What Does “Molestar” Really Mean in Portuguese?

If you are looking up what “molestar” means in Portuguese, here is a fact that surprises almost everyone: it is a false friend and it does not mean what you think. In Spanish “molestar” is to bother or annoy someone, but the verb “molestar” in Portuguese has a completely different meaning, and using it the way you would in Spanish can land you in a very awkward situation.

To say “don’t bother me” in Portuguese, the key verbs are “atrapalhar” (when something or someone gets in your way and won’t let you concentrate) and “incomodar” (when something bothers or annoys you). With these two you can already ask for some peace in a natural way, without slipping into “portunhol”.

You will also come across more colloquial expressions like “encher o saco”, which we use in Brazil when someone is really getting on our nerves, plus ready-to-use phrases to practice and a video where you can hear how each one is pronounced.

By the end of this lesson you will finally understand what “molestar” means in Portuguese, why it is one of the most treacherous false friends, and how to say “don’t bother me”, “stop bothering me” or “leave me alone” the way it is really said in Brazil.

Video: Several ways to say DON’T BOTHER ME in Portuguese

Phrases to practice

ATRAPALHAR

The verb “atrapalhar” means to get in the way, to hinder or to make something harder; it is when a person, a noise or a situation interrupts you and won’t let you concentrate or move forward. It expresses exactly the idea of “don’t get in my way”.

• Vou nessa cara, tá sem condições estudar aqui com essa barulheira, me atrapalha demais e não posso me concentrar.

Several ways to say “I’M LEAVING” in Portuguese.

What “ATRAPALHADO” means in Portuguese

An “atrapalhada” person has trouble doing things accurately, they are clumsy; for example, knocking over a glass on the table while serving, or bumping into a chair while walking through a restaurant.

It is also used for someone whose ideas are “atrapalhadas”, or a person who is “atrapalhada” at doing a task because they make a lot of mistakes.

• Cara, como você consegue ser tão atrapalhado? Preste atenção quando estiver fazendo as coisas.

Several ways to say YOU’RE CLUMSY in Portuguese

The best example of an ATRAPALHADO person is Chavo del 8 (Chaves in Portuguese)

A detail: in Portuguese the verb ESTORVAR exists (to hinder), but we do NOT use it often.

INCOMODAR

The verb “incomodar” is the closest equivalent to the Spanish “molestar”: it means to cause discomfort, to annoy or to disturb someone. It is used both when someone really bothers us and in polite questions like “does it bother you if…?”, to ask permission or to check whether something bothers the other person.

• Ontem não consegui adormecer por causa do barulho que o vizinho tava fazendo, esse cara tá incomodando muita gente no edifício.
• Você se incomoda se eu sentar contigo pra almoçar?

Several ways to say “to fall asleep” in Portuguese.

ENCHER O SACO

The expression “encher o saco” is colloquial and very common in Brazil; it means to annoy, to wear out or to tire someone with insistence, like when a person asks for the same thing over and over until they exhaust your patience. There is also the form “estar de saco cheio”, which means to be fed up or sick and tired of something. It is informal, so we use it among friends and in relaxed situations, not in formal contexts.

• Já faz 4 dias que meu chefe tá me enchendo o saco pra entregar esse relatório, tô morrendo de preguiça de fazer isso.
• O primo dela decidiu se demitir porque já estava de saco cheio de tanta cobrança e prazos apertados pra entregar relatórios.

26 Portuguese expressions to use at work.

The verb SACAR in Portuguese

Phrases with ATRAPALHAR

“Não pode ser seu amigo quem exige seu silêncio ou atrapalha seu crescimento.”
― Alice Walker

Phrases with INCOMODAR

“Não se incomode por ter medo, todos temos medos, mas não deixe ele transformar você em alguém com a obrigação de acertar sempre.”

– Flavio Augusto

On the site O Pensador you can find more examples with INCOMODAR and ATRAPALHAR.

Write down your favorite phrases in a notebook so you can review the material often.

Swear words in Portuguese

Now that you know how to ask for some peace without sounding aggressive, you might be wondering what Brazilians say when they truly lose their patience. Swear words are part of the real Portuguese you hear on the street, in TV series and at football matches, and understanding them helps you not to get lost in a conversation (even if you decide not to use them). I gathered the ten most common ones in Brazil, with their meaning and the intensity level of each, so you know exactly what you are hearing.

Learn the 10 most used swear words in Brazil.

How to say I DON’T CARE

Asking not to be bothered is one step; the next is learning to show indifference without sounding rude. Just like with “molestar”, translating “I don’t care” word for word usually sounds odd in Portuguese, and there are several ways depending on the tone you want to give, from the most polite and formal to the most direct and colloquial. I show you each one with examples so you can choose the right one depending on who you are talking to.

Several ways to say “I DON’T CARE” in Portuguese, from the most formal to the informal.

How to avoid speaking “portunhol”

The false cognates you just saw are only part of the problem: the real enemy is called “portunhol”, that mix of Spanish and Portuguese that comes out without meaning to while you are still learning the language. At first it seems to help you communicate, but over time it becomes a hard habit to break that slows down your progress.

That is why I wrote a complete guide where I explain what portunhol is and how to avoid speaking it with 9 practical tips: from adjusting your pronunciation and learning the conjugation of irregular verbs, to recognizing the words that change gender or stressed syllable from one language to the other. It includes real examples, comparison tables and a free PDF to download and review whenever you want.

Differences between Portuguese and Spanish

False cognates are just one of the many traps that show up when you learn Portuguese coming from Spanish. Another one that is just as common is understanding every word in a sentence and still feeling that something doesn’t quite fit, and almost always the reason is the same: the word order changes. Saying “one of two” or “one more time” in Portuguese is not translating word for word, but “de duas uma” and “mais uma vez”.

That is why I gathered the main differences between Portuguese and Spanish in a guide with 29 practical examples, explaining how each sentence is built naturally in Brazil and why the literal translation sounds odd. It includes the audio of all the phrases so you can hear the pronunciation and a free PDF to review whenever you want.

“No Más Portuñol” Course

If you want to stop mixing Portuguese with Spanish and learn to recognize false friends in an organized way, I have a structured course focused on exactly that. It is designed for Spanish speakers who want to stop speaking “portunhol” and express themselves in Portuguese naturally, without embarrassment.

Check out all the details of the “No Más Portuñol” course here and start speaking Portuguese with more confidence.