Eu não confio no desconhecido.

I don't trust the stranger.

Breakdown of Eu não confio no desconhecido.

• eu: I
• não: not
• confiar em: to trust
• o desconhecido: the stranger

Questions & Answers about Eu não confio no desconhecido.

What exactly does no mean in no desconhecido?

No is a contraction of the preposition em + the masculine singular article o:

• em + o → no
• (similarly: em + a → na, em + os → nos, em + as → nas)

So no desconhecido literally means “in/on the unknown”, but with the verb confiar em, it’s best understood as “in the unknown” ⇒ “I don’t trust in the unknown.”

Why is it confio no desconhecido and not just confio o desconhecido?

In European Portuguese, confiar in the sense of to trust normally takes the preposition em:

• Confiar em alguém / em algo – to trust someone / something
  
  • Confio em ti. – I trust you.
  • Confio em Deus. – I trust God.
  • Não confio no desconhecido. – I don’t trust the unknown.

You cannot say ✗confio o desconhecido to mean I trust the unknown. That sounds wrong to a native speaker.

There is another use of confiar meaning to entrust, where a direct object is possible:

• Confio-te este trabalho. – I entrust this job to you.
• Confiaram-lhe a missão. – They entrusted the mission to him/her.

But in the sentence you gave, it’s the “trust in” meaning, so you must use em → no.

Do I need to say Eu, or can I just say Não confio no desconhecido?

You can absolutely drop Eu:

• Não confio no desconhecido.

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending -o in confio already shows the subject is eu (I). So:

• Eu não confio no desconhecido. – I don’t trust the unknown. (with explicit Eu)
• Não confio no desconhecido. – I don’t trust the unknown. (more neutral, very natural)

Including Eu adds emphasis or contrast, e.g.:

• Eu não confio no desconhecido (mas tu confias).
  I don’t trust the unknown (but you do).

Why does the negative não go before the verb: não confio? Could I say confio não?

The standard way to form a simple negative sentence in Portuguese is:

[não] + [conjugated verb] + …

So here:

• Eu não confio no desconhecido.

You don’t normally put não after the verb in this kind of sentence.
Forms like “confio, não” can appear in speech as a tag or afterthought (similar to “I trust it, no” / “I trust it, I don’t”), but that is a different structure and not what you want here.

For a straightforward negative statement, use:

• Não confio… (with or without Eu).

Is desconhecido in this sentence a noun or an adjective?

In Eu não confio no desconhecido, desconhecido is functioning as a noun:

• o desconhecido = the unknown (as a concept, or “what is unknown”)

As an adjective, desconhecido means unknown / unfamiliar:

• um lugar desconhecido – an unknown place
• uma pessoa desconhecida – an unknown person / stranger
• coisas desconhecidas – unknown things

So:

• no desconhecido – in the unknown (noun)
• em coisas desconhecidas – in unknown things (adjective describing coisas)

How does desconhecido change with gender and number?

Desconhecido is a regular adjective/noun and agrees in gender and number:

• Masculine singular: desconhecido
  • o desconhecido – the unknown (m.sg.)
• Feminine singular: desconhecida
  • a desconhecida – the unknown (f.sg.), or “an unknown woman”
• Masculine plural: desconhecidos
  • os desconhecidos – the unknown (pl.), or “unknown men / strangers”
• Feminine plural: desconhecidas
  • as desconhecidas – unknown women / female strangers

Examples:

• Não confio no desconhecido. – I don’t trust the unknown. (abstract, singular)
• Não confio nos desconhecidos. – I don’t trust (the) strangers.
• Não confio em pessoas desconhecidas. – I don’t trust unknown people.

Why is there an article (o) in no desconhecido? Could I say não confio em desconhecido?

In this sentence, the article o is natural because o desconhecido is being treated as a specific or generic concept: “the unknown”.

Using no desconhecido (in + the) signals a known, named concept in the speaker’s mind.

• Não confio no desconhecido. – I don’t trust the unknown (as a general idea).

Without an article (em desconhecido) it sounds incomplete or unidiomatic in this context in European Portuguese. You would more naturally rephrase:

• Não confio em coisas desconhecidas. – I don’t trust unknown things.
• Não confio em nada desconhecido. – I don’t trust anything unknown.

So for the abstract, almost philosophical idea, no desconhecido with the article is the normal choice.

What’s the difference between o desconhecido and estranhos in sentences like this?

They overlap a bit, but the nuance is different:

• o desconhecido – the unknown

  • More abstract; can refer to anything not yet known or experienced:
    • new situations, new places, the future, mysterious forces, etc.
  • Não confio no desconhecido.
    • I don’t trust the unknown (in general / as a concept).

• estranhos – strangers (literally “strange people”)

  • Very concrete; refers specifically to people you don’t know:
    • Não confio em estranhos. – I don’t trust strangers.

If you want specifically “I don’t trust strangers (people I don’t know)”, say:

• Não confio em estranhos.

If you want the broader idea “I don’t trust the unknown / what I don’t know”, then:

• Não confio no desconhecido.

Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese, or would Brazilians say it the same way?

Grammatically, Eu não confio no desconhecido. is fine in both European and Brazilian Portuguese.

The structure and words are the same. The main differences are in pronunciation and possibly style (degree of pronoun dropping), but written it’s perfectly natural in both varieties.

Since you’re focusing on Portugal, the phrase is exactly what a European Portuguese speaker might say.

Why is confio in the present tense? How would I change the tense if I wanted to?

Confio is the present indicative, 1st person singular of confiar:

• eu confio – I trust / I do trust / I am trusting

In this sentence, the present expresses a general, ongoing attitude:

• Eu não confio no desconhecido.
  I don’t (generally) trust the unknown.

Other common tenses:

• Eu não confiava no desconhecido.
  • I didn’t use to trust the unknown / I wouldn’t trust the unknown.
    (imperfect – past habit / background attitude)
• Eu não confiei no desconhecido.
  • I didn’t trust the unknown (on a specific occasion).
    (preterite – completed past action)
• Eu não vou confiar no desconhecido.
  • I’m not going to trust the unknown.
    (near future)

For a timeless personal principle (a rule you live by), the present is the natural choice.

How is this pronounced in European Portuguese?

In a careful European Portuguese pronunciation (approximate IPA):

• Eu – [ew]
• não – [nɐ̃w] (nasal vowel; the tilde in ão marks nasalization)
• confio – [kõˈfi.u] (the first syllable is slightly nasal; final -o is close to [u])
• no – [nu] (unstressed o often sounds like [u])
• desconhecido – [dɨʃkuɲɨˈsidu]

Spoken more naturally, syllables may reduce a bit, but it will still sound close to:

[ew nɐ̃w kõˈfi.u nu dɨʃkuɲɨˈsidu]

Key points:

• não has a nasal vowel, not like English “now”.
• The -nh- in desconhecido is like the ny in “canyon”.
• Unstressed e often becomes the reduced vowel [ɨ], like in dɨs‑ and ‑ɲɨ‑.

Could I say something like Não confio em nada desconhecido instead? Is that the same meaning?

They’re close, but not identical:

• Não confio no desconhecido.

  • More abstract and general.
  • “I don’t trust the unknown” (as a concept / overall).

• Não confio em nada desconhecido.

  • More concrete and specific:
    “I don’t trust anything that is unknown.”
  • It focuses on things (or situations) that are unknown.

Both are correct and natural in European Portuguese; you choose based on whether you want a slightly more philosophical tone (no desconhecido) or a more practical, concrete one (em nada desconhecido).

Can o desconhecido refer to a person, or is it only an abstract idea?

It can be both, depending on context:

1. Abstract concept – “the unknown”

   • Tenho medo do desconhecido.
     I’m afraid of the unknown.

2. A person you don’t know – “a stranger / an unknown person”

   • Um desconhecido falou comigo na rua.
     A stranger spoke to me in the street.

In Eu não confio no desconhecido, with no extra context, it tends to be understood more as the abstract idea (the unknown in general).
If you wanted to be clearly about people, you’d more likely say:

• Não confio em estranhos. – I don’t trust strangers.
• Não confio em pessoas desconhecidas. – I don’t trust unknown people.