Want to know how to say bored in Portuguese? Here in Brazil we mostly use two words: entediado, for when you feel bored, and chato, which is how we say boring in Portuguese when something or someone is dull (and yes, "um cara chato" can also be an annoying guy). That's basically the chato meaning in one line. So "I'm bored" in Portuguese is estou entediado or, more casually, tô entediado, and if you're a woman you say estou entediada.
The word for boredom in Portuguese is tédio, and once you get the tédio meaning you'll notice we say "que tédio!" all the time, or the more street-level "que saco!". Now, watch out for chateado: it looks like it should mean bored, but it actually means upset or sad. The chato vs chateado mix-up is one of the most common mistakes I see, and learners who say "estou chateado" to mean they're bored end up sounding like they're in a bad mood.
Below I break down the difference between the verbs chatear and entediar, share my video, give you Portuguese phrases to practice and a short story about tédio, so you can talk about being bored like someone from Brazil. And if boredom makes you sleepy, check out the difference between sono and sonho.
Video: How to say "I'm bored" in Portuguese
"I'm bored" in Portuguese is estou entediado or tô com tédio, and in this video I show you how we actually say it in Brazil, with the natural pronunciation of each expression. Hit play, then practice with the examples below.
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Que tédio fazer isso
"Que tédio" is the most natural way to say "how boring" or "so boring" in Portuguese, because tédio means boredom. In Brazil we also say "tô com tédio" or "estou com tédio" when we want to say we're bored.
Nossa, isso tá um tédio, vamos embora?
Acho que ela ficou chateada porque você tava com cara de tédio na apresentação dela.
Que saco fazer isso
"Que saco" is the more informal version of "que tédio": it mixes boredom with annoyance, a lot like saying "what a drag" or "this sucks" in English. It's street slang, so use it with friends and skip it at work. And if someone tells you "estou de saco cheio", they mean they're fed up.
Essa reunião foi um saco, eu te vi cochilando de tédio.
Algo entediante
Entediante is the adjective for something that bores you, and entediado or entediada is how you feel when you're bored, just like "boring" vs "bored" in English. In everyday speech, we in Brazil usually swap "entediante" for chato: "esse filme é chato" sounds more natural than "esse filme é entediante".
Eu acho que ele vai ficar entediado se você continuar com esses argumentos técnicos.
(verb Entediar)
What does chateado mean?
Chateado is the past participle of chatear, and it describes someone who is upset, annoyed, sad or hurt about something.
For example: Ele ficou chateado comigo means "He got upset with me" or "He felt hurt by me".
Careful with "chatear"!
In Portuguese, chatear has nothing to do with chatting or texting, even though it looks a lot like the English word "chat". It means to upset, bother or make someone feel bad.
For example: Não quero te chatear = "I don't want to upset you / make you feel bad".
If you want to talk about chatting online, we in Brazil say conversar, bater papo or teclar.
Brazilian Portuguese texting slang (WhatsApp)
Portuguese phrases to practice
Now it's your turn: build your own sentences with tédio, saco, chato and entediado, like "tô entediada, bora sair?" (I'm bored, wanna go out?) or "a aula foi muito chata" (the class was super boring). And if boredom makes you want to leave or fall asleep, these two lessons will help.
Different ways to say "I'M LEAVING" in Portuguese
Different ways to say "I fell asleep".
"Reclamar do tédio é fácil, difícil é levantar da cadeira para fazer alguma coisa que nunca se fez."
― Martha Medeiros
Short story in Portuguese about tédio
In this short story in Portuguese you'll see tédio in context: notice how Joana goes from entediada to chateada, which is exactly the difference between getting bored and getting upset that I explained above.
Era uma tarde de domingo e Joana estava em casa, sem ter muito o que fazer. Ela já havia assistido a todos os episódios da sua série favorita, lido alguns capítulos de um livro e até organizado seu armário. O tédio começava a tomar conta dela.
Joana decidiu então enviar uma mensagem para sua melhor amiga, pedindo sugestões de como passar o tempo. Mas a amiga estava ocupada e demorou para responder. Joana começou a se entediar ainda mais.
Decidiu então ligar a televisão, mas não encontrava nada interessante para assistir. O tédio só aumentava e ela começou a se chatear com a situação.
Foi então que Joana teve uma ideia: ligou para sua avó e pediu para ouvir algumas histórias antigas. A avó adorou a ideia e começou a contar suas aventuras de juventude, deixando Joana encantada.
O tédio foi embora e Joana não estava mais entediada ou chateada. A avó tinha conseguido animar sua tarde e fazer com que ela se divertisse. Às vezes, as melhores coisas da vida estão nas histórias contadas pelos nossos entes queridos.
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