in the park is…
= To walk in the park is…
So “Passear no parque” is functioning as the subject of the verb é (is), just like “Walking in the park” does in English. That’s a very common and natural pattern in Portuguese.
No is a contraction of the preposition em (in / on / at) + the masculine singular definite article o (the).
- em + o = no
- em + a = na
- em + os = nos
- em + as = nas
So:
- no parque = in the park / at the park
You don’t normally say em o parque; in standard Portuguese you must use the contracted form no instead.
In European Portuguese, it’s very common (and usually more natural) to use the definite article together with possessives:
- a minha atividade = my activity
- o meu carro = my car
- a tua casa = your house
Saying minha atividade without the article isn’t wrong, but in Portugal it often sounds a bit more marked, emotional, or poetic, depending on context. The default, neutral choice in European Portuguese is:
- a minha atividade (with the article)
Feminine agreement
- atividade is a feminine noun in Portuguese: a atividade
- Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun:
- masculine singular: preferido
- feminine singular: preferida
- masculine plural: preferidos
- feminine plural: preferidas
Since atividade is feminine singular, the adjective must be preferida.
Position of the adjective
In Portuguese, adjectives usually come after the noun:
- atividade preferida = favourite activity
- livro interessante = interesting book
Here we have a noun phrase with extra detail:
- atividade de lazer preferida
- atividade (noun)
- de lazer (of leisure, specifying the type of activity)
- preferida (adjective: favourite)
The structure is: [noun] + [complement] + [adjective].
That’s a very natural word order in Portuguese.
Lazer means leisure, free time, or recreation.
- atividade de lazer = leisure activity / free-time activity
If you just said:
- a minha atividade preferida
= my favourite activity
…it could mean any kind of activity (for work, study, sport, etc.).
By adding de lazer, you make it clear you’re talking about free-time / leisure activities specifically.
So atividade de lazer is more precise: it tells us this is something you do for enjoyment, not for work or obligation.
All of these can involve moving or walking, but the nuance is different:
passear
- Means to go for a stroll / to go out and wander for pleasure.
- Emphasises the leisure, relaxed aspect, not just the physical action.
- Can involve walking, but also just going around town, in a park, by the river, etc.
andar
- Very general: to walk or to go around / move around.
- Can be more neutral, not necessarily for pleasure.
caminhar
- More like to walk in a slightly more deliberate or sometimes exercise-oriented way.
- Used for walking as physical activity or sport.
dar um passeio
- Literally: to take a walk / to go for a stroll.
- Very close in meaning to passear.
- Example: Dar um passeio no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
In your sentence, Passear no parque highlights that this is a relaxed, enjoyable walk in the park, which fits nicely with atividade de lazer.
Yes, that’s a very natural alternative. Passatempo means hobby.
You could say:
- Passear no parque é o meu passatempo preferido.
= Walking in the park is my favourite hobby.
Changes:
- atividade de lazer (leisure activity) → passatempo (hobby)
- a minha atividade… preferida → o meu passatempo preferido
- passatempo is masculine, so:
- article: o meu (not a minha)
- adjective: preferido (not preferida)
- passatempo is masculine, so:
Both versions are correct; passatempo is just more directly equivalent to “hobby”.
Yes. Both word orders are correct:
Passear no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
- Focuses first on the activity (walking in the park).
A minha atividade de lazer preferida é passear no parque.
- Focuses first on the category (my favourite leisure activity).
The meaning is the same; it’s just a matter of emphasis and style. Both are very natural.
You can say it, but the nuance changes:
Passear no parque
- Emphasises strolling / walking around in the park.
- Very clearly a leisure activity.
Ir ao parque (to go to the park)
- Focuses on the act of going there, not necessarily on what you do once you arrive.
- You might go there to run, to read, to play with children, etc.
So:
- Passear no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
= Walking / strolling in the park is my favourite leisure activity.
If you say Ir ao parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida, it’s understandable, but slightly less specific about the walking / strolling aspect.
Sentence: Passear no parque é a minha atividade de lazer preferida.
Approximate IPA (European Portuguese):
- /pɐ.sjˈaɾ nu ˈpaɾ.k(ɨ) ɛ ɐ ˈmi.ɲɐ ɐ.ti.viˈðað(ɨ) dɨ lɐˈzeɾ pɾɨ.fɨˈɾi.ðɐ/
A rough English-style approximation (not exact, but helpful):
- Passear ≈ pah-see-AR (stress on ar)
- no ≈ noo
- parque ≈ PAR-k(uh) (final e is very weak or almost dropped)
- é ≈ eh
- a ≈ a short, relaxed uh
- minha ≈ MEE-nyuh
- atividade ≈ uh-tee-vee-DAH-d(ee) (final e very weak)
- de ≈ very short d(ee)
- lazer ≈ luh-ZEHR (more like “lah-ZEHR”, not “LAY-zhur”)
- preferida ≈ prih-fe-REE-duh
Said smoothly at a natural pace, it would sound something like:
- pah-sy-AR noo PAR-k eh uh MEE-nyuh uh-tee-vee-DAH-d(ee) d(ee) lah-ZEHR prih-fe-REE-duh