Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.

Today I feel like staying at home.

Breakdown of Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.

• hoje: today
• a casa: the house
• em: at
• ficar: to stay
• ter vontade de: to feel like

Questions & Answers about Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.

What does tenho vontade de literally mean, and how is it used in this sentence?

Literally, tenho vontade de means I have desire to or I have a will to.

In everyday Portuguese, it’s an idiomatic way to say I feel like (doing something), slightly softer and more emotional than simply I want.

So Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa is best understood as:
Today I feel like staying at home.

Why do we need de before ficar?

In Portuguese, the noun vontade normally needs de before an infinitive verb or a noun that expresses what you feel like doing/having:

• tenho vontade de ficar em casa – I feel like staying at home
• tenho vontade de comer – I feel like eating

Without de, the sentence would be ungrammatical:
✗ tenho vontade ficar em casa – incorrect.

So the structure is:
ter vontade de + [infinitive] / [noun].

Can I say Hoje quero ficar em casa instead? Is it the same?

You can say Hoje quero ficar em casa, and it’s perfectly correct.

Nuance:

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa – focuses on a feeling / mood. It’s more like I feel like staying home today.
• Hoje quero ficar em casa – more direct: I want to stay home today, which can sound a bit stronger or more decided.

Both are common and natural; tenho vontade de just sounds slightly softer and more about your inner mood.

In Portugal, would people also say Apetece-me ficar em casa hoje? How is that different?

Yes, in European Portuguese, apetecer is very common to talk about what you feel like doing:

• Hoje apetece-me ficar em casa – Today I feel like staying at home.

Compared with tenho vontade de:

• apetece-me sounds very natural and colloquial in Portugal for talking about passing desires, especially food, activities, etc.
• tenho vontade de is also used, but apetecer is often the more idiomatic choice in everyday speech in Portugal.

All of these are natural in European Portuguese:

• Hoje apetece-me ficar em casa.
• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
• Hoje quero ficar em casa.

Why is there no eu at the beginning? Shouldn’t it be Eu hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa?

Portuguese usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• tenho can only be eu (I), so eu is optional.

Possible options, all grammatically correct:

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
• Eu hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
• Hoje eu tenho vontade de ficar em casa.

Adding eu often gives emphasis, like stressing I:

• Eu hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa – Me, today, I feel like staying at home (for contrast or emphasis).

In neutral speech, most people would simply say Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.

Why is it ficar em casa and not estar em casa?

Both ficar and estar can relate to being in a place, but:

• estar em casa = to be at home (state, location)
• ficar em casa = to stay at home (remaining there, not going out)

In tenho vontade de ficar em casa, you’re expressing the idea of staying in instead of going somewhere else, so ficar is the natural choice.

Examples:

• Hoje estou em casa. – I’m at home today. (location)
• Hoje vou ficar em casa. – I’m going to stay at home today. (decision to stay there)

Why do we say em casa and not na casa?

Casa without an article is used when it means home in a general, “my home / one’s home” sense:

• em casa – at home
• ficar em casa – to stay at home

Na casa = em + a casa, and usually refers to a specific physical house:

• na casa do João – in/at João’s house
• na casa amarela – in the yellow house

So:

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa. – I feel like staying at home (not going out).

If you said ficar na casa, it would sound like staying in some specific house that’s already identified in context.

Can I move hoje to a different position, like Tenho hoje vontade de ficar em casa?

Yes, hoje is flexible in word order. Common options:

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
• Tenho vontade de ficar em casa hoje.
• Hoje, tenho vontade de ficar em casa. (with a comma for slight pause/emphasis)

Tenho hoje vontade de ficar em casa is grammatically correct, but sounds a bit more formal or unusual in everyday speech. The most natural are usually:

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
• Tenho vontade de ficar em casa hoje.

Does tenho vontade de ficar em casa express a temporary feeling, or could it be a habit?

In this context it’s a temporary, current feeling. With hoje plus tenho vontade de, you’re describing how you feel today, now.

For habits, you’d usually use other structures:

• Costumo ficar em casa ao fim de semana. – I usually stay at home on weekends.

So Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa is about today’s mood, not a regular habit.

How strong is tenho vontade de compared to quero?

Rough comparison:

• quero – I want, direct, stronger, more decisive.

  • Hoje quero ficar em casa. – Today I want to stay at home.

• tenho vontade de – I feel like, softer, more about desire/mood, a bit less absolute.

  • Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa. – Today I feel like staying at home.

In many contexts they can overlap, but if you want to sound less demanding or more expressive about mood, tenho vontade de (or apetece-me in EP) is a good choice.

How would I make this sentence negative, like I don’t feel like staying at home today?

Just put não before the verb:

• Hoje não tenho vontade de ficar em casa.
  Today I don’t feel like staying at home.

Same rule for most simple negations in Portuguese: não + verb.

How do I turn it into a question, like Do I feel like staying at home today? or Do you feel like staying at home today?

For Do I feel like staying at home today?

• Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa?
  (Portuguese often just uses rising intonation; no inversion is needed.)

For Do you feel like staying at home today? (informal singular tu):

• Hoje tens vontade de ficar em casa?

With você (more formal):

• Hoje tem vontade de ficar em casa?

Word order stays the same; intonation or a question mark makes it a question.

How do you pronounce vontade and ficar in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation:

• vontade: von-TA-d(ɨ)

  • von – like von in avon (nasal on)
  • TA – stressed, like tah
  • final de – often a very reduced, almost dɨ or even just a soft d sound.

• ficar: fi-KAR

  • fi – like fee
  • KAR – stressed, like car but with a slightly sharper r (often a guttural or uvular sound in EP).

So the rhythm of the sentence is roughly:
HO-je TEN-ho von-TA-de de fi-KAR em KA-sa.

Can vontade also be used with nouns, not just verbs?

Yes, vontade can be followed by de + noun, often meaning a craving for / desire for:

• Tenho vontade de chocolate. – I feel like (having) chocolate.
• Estou com vontade de café. – I feel like (having) coffee.

But with actions, you normally use de + infinitive:

• Tenho vontade de sair. – I feel like going out.
• Tenho vontade de ficar em casa. – I feel like staying at home.

Your sentence is the de + infinitive type.

Is this sentence the same in Brazilian Portuguese, or is it different?

Hoje tenho vontade de ficar em casa is fully correct and natural in Brazilian Portuguese as well.

Differences:

• In Brazil, ter vontade de is very common and natural.
• In Portugal, apetecer (Apetece-me ficar em casa) is especially frequent for this meaning, though ter vontade de is also understood and used.

Pronunciation will differ between European and Brazilian Portuguese, but the grammar and wording of this sentence work in both varieties.