How to Use Até in Brazilian Portuguese: Until, Even, and More — Practice

Use até to mark an endpoint

Before a time or place, até often means “until” or “as far as.” It marks the endpoint of an action, a trip, or a time period.

Compare the endpoint with the starting point: de… até… means “from… to…” and helps you describe a schedule or route.

Use até to add an unexpected example

Before a person, place, or action, até can mean “even.” The speaker uses it to point to something surprising, unusually far-reaching, or beyond what you might expect.

The emphasis is often in the voice. In writing, the sentence around até shows which example the speaker considers noteworthy.

Learn common phrases with até

Até appears in everyday goodbyes such as até amanhã (see you tomorrow) and até mais (see you later). Here it points toward the next time you expect to meet.

It also appears in até agora (so far), até aqui (up to here), and até onde eu sei (as far as I know). Learn these as useful chunks, then notice the endpoint idea they share.

Remember: Look at what follows até: a time or place often marks an endpoint, while a surprising example often means “even.”

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I’m going to work until six.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou trabalhar até as seis.

2. We walked as far as the square.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente caminhou até a praça.

3. The bus runs from Monday through Saturday.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O ônibus funciona de segunda até sábado.

4. Even my neighbor came to the party.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Até meu vizinho veio à festa.

5. She even speaks Japanese.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela fala até japonês.

6. Everyone helped, even the manager.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Todo mundo ajudou, até o gerente.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Look at what follows até: a time or place often marks an endpoint, while a surprising example often means “even.”

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our How to Use Até in Brazilian Portuguese: Until, Even, and More lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.