Log inSign up

Eu falo português mais ou menos.

Eu falo português mais ou menos.
I speak Portuguese more or less.
From Lesson 50:Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Eu falo português mais ou menos.

eu
I
português
Portuguese
falar
to speak
mais ou menos
more or less

Questions & Answers about Eu falo português mais ou menos.

Do the words mais and menos change endings depending on who is speaking?
No, they don't. Just like muito (a lot) and pouco (a little), when mais and menos are used as adverbs to describe a verb (like how much you speak), they are invariable. This means they never change their endings, no matter who is speaking or what you are talking about.
Is mais ou menos a common phrase in Portuguese?
Yes! It translates literally to "more or less" and is used all the time in Portuguese to mean "so-so", "kind of", or "roughly". If someone asks how you are doing, you can even just answer "Mais ou menos!" (So-so!).
Why isn't the word português capitalized here?
In English, we always capitalize languages and nationalities, but in Portuguese, they are written in lowercase. You only capitalize words like português if they are at the very beginning of a sentence.
Do I always have to include Eu (I) at the beginning of this sentence?
Not at all! The verb falo already means "I speak" because it is the specific "I" form of the verb falar (to speak). You can just say Falo português mais ou menos and it means the exact same thing. In fact, dropping the pronoun is very common and sounds perfectly natural.

Learn Eu falo português mais ou menos and more in Portuguese

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Portuguese →