Depois do jantar, eu lavo a loiça no lava-loiça antes de descansar.

After dinner, I wash the dishes in the sink before resting.

Breakdown of Depois do jantar, eu lavo a loiça no lava-loiça antes de descansar.

• eu: I
• de: of
• descansar: to rest
• o jantar: the dinner
• em: in
• depois de: after
• antes: before
• lavar: to wash
• a loiça: the dishes
• o lava-loiça: the sink

Questions & Answers about Depois do jantar, eu lavo a loiça no lava-loiça antes de descansar.

Why is it depois do jantar and not depois de o jantar?

Because do is the normal contraction of de + o in Portuguese.

• de + o = do
• So depois do jantar literally means after the dinner / after dinner

Portuguese uses these contractions all the time, and de o jantar would sound unnatural here.

Other common ones:

• de + a = da
• em + o = no
• em + a = na

So in this sentence:

• depois do jantar
• no lava-loiça

Could I also say depois de jantar?

Yes, but it is slightly different.

• depois do jantar = after dinner, after the meal
• depois de jantar = after eating dinner, after having dinner

Both are natural, but the structure changes:

• depois do + noun
• depois de + infinitive

So:

• Depois do jantar, eu lavo a loiça.
• Depois de jantar, eu lavo a loiça.

Both are correct. The first focuses more on the meal as a thing; the second focuses more on the action of eating.

Why is eu included? I thought Portuguese often drops subject pronouns.

That is true: Portuguese often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So:

• Lavo a loiça already means I wash the dishes
• Eu lavo a loiça also means I wash the dishes

Here, eu may be used:

• for emphasis
• for clarity
• because the speaker wants a slightly more explicit style

So eu is not wrong at all, but it is often optional.

What tense is lavo?

Lavo is the present indicative of the verb lavar.

Conjugation:

• eu lavo = I wash
• tu lavas
• ele/ela lava
• nós lavamos
• vós lavais
• eles/elas lavam

In this sentence, the present tense most naturally describes:

• a routine
• a habit
• something the speaker generally does

So the sentence can sound like:

• After dinner, I wash the dishes in the sink before resting

Why is it a loiça and not just loiça?

Portuguese very often uses the definite article where English does not.

So a loiça here means:

• the dishes
• the washing-up
• the crockery/tableware, depending on context

In a sentence about a meal, lavar a loiça is the normal expression for to wash the dishes.

This is very natural in Portuguese:

• lavar a loiça
• pôr a mesa
• arrumar a cozinha

English often leaves out the article in similar expressions, but Portuguese usually keeps it.

What exactly does loiça mean?

In European Portuguese, loiça usually refers to:

• dishes
• crockery
• tableware

In this sentence, lavar a loiça means to wash the dishes.

A useful point for English speakers:

• loiça is not just one plate
• it usually refers to the whole set of dishes/utensils from the meal

So lavo a loiça is a very common everyday expression.

Is loiça the same as Brazilian Portuguese louça?

Yes, essentially.

• In European Portuguese, the usual spelling is loiça
• In Brazilian Portuguese, the usual spelling is louça

They refer to the same idea: dishes, crockery, tableware.

So if you are learning Portuguese from Portugal, loiça is the form to learn.

What does lava-loiça mean here?

Here lava-loiça means the kitchen sink.

So:

• no lava-loiça = in the sink

This is a common European Portuguese word. It is a compound noun formed from:

• lava from lavar
• loiça

Even though it looks like a verb form plus a noun, together they function as one noun.

Important:

• lava-loiça in this sentence is not the action of washing dishes
• it is the place where the dishes are washed

Why is it no lava-loiça?

Because no is the contraction of em + o.

• em = in
• o lava-loiça = the sink
• em o becomes no

So:

• no lava-loiça = in the sink

This kind of contraction is extremely common and required in normal Portuguese.

Why is there a hyphen in lava-loiça?

Because lava-loiça is a fixed compound noun.

In Portuguese, many compound nouns of this type are hyphenated, especially ones formed from a verb-like element plus a noun, for example:

• guarda-chuva
• abre-latas
• lava-loiça

So the hyphen helps show that this is one lexical unit, not just two separate words.

Why is it antes de descansar?

Because antes is normally followed by de before an infinitive.

So:

• antes de + infinitive

Examples:

• antes de sair = before leaving
• antes de comer = before eating
• antes de descansar = before resting

This is a very common pattern and worth memorising as a chunk:

• antes de
• depois de

Why is it just descansar and not me descansar?

Because in Portuguese, descansar is normally used without a reflexive pronoun in this meaning.

So:

• descansar = to rest

A native English speaker might expect something like rest myself, but Portuguese does not usually say that here.

Natural:

• Vou descansar
• Preciso de descansar
• Antes de descansar

Less natural in this context:

• me descansar

So the sentence is correct as written.

Can the word order change?

Yes. Portuguese word order is fairly flexible here.

The original sentence:

• Depois do jantar, eu lavo a loiça no lava-loiça antes de descansar.

You could also say:

• Eu lavo a loiça no lava-loiça depois do jantar, antes de descansar.
• Depois do jantar, lavo a loiça no lava-loiça antes de descansar.

The original version is very natural because it begins with the time phrase Depois do jantar, which sets the scene nicely.

How is loiça pronounced?

A few useful pronunciation points:

• ç sounds like s
• oi in European Portuguese sounds roughly like oy
• so loiça is approximately LOY-sa

And lava-loiça is approximately:

• LA-va LOY-sa

This is only an approximation for English speakers, but it helps.

Also, remember that European Portuguese often reduces unstressed vowels, so the real pronunciation may sound tighter and less open than an English speaker expects.