Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Estás cansado? Porquê?

Estás cansado? Porquê?

Are you tired? Why?

Breakdown of Estás cansado? Porquê?

estar

to be (temporary / location)

cansado

tired

porquê

why? (standing alone)

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Questions & Answers about Estás cansado? Porquê?

Why is estás used here instead of a form of the verb ser?

In Portuguese, we use the verb estar for temporary states and conditions, like being tired, happy, or sick. We use ser for permanent characteristics. Since being tired is a temporary feeling, we use estás.

Where is the word for 'you' in the first sentence?

The informal word for 'you' is tu, but in Portuguese, we usually drop the pronoun. The verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. Estás can only mean 'you are', so adding tu is not necessary.

If I am asking a woman if she is tired, does the sentence change?

Yes! Adjectives must match the gender of the person they describe. If you are asking a man, use cansado. If you are asking a woman, the ending changes to an 'a': Estás cansada?

Why does Porquê have an accent on the 'e'?

When the word for 'why' stands completely alone as a question, or comes at the very end of a sentence, it is written as one word with a circumflex accent: porquê. If it comes at the beginning of a question (like 'Why are you tired?'), it is written as two words without the accent: Por que estás cansado?