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Tens fome? — Tenho.

Tens fome? — Tenho.
Are you hungry? — I am.
From Lesson 18:Omitting the subject pronoun·Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Tens fome? — Tenho.

ter
to have
ter fome
to be hungry

Questions & Answers about Tens fome? — Tenho.

Why does the sentence use Tens instead of a word for 'are'?
In Portuguese, you don't say that you are hungry. Instead, you say that you have hunger. Tens comes from the verb ter (to have), and fome means hunger. You will also use ter for other physical states, like being thirsty (ter sede) or cold (ter frio).
Where are the words for 'you' and 'I' in this sentence?
Portuguese speakers usually drop subject pronouns like tu (you) and eu (I) because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action. Tens can only mean 'you have' (informal), and Tenho can only mean 'I have'.
Why does the person answer with Tenho instead of just saying yes?
In Portuguese, the most common and natural way to answer a yes-or-no question is to simply repeat the verb. Since the question asks 'Do you have?' (Tens), the correct way to say 'yes' is to reply 'I have' (Tenho). You can say Sim, but repeating the verb is much more natural.
Can I ask Tens fome? to anyone?
No, Tens is the informal 'you' form. You should use this with friends, family, and children. If you want to be polite with a stranger, a service worker, or someone older, you would use the formal form: Tem fome?

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