How to Say Pain, It Hurts and I'm Sore in Portuguese

How do you say pain in Portuguese? It's "dor", and the verb "to hurt" is "doer". To say it hurts in Portuguese, we use "dói" or "tá doendo": where in English you'd say "my head hurts", here in Brazil we say "minha cabeça tá doendo" or, much more common in everyday life, "tô com dor de cabeça".

Now, if you want to say you're sore in Portuguese after the gym, a soccer game or a brutal day at work, the word "dolorido" does exist ("tô todo dolorido"), but in Brazil we almost always go for informal expressions like "tô quebrado", "tô moído" or "tô só o bagaço".

In this post I'll show you 20 ways to say your body hurts or that you're completely worn out, with practice sentences and a video, so you stop sounding like a textbook and start talking the way we talk here in Brazil.

Video: How to say "sore" in Portuguese

In the video I show you, with real situations, how we Brazilians say we're sore or worn out and when each expression fits best. Watch it before the phrases so the pronunciation and intonation stick.

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Dor and doer: how to say "it hurts" in Portuguese

Pain in Portuguese is "dor" (noun) and "to hurt" is "doer" (verb). Just like in English, the thing that hurts is the subject of the sentence: "minha cabeça dói" is "my head hurts", and "tá doendo" is "it's hurting", the form we use most in Brazil for pain you're feeling right now.

• Tô com dor de cabeça. (I have a headache.)
• Minhas costas estão doendo desde ontem. (My back has been hurting since yesterday.)
• Dói muito quando eu levanto o braço. (It hurts a lot when I raise my arm.)
• Ai, que dor! (Ouch, that hurts!)

A detail that makes you sound more natural: we usually say "dor de" for ailments (dor de cabeça, dor de barriga, dor de dente) and "dor no / na / nas" for body parts (dor no joelho, dor nas costas). And yes, "dolorido" is a real Portuguese word; in Portugal people also say "dorido".

Practice phrases - "sore in Portuguese"

These are 20 expressions we use in Brazil to say we're sore or wiped out, from the most neutral ("tô com dor") to the most street-level ("tô só o caroço da jaca"). Many of them also work to say you're exhausted, even if nothing in particular hurts.

Use these phrases to practice your Portuguese. Taking notes is key to really absorbing all the ways you can use this vocabulary.

TÔ COM DOR

Tô com dor is the most neutral way to say something hurts in Portuguese: literally "I'm with pain". It works for any body part and any situation, from the gym to the doctor's office, so if you're only going to learn one, make it this one.

• Tô com uma dor insuportável nas costas desde ontem.

Article in Portuguese: Dicas para prevenir e reduzir a dor muscular pós-treino.

DAR UM JEITO

When we say someone deu um jeito in their shoulder, back or neck, it means they hurt it with a bad movement, like a pulled muscle or a mild sprain. Heads up: "dar um jeito" also means finding a way to solve something, and the context tells you which one it is.

• Cuidado fazendo esse exercício pra não dar um jeito no ombro.

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TÔ QUEBRADO

Tô quebrado is the classic "I'm wrecked" in Portuguese: you say it when your body makes you pay for working out or working too hard. Careful, because in Brazil it also means being broke, so context is everything.

• Fazia tempo que eu não batia uma bolinha com o pessoal, acho que é por isso que hoje eu amanheci tão quebrado.

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TÔ TODO LASCADO

Tô todo lascado is a very informal way to say you're wrecked, whether from tiredness, pain or a long night out. It's for talking with friends; in a work meeting, go with something more neutral like "tô cansado".

• Você deve tá todo lascado do show de ontem né? Quer fazer uma massagem no SPA?

TÔ MOÍDO / DOÍDO

Moído literally means "ground", like ground coffee, so it's close to saying you feel ground down, and doído comes from "doer" and means sore. Watch the accent mark: "doído" (doh-EE-doo) means sore, but "doido" without the accent (DOY-doo) means crazy.

• Passei o dia fazendo a mudança, não é à toa que tô moído hoje à noite.

TÔ SÓ O BAGAÇO DA LARANJA

The bagaço da laranja is what's left after you squeeze an orange, and that's how you feel after a rough day: not a drop of energy left. It's a lot like saying you feel "squeezed dry" or "wrung out" in English.

• Nossa, cara, que dia tão puxado no trabalho, tô só o bagaço da laranja.

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TÔ SÓ O CACO

A caco is a piece of broken glass or pottery, so tô só o caco means being shattered from exhaustion. We also use it to say someone looks terrible, like when you get home after a never-ending week.

• Acabei de chegar em casa e tô só o caco, capotando de sono, não vejo a hora de cair na cama.

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TORCICOLO

Torcicolo is a stiff neck (torticollis), that pain that won't let you turn your head, usually from sleeping badly or traveling in an awkward position. The most common way to say it is "tô com torcicolo" or "fiquei com torcicolo".

• Já comprou o travesseiro? A viagem de avião será longa, melhor usar pra não ficar com torcicolo depois.

Article in Portuguese: 5 dicas para acabar com o torcicolo mais rápido.

TÔ ZOADO

Zoado means damaged or in bad shape, and when we use it with a body part ("tô com o joelho zoado") it means it's injured. It's the same word we use for a phone that doesn't work anymore, as I explain in how to say damaged, bad and broken in Portuguese.

• Semana passada caí jogando futebol e até hoje tô com o joelho zoado, vou marcar uma consulta com o ortopedista.

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DAR PT - PERDA TOTAL

PT stands for "perda total" (total loss), the term insurance companies use when a car is totaled after an accident. In Brazil we say someone deu PT mostly when they drank so much they were down for the count.

• Ele tá bebendo desde cedo, não sei como ainda não deu PT.

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SÓ O BAGAÇO

Só o bagaço is the short version of "bagaço da laranja", and you hear it a lot on Mondays for someone who looks wrecked after the weekend. It works both for physical exhaustion and for a hangover.

• Você tá bem, cara? Hoje é segunda e já tô vendo que você tá só o bagaço, encheu a cara ontem?

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SÓ O COIÓ

Tô só o coió is another very colloquial variation from the "tô só o..." family, which we use to say a workout or a rough day left us with zero energy. You'll hear it mostly among friends, never in a formal setting.

• Que treino tão pesado o de hoje, tô só o coió aqui, não vejo a hora de dormir.

SÓ O PITO

The same goes for tô só o pito: it's an informal expression to say you're still beat from what you did the day before. Use it when you want to explain why you're skipping the gym today or would rather rest.

• Hoje nem vou treinar porque ainda tô só o pito de ontem, melhor descansar.

SÓ O PÓ

Pó means dust, so ficar só o pó is being reduced to dust from exhaustion. We use it a lot as a warning when someone is overdoing it with exercise or work.

• Se você continuar treinando nesse ritmo vai ficar só o pó em menos de 1 hora, melhor pegar mais leve.

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SÓ O PÓ DA RABIOLA

A rabiola is a kite's tail (in Brazil a kite is a "pipa"), and só o pó da rabiola is the exaggerated version of "só o pó": being completely destroyed. And if the rabiola got you curious, check out what "só o fio da rabiola" means.

• Eles fizeram uma caminhada de 3 dias, caminhavam 10 horas por dia e quando chegaram ao destino estavam só o pó da rabiola.

TÔ SÓ O RESTO

Tô só o resto means all that's left of you is the leftovers after a hectic week. It's perfect for justifying a quiet night at home instead of going out.

• Vou ficar em casa hoje, tô só o resto aqui de tanto corre corre que foi essa semana.

TÔ SÓ O PROJETO

Saying someone is só o projeto is like saying only the rough draft of the person is left: exhausted, drained or even thinner. We use it a lot after intense days of work or planning.

• Ela ficou só o projeto depois de passar o dia organizando o evento.

TÔ SÓ O MILHO DA PIPOCA

The milho da pipoca is that kernel left at the bottom of the pot that never popped. If tô só o milho da pipoca, it's because I'm so tired I have nothing left to give.

• Nossa, que cansaço sem fim, eu confesso que já tô só o milho da pipoca.

TÔ SÓ A CAPA DO BATMAN

Só a capa do Batman describes someone who's been reduced to nothing, very tired or very thin, as if only the superhero's cape were left. You hear it mostly when someone went through an illness or a really rough patch.

• Durante essas semanas que ele ficou doente tava só a capa do Batman.

TÔ SÓ O CAROÇO DA JACA

Jaca is jackfruit, a huge fruit, and its caroço is the seed, so tá só o caroço da jaca means being reduced to the bare minimum. We use it for someone who looks exhausted or much thinner than usual.

• O que aconteceu com ele? Nem o reconheci quando ele chegou, literalmente tá só o caroço da jaca.

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