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Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.

Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.
Now I’ve been creating a better routine for my sleep.
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Questions & Answers about Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.

What exactly does “ando a criar” mean, and how is it different from just saying “crio” or “estou a criar”?

Andar a + infinitive is a special aspect construction in European Portuguese.

  • Crio = I create / I am creating (present simple; can be habitual or general).
  • Estou a criar = I am creating (right now / at this moment, or around now).
  • Ando a criar = I’ve been creating / I’ve been working on something for a while / lately.

So “ando a criar” suggests:

  • An action that happens over a period of time, not just at one moment.
  • A softer, more “lately / these days” feeling.

In English, “Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono” is closer in nuance to:

  • “These days I’ve been creating a better routine for my sleep.”
    or
  • “Lately I’ve been working on a better sleep routine.”
Is “ando a + infinitive” common in European Portuguese, and when should I use it instead of “estou a + infinitive”?

Yes, “andar a + infinitive” is very common in European Portuguese.

  • Use estou a + infinitive when you want to stress what is happening now or around now:

    • Estou a estudar português. = I’m studying Portuguese (now/these days).

  • Use ando a + infinitive when you want to stress something you’ve been doing repeatedly or over some time, often with a “lately / these days” nuance:

    • Ando a estudar português. = I’ve been studying Portuguese (recently; it’s an ongoing trend in my life).

In this sentence:

  • Ando a criar uma rotina melhor… suggests a process you’ve been working on over a recent period, not just a one-off action.
Why does the sentence say “para o meu sono” and not “para dormir”? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but they focus on slightly different things:

  • para o meu sono = for my sleep (emphasis on the quality/state of your sleep as a thing).

    • More literal: a routine that benefits your sleep itself.

  • para dormir = for sleeping / to sleep (emphasis on the activity of sleeping).

    • Focuses more on the act, not on “your sleep” as a condition.

So:

  • Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.
    = I’ve been creating a better routine for my sleep (to improve how well I sleep).

You could also say:

  • Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para dormir.
    = I’ve been creating a better routine for sleeping (so that I can sleep better).

In practice, the difference is subtle. The original sentence sounds a bit more like “for my sleep health/quality.”

Why do we say “para o meu sono” and not just “para meu sono”?

In European Portuguese, possessives almost always take a definite article before them:

  • o meu sono (my sleep)
  • a minha casa (my house)
  • os meus livros (my books)
  • as minhas amigas (my (female) friends)

So “para o meu sono” is the normal, natural form.

Saying “para meu sono” (without the article) is:

  • Possible, but in European Portuguese it sounds unusual or marked, sometimes poetic or emphatic.
  • Much more typical without the article in Brazilian Portuguese (e.g. “meu sono”, “minha casa”).

So for European Portuguese, you should normally use:

  • para o meu sono ✅
What’s the difference between “sono”, “sonho”, and “dormir”?

They look similar but mean different things:

  • sono

    • The state of being asleep or sleepy / your sleep in general.
    • Examples:
      • Tenho sono. = I’m sleepy.
      • O meu sono não é muito bom. = My sleep isn’t very good.

  • sonho

    • A dream (while asleep) or a dream/aspiration (like in English).
    • Examples:
      • Tive um sonho estranho. = I had a strange dream.
      • O meu sonho é viver em Lisboa. = My dream is to live in Lisbon.

  • dormir

    • The verb “to sleep”.
    • Example:
      • Eu gosto de dormir. = I like sleeping.

So “para o meu sono” is about your sleep itself, not about your dreams.

Could “agora” go in another position, like “Ando agora a criar…”? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move “agora” around with only small changes in nuance.

Some common possibilities:

  1. Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor…

    • Very natural; agora sets the time frame: Right now / these days, I’ve been creating…

  2. Ando agora a criar uma rotina melhor…

    • Also possible. Slightly more focus on “I’m now starting / I’m now in the process of” creating the routine.
    • Feels just a bit more formal or “written” than version 1.

  3. Ando a criar agora uma rotina melhor…

    • Also possible; agora is more closely attached to the verb phrase.
    • Emphasises that this is what you are working on now, as opposed to before.

All three keep essentially the same overall meaning; “Agora ando a…” is probably the most neutral and common.

Why is it “uma rotina melhor” and not “um rotina melhor”? And is “melhor” agreeing with “rotina”?

  • rotina is a feminine noun in Portuguese: a rotina, uma rotina.
    So we must say “uma rotina”, not “um rotina”.

  • melhor (better) is invariable in gender:

    • masculine singular: um dia melhor
    • feminine singular: uma rotina melhor
    • masculine plural: dias melhores
    • feminine plural: rotinas melhores

So in “uma rotina melhor”:

  • uma agrees in gender and number with rotina (feminine singular).
  • melhor doesn’t change for gender here; it would only change for plural (melhores).
Could I also say “uma melhor rotina para o meu sono”? Is there a difference from “uma rotina melhor”?

Both are grammatically correct:

  • uma rotina melhor para o meu sono
  • uma melhor rotina para o meu sono

Naturalness/usage:

  • “uma rotina melhor” is the more common, more neutral order in everyday speech.
  • “uma melhor rotina” tends to sound more formal, emphatic, or written, as if you’re carefully contrasting this new routine with a worse one.

Meaning-wise, both mean “a better routine for my sleep”; the difference is mostly style and emphasis, not content.

What’s a good, natural English equivalent for the whole sentence, keeping the nuance of “ando a criar”?

Very natural options would be:

  • “These days I’ve been creating a better routine for my sleep.”
  • “Lately I’ve been working on a better sleep routine.”

Both reflect:

  • The ongoing / over time nuance of “ando a criar”.
  • The idea of improving your sleep routine or the quality of your sleep.
How would a Brazilian Portuguese speaker typically say this? Is “ando a criar” also used there?

In Brazilian Portuguese:

  • The “a + infinitive” progressive form is not used.
  • Instead, Brazilians use “estar + gerúndio” or “andar + gerúndio”.

Brazilian equivalents:

  • Agora estou criando uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.
  • Agora ando criando uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.

So:

  • European Portuguese: ando a criar
  • Brazilian Portuguese: ando criando / estou criando

The nuance of “ando criando” in Brazil is similar to “ando a criar” in Portugal: something you’ve been doing lately / over a period of time.

How is the whole sentence pronounced in European Portuguese, especially “ando a criar”?

In relaxed European Portuguese, many words link together. A rough IPA transcription:

  • Agora ando a criar uma rotina melhor para o meu sono.
    /ɐˈɣɔɾɐ ˈɐ̃du ɐ kɾiˈaɾ umɐ ʁuˈtinɐ mɨˈʎɔɾ ˈpaɾɐ u mew ˈsonu/

Notes:

  • Agora → /ɐˈɣɔɾɐ/
  • ando a often sounds like “ãdu a”: /ˈɐ̃du ɐ/
  • criar → /kɾiˈaɾ/
  • rotina → /ʁuˈtinɐ/
  • melhor → /mɨˈʎɔɾ/ (with the palatal lh sound /ʎ/)
  • meu → /mew/
  • sono → /ˈsonu/

So “ando a criar” flows together something like [ã-dua kri-AR] in natural speech.