Quando a gata está contente, mexe o rabo e esfrega-se nas minhas pernas.

Gata means female cat, while gato means male cat or sometimes cat in a general sense.

Here, the sentence is specifically talking about a female cat, so a gata is used:

• o gato = the male cat / the cat
• a gata = the female cat

The article also changes with the noun:

• o for masculine singular
• a for feminine singular

So a gata = the female cat.

Portuguese usually uses estar for a temporary state or condition, and ser for something more permanent or defining.

So:

• está contente = is happy / is feeling happy
• é contente would sound unnatural here

A cat being happy is seen as a temporary emotional state, so estar is the correct verb.

This is very similar to Spanish if you know it, but in Portuguese you should get used to:

• ser = to be, in an essential or permanent sense
• estar = to be, in a temporary state or condition

Good question. Contente is an adjective that has the same form for masculine and feminine singular.

So you get:

• o gato está contente
• a gata está contente

The adjective only changes in the plural:

• os gatos estão contentes
• as gatas estão contentes

So although gata is feminine, contente stays the same in the singular.

Because Portuguese often omits the subject pronoun when it is already clear from the context.

In English, you would usually repeat she:

• When the cat is happy, she wags her tail and rubs herself against my legs.

In Portuguese, once a gata has already been introduced, it is natural to continue with just the verbs:

• Quando a gata está contente, mexe o rabo e esfrega-se nas minhas pernas.

This is very normal in Portuguese. The subject is understood to still be the cat.

Mexe is from the verb mexer, which often means:

• to move
• to stir
• to shake
• to wiggle

In this sentence, mexe o rabo means something like:

• moves its tail
• wags its tail

So although the basic meaning is move, in context the natural English translation is often wag.

Because here o rabo is the direct object of the verb mexer.

So the structure is:

• mexe = moves
• o rabo = the tail

Together: mexe o rabo = moves/wags its tail

The -se in Portuguese is not used here because the cat is not performing the action on itself in a reflexive way. It is simply moving its tail.

By contrast, in esfrega-se, the se is needed because the idea is it rubs itself or it rubs against something.

Yes. In this sentence, o rabo clearly means the tail.

For animals, rabo is a very common word. Another word you may see is cauda, which is more formal or more technical in some contexts.

So:

• rabo = tail, very common in everyday language
• cauda = tail, but often more formal/scientific

One thing to remember: when talking about humans, rabo can also mean bottom/backside, so context matters. Here, because the subject is a gata, it obviously means tail.

Esfrega-se comes from the verb esfregar, meaning to rub.

With se, it becomes reflexive/pronominal here:

• esfregar = to rub
• esfregar-se = to rub oneself / to rub against something

So in this sentence:

• esfrega-se nas minhas pernas = rubs itself against my legs

This is a very natural way to describe what a cat does.

This is a very important feature of European Portuguese.

In affirmative main clauses, European Portuguese often puts object/reflexive pronouns after the verb, attached with a hyphen:

• esfrega-se
• lava-se
• senta-se

This is called enclisis.

In Brazilian Portuguese, you will very often hear the pronoun before the verb instead:

• se esfrega

But in Portugal Portuguese, esfrega-se is the expected standard form here.

Nas is a contraction of:

• em
  • as = nas

So:

• em = in / on / at
• as = the (feminine plural)
• nas = in the / on the

Here:

• nas minhas pernas = on my legs / against my legs

This kind of contraction is extremely common in Portuguese:

• no = em + o
• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Because Portuguese often uses a possessive where English may or may not use one, especially when talking about body parts or belongings.

So:

• nas minhas pernas = against my legs
• nas pernas = against the legs or just on the legs, which is less specific

In this sentence, minhas makes it clear that the legs belong to the speaker.

Also, in European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article with possessives:

• as minhas pernas
• not just minhas pernas in many standard contexts

So nas minhas pernas is perfectly natural.

The comma separates the introductory clause from the main clause.

The structure is:

• Quando a gata está contente = when the cat is happy
• mexe o rabo e esfrega-se nas minhas pernas = it wags its tail and rubs against my legs

So the comma helps mark the break between:

1. the time clause
2. the main action

In English, you would often do the same:

• When the cat is happy, it wags its tail...

Yes, depending on context, quando can sometimes feel like when or whenever.

In this sentence:

• Quando a gata está contente...

it can mean:

• When the cat is happy...
• Whenever the cat is happy...

Because the sentence describes a general behaviour, English might naturally use whenever in some contexts. But when is also completely fine.

Because the cat rubs itself against both legs, or against the speaker’s legs in general.

So:

• perna = leg
• pernas = legs

If it were singular, na minha perna, it would mean specifically against my leg. The plural sounds more natural here because a cat often rubs against a person’s legs generally, not just one leg.

Yes, it sounds natural and idiomatic in European Portuguese.

Several features make it especially recognisable as European Portuguese:

• esfrega-se with the pronoun after the verb
• nas minhas pernas with article + possessive
• everyday use of rabo for an animal’s tail

So this is a good example of normal, natural Portuguese from Portugal.